Another Year Older, Hopefully Wiser...

I've spent the day running errands again—the inevitable yet necessary time suck. Part of me wants to do something for myself. That may have to wait until tomorrow. Yet I have a sense of completion, so all is not lost. Plus, I realize just how much stuff I will have to get rid of. It's more than I was prepared to part with. It's fine. It's only stuff.

I'll celebrate soon enough. Tomorrow, depending on how much I get accomplished today. So I'm finalizing my Todd Todoroff notes today:

"Don't play mood. Mood spelled backward is doom." - Right, everyone can tell when you're insincere. The hardest part of taking improv and acting classes was allowing myself to become vulnerable and be present in the moment. It can be challenging to express vulnerability knowing that people can and do mean-spirited behavior and not let it get to you. But it's what those people want, to hurt others. I've learned to take solace in knowing that they are broken. They do far more damage to themselves than they think they do to others.

"An actor is...

a psychologist

a sociologist and an 

archeologist,

not a narcissist." - I want to believe that. I think the most famous ones get a trashy reputation. Actors can also be quite troubled people. I understand. You will only last long in sales if you make peace with the rejection. It's easier not to take it personally if the solution isn't a good fit. It's not about you. But in acting, you are the solution, so it can be harder not to take it personally.

"Acting is believing." - Great work usually involves great belief.

"Don't control your inner life or another person." - This one's a work in progress. Yes, controlling your emotions usually doesn't work out, and neither does controlling others, IMO. But if they behave in ways you don't approve of, you can control what you do and limit your interactions with them. Peace is beautiful. As for your inner life, feel it fully. Savor it. It's what makes life beautiful. I struggle with both as a recovering control freak. I work to expose my vulnerability and remind myself that if they wanted to, they would. Their actions say exactly how they feel and I can acknowledge that and go from there.

"The greatest universal is family." - Nothing to add there.

"Always find danger in your work." - Riding the edge, where you feel it fully. They say Heath Ledger's most remarkable work was playing the Joker in The Dark Knight. Many Jokers have come and gone, but Ledger's joker resided in a place all his own, between madness and pain. It was rich, not campy. Dangerously delectable. He found the danger and rode that edge. It was beautiful and frightening all at once.

"Craft, Commitment, and Confidence = Career" - This sums up most careers, IMO.

"All art possesses...

personal

precise

provocative

passionate

political

personal,

point of view" - I feel like that's a qualifier for great art, but I'll go with it.

"3 antidotes to imposter syndrome

voice

speech

dialects"- Maybe when it comes to acting. Of course, when I'm in over my head, I laugh if I attempt to use a dialect, and humor always takes me out of self-consciousness.

"Study Shakespeare." I mean, he's an acting instructor. I wouldn't trust him if he didn't say this.

"Spend some training in New York." Shameless plug since he's in New York.

"Voice

Rate

Inflection

Pitch - high or low

Volume" - How you say it matters

"3 Tenets - Relaxation under Extraordinary Circumstances

Relaxation

Concentration

Imagination" - It is so important. It must be said multiple times. 

"3 techniques

Audition

Rehearsal 

Performance" - Yes, that is the job.

"6 viewpoints

Time

Space

Shape

Movement

Story

Emotion" - When Todd was evaluating monologues, the actors often over-acted, which he needed to help them reduce that inner wall, so they became the character with an unshakeable belief. They also often didn't use their body as much to communicate, which under-communicated visceral emotions. It's against natural training. We're supposed to be disciplined enough to control our feelings and bodies, whereas acting often means letting ourselves free at the moment. Go big while becoming.

I like that - go big while becoming. That might become my theme for next year.