All right, they may not be my Top Ten. I’ve written about 200 posts in the past two years, and I haven’t gone through each of them. But I’ve noticed in the last couple of months that everyone in the world is suddenly obsessed with the difference between impersonation and acting, a post I wrote a year ago. Now, it’s a good post, but it is hardly the most important one I’ve written, and it certainly isn’t a very practical one. I wrote it in response to a student’s question, so it was sort of a diversion from what I typically write about. (I love these diversions! – so keep asking questions. But that doesn’t always make them the most useful posts I have. Having said that, two of the posts I’m about to list were answers to questions.)
The impersonation post was visited again today, which made me think: if I could direct readers to a handful of posts, which ones would I want them to read the most? So here’s my quick-and-dirty list, in no particular order. And oh — it’s eleven, not ten, simply because I miscounted and don’t want to eliminate any of them!
(By the way, I’ve noticed that some of the links from one post to the next aren’t working again. No idea why this happens, but it seems to periodically. I’ll get to fixing them soon, I hope. In the meantime, you can search for the posts to get the right links!)
Line Readings, and Why They Don’t Work
The Learning Process, Part III (The Fastest Route)
Acting as Storytelling: It’s About Competition
Equus, Part III: The First Five Minutes
Actor’s Etiquette: Deliberate Practice
The Subconscious Effect, or Why You Can’t Do Any Acting Until You’re Off Book
What Are Play Rehearsals For, Part III
Verbs & Beats – Moonlight & Magnolias
Playing the Verbs, Part III – Raising the Stakes
An Example of Why Verbs Make a Difference
Spacious Acting™ 