I hope that my recent posts on creativity indicate that coming up with ideas and trying them out in rehearsal is a good thing and to be encouraged.

So how do you offer ideas if you aren’t supposed to do anything that another actor can interpret as you telling him what to do?  Everyone talks about “Ensemble Acting” as if it’s a good thing to do.  If I’m part of an ensemble, shouldn’t voicing my opinions about the play as a whole be acceptable?

Yes, and no.

First, ensemble acting primarily implies a certain equity among actors strictly in terms of their importance to the piece.  In ensemble acting, there is no obvious “starring role”, and this equity carries into the way the actors work together, too.  Actors accustomed to working together may be able to respectfully generate ideas in a brainstorming sort of way that offends no one, and if the ideas are offered up without any one idea being strongly advocated by an actor who isn’t the one enacting the idea, it’s all good.  But that’s the sort of thing that comes over time, typically in resident companies.

But here’s the truth about ideas. If they do involve you, just do your part of it and the rest will come.   If you throw something new and inventive to your partner, she’ll have the chance to respond to it in whatever way she likes, which may be better than your idea.  Or maybe she’ll find your suggestion on her own, simply because you have given her something good to work with.  That is all that is required most of the time.  Experiment as much as you like, but don’t demand a certain response to your own behavior.  Your own creativity encourages other people to follow you.

Sometimes an actor may be frustrated and be open to general help with his problem.  In that case, you can perhaps gently say, “May I offer an idea?  I don’t know if it’s any good, but . . .” or “I have a thought, but I don’t know if it will work.”  If you are invited to give your thoughts, you may, but do so in such a way that it puts them under no obligation to take your suggestion.  State it simply and leave it at that.  Don’t argue on its behalf, and take its rejection gracefully.

Ensemble work also means being generous to the other people in the cast.  But that’s another topic . . .

Directors have a number of responsibilities regarding the production that are different from yours as an actor.  Among them is the responsibility (and right) to determine how to generally interpret the play, which includes his vision for it and the tone the production should strike.

You may not agree with his choices, but you have to make your way to being at peace with them, or the production will suffer.  You can discuss your opinions with him, if you differ in a material way.  You may find you aren’t really far apart; you’re just using different language.  Or you may find he’ll appreciate your input and adjust his vision in some way.

But you may just have very different views, and in that case, he wins.  Ties always go to the director.  This means that it is your job to listen carefully to what he has to say and to try to adjust your own thinking to meet what he is asking for.  Lecturing him on what YOU think is right is only going to create bad feelings.  Take it too far, and the director may wonder if he can ask you to do anything without you putting up a fight.  (I’ve seen this in action.)

Even differences of opinion about small character choices should be dealt with this way.  Yes, you know the character better than the director does.  Eventually.  A good director, if he’s done his homework properly, knows more about your character initially.  My actors start to overtake me in this department somewhere around the halfway mark.

If a director makes a suggestion to you about your character, listen with an open mind.  Trust that he has a reason for it, and that it has something to do with the fact that he is seeing how what you are doing is playing out in the house.

It’s not always easy to do this, I know.  When a director makes a suggestion to me, sometimes I immediately know that he’s right, and all is well.  Sometimes I am in a generally receptive mood and consider it and we have a nice conversation about it.  Sometimes it sounds to me like an idiotic idea, but because I am in a receptive mood, I do my best with it.  If it’s really idiotic, it will probably become apparently in playing it.  If it doesn’t and he still seems attached to the notion, we can now have an honest discussion about its merits and I can politely and reasonably defend my opinion.

And sometimes my worst self emerges and I have a kneejerk reaction that sounds something like this:  “No, my character wouldn’t do that.”

These are words that should never be uttered.  They will, and I’ll probably be one of the actors saying them.  But they shouldn’t be said.

Don’t assume that suggestions from the director are inflexible mandates.  They may be, but they won’t always be.  So go ahead and try what he suggests and see if there is any merit to it.  You’d want the same courtesy if you suggested something; extend it to him.

When my bad self rejects an idea, I always end up considering it later.  “Later” may mean five minutes, and if it does, I make sure I respond to the director before the rehearsal is over, and tell him that I’ll try his idea the next time we do that scene.  Sometimes I think about it overnight, and I’ll talk to him about it at the next rehearsal.  The important thing is that I get back to him about his comment.  Integrating it without acknowledging that is what I am doing isn’t enough.  I need to keep the lines of communication with my director open, and to show him that I respect his input.

Most of the time, I end up realizing that he has a point, and that whatever he is suggesting is more creative and interesting than what I’ve been doing.  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, and he is throwing me a lifeline.  If I can’t come around to his way of thinking, the time between rehearsals gives me a chance to figure out how to explain my objection to my director, which may open up new possibilities for us.

The director’s “third eye” is critical to a good production.  Trust it.  At the very least, respect it.

It’s all on your shoulders.

The quality of your performance is determined by three things:

• How much talent you possess (This is a fixed element.  Training can bring out hidden talent; it can’t create it.)
• How much time you put into the work, especially outside of formal rehearsals
• How effectively you know how to use your personal and formal rehearsal time

There is no substitute for time.  There are no real short-cuts in acting.  Yes, good technique speeds things along and allows you to accomplish more as a result, which leads to better performances.  But good acting still takes plenty of time, it’s just that now you know how to use that time to maximum effect.

Being a good actor is, as with most things, a matter of taking responsibility for your own stuff and not expecting someone to hold your hand through the process.  If you’re reading this blog, you’re either an adult or you’re going to become one.  That means determining what kind of actor you want to be and making sure that you do whatever you need to do to achieve that.

I’ve been doing this a long time.  When an actor shows up at rehearsal or to class, I can tell whether he’s done any work on the play since I last saw him.  I can tell whether it was work done earlier in the week or hastily done this afternoon.  I can tell what kind of work he’s done – whether he’s just been saying his lines or if he’s dug into the character, and if the latter, what kind of digging he’s done.

Whether I’m directing or teaching, there is a limit to what even I can do with you if you aren’t bringing something to the table.  THAT’S what you’re responsible for, as an actor.  Like me in that play I talked about in the last Etiquette post (when I was playing adjectives, by the way – that much I can recognize in hindsight!), you are only going to be as good as you can be at this particular moment, and that is PERFECTLY ALL RIGHT.  It’s where you are right now.  It’s the best you can do.

But it’s ONLY the best you can do if you are really putting in the time and effort and doing everything you know how to do at this moment.  That’s something the director simply can’t do for you.  We might be able to nudge you in the right direction now and then.  But we can’t do the work for you.