PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Rhythm"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: RHYTHM Rhythm. This is everything to me when playing a role. I work tirelessly through rehearsals, trying to find the rhythm of a character’s thoughts, movements, speech. A good performance can usually be traced to me being in rhythm with the role, a bad one usually means I’m out of their rhythm. Rhythm. Each actor accesses roles in a different way. Some actors do so through the emotional life of their character, others through the physicality, and others through their character’s costume. Of course, many things serve as triggers for us, but oftentimes one specific aspect puts us over the hump and squarely into that character’s skin. Give me a word (or two or three) that says how you access your roles and explain.

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Backstage Drama"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: BACKSTAGE DRAMA Actors. They can be inventive, courageous, and inspired. They can also be petty, bull-headed, and narcissistic. Yet, a handful of us are put into a rehearsal room together and expected to play nice, work it out, and find the play. How does this happen? How can a divergent group of actors come together, amidst all their idiosyncrasies, for the betterment of the show? We’ve all worked with actors who are generous and we’ve all worked with actors who are difficult. So, what makes for a good teammate in the rehearsal process? What makes for a bad one? And, how do you manage?

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Trusting the Audience"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: TRUSTING THE AUDIENCE Recently in one of our discussions, one of you commented that you must “trust your audience,” that you need them “with you”. This dovetails nicely into our next question. We know the audience is the lifeblood once the show starts. They complete the circle with playwright, director, tech team, and actor. However, what can we really expect from our audience? And, should we trust them? Oftentimes I hear actors say, “That was a bad house,” or “The house was quiet tonight,” or “They were really with us tonight, etc.” But what does all that mean? I can assure you that I’ve laid a total egg on stage and still garnered a standing ovation a time or two. Conversely, I’ve been “in the zone” on other nights and been greeted with a tepid response. So what do we take from this and, more importantly, what does this have to do with your performance and the show? Do you trust your audience? And what should the actor expect from them?

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "Live the Blues to Sing the Blues"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: “SING THE BLUES TO LIVE THE BLUES” I’m going to give you two quotes here. I take these two quotes to heart as I think about the work that I do and the life that I lead. They might be mutually exclusive…or maybe not. All the same, I’d love your take on what they mean to the work that you do, the life that you lead, and if one speaks to you more than the other. “To sing the blues, you must live the blues.”  “Be boring in your life, so you can be restless in your work.”  Go…

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PERFORMANCE: The Actors' Roundtable: "The Long Run"

Each week, Paden Fallis poses one question to a group of professional working actors from a variety of backgrounds. Our goal is not to demystify the work of the actor or explore their careers, but to dig a bit deeper into their artistic working process. ACTOR’S ROUNDTABLE: “THE LONG RUN” Recently I conducted a Q&A with actor Gary Sloan about how he approaches performing in a long-running production and the challenges inherent in playing the same role night after night for an extended time. As actors on the stage, we are not afforded the opportunity to backslide, but must continually stay sharp, fresh, and inhabit the role every time out—be it performance #2 or performance #222.  How do you approach the long run?  How do you keep it fresh?

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