Adjustments

Choosing adjustments is one of the really creative parts of acting. And the most fun! If the intention is what you want in the scene, the adjustment is how you do it. In other words, you can act the intention "to get the dogs out of the house" with many different adjustments. You can take the adjustment that the owners are due back any minute and the dogs have messed up the house. You can take the adjustment that the dogs are attacking you and you have to get them out so you won't get eaten. You can take the adjustment that three gorgeous women . . . or men . . . are arriving any second! Whatever adjustment you take will make it your own. Adjustments are the proof of your acting pudding.

For example, one of my actors was working on a monologue where he described why he became a murderer. He was great in the scene, but felt something was missing. Then he nailed it. He was in the middle of the monologue in class one day and blurted out, "he wouldn't kill a kitten!" He then began to play the scene as if he had just accidentally killed a kitten. Since he has had years of Method training with me, he was able to recreate the horror of feeling a dead kitten in his hands while he was telling us how he loved to crush bugs and kill people. This adjustment made his portrayal textured and unique.

As you can see, Method work is great for creating unique adjustments. Sense Memory, which I describe in the August issue of Acting Magic archived in the "Articles" section of www.actingintuitive.com, can help you create adjustments based upon your own experiences with your senses. But, even if you haven't studied Method, here's a few tips about how to choose adjustments:

• Choose one strong adjustment for each intention that will give you a unique perspective for acting the scene. My favorite example of this type of adjustment is when Lee Strasberg directed an actress playing Salome to caress the dismembered head of John the Baptist "as if" it were a playful puppy. Strong adjustments are especially crucial in improvisation and audition, where you only get one shot to stand out.

• Use a strong association to a place that you know well to catapult you into a scene. Even if you haven't studied Method, a place where you've experienced strong emotions or sensations can become a physical framework in which you can play your scene.

• Use your other senses to create powerful images for your character and your audience. Sometimes just remembering something like the earthy smell of baking bread can create an acting aura appropriate for the scene you're playing. When Sense Memory is the backbone of your acting technique, these complex tasks can easily be accomplished. 

• Choose adjustments that also define the outer life of your character. When I was a fledgling actress, I did a scene from The Bell Jar in which I took the adjustment that I'd fly off into space if I didn't stay physically connected to the room. You see, my character was supposed to be crazy and in an insane asylum. As a result of this adjustment, I must have touched every piece of furniture and every prop on the stage, including a scarf that I kept compulsively stroking during the scene. My teacher, Peggy Feury, told me that I took more risks than her advanced students. Actually, I just allowed a simple adjustment to stimulate external behavior. And that external behavior ended up defining my inner character as well as my outer characteristics.

Take some time in the next few weeks to explore strong inner and outer adjustments in the scenes and monologues you're doing. I guarantee you'll take your acting to the next level!

Next month, we'll delve more into adjustments when we talk about "as ifs".

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Guidance

I believe that all of us have some type of spiritual guidance.  My ability to use my intuition really began the day I discovered mine.  That day, I took a workshop with a psychic friend and met my Native American guide.  Some believe that all of us born in this country have Native American guidance.  Very soon after that, I met the other three that guide my steps . . . and have to this very day.

Your guidance may or may not be connected to your spiritual or religious beliefs. Some believe that we're guided by guardian angels or saints.  Others believe that guides are external manifestations of our internal, highly-evolved selves.  Still others believe that beloved departed relatives protect and help us.  Whatever you believe, connecting to your guidance may have a powerful positive effect upon your life.

If you're interested in meeting your guidance, call upon it on a daily basis while you meditate or right before you go to sleep at night.  Ask for the highest forces of good you can imagine to come in and be by your side.  Then ask them for help in making a clear connection with your guiding spirit or spirits.  If you do this consistently, your guidance will begin to speak to you in your meditations or dreams.  The more you call upon it, the more it will be readily available to you. You may even find it standing by your side or hovering over your head as my four do. No matter what form your guidance takes, you'll begin to enjoy wise counsel that you just can't access on a conscious level.

When you do open yourself to the universe, there is the possibility that negative forces may also appear.  If any negative thoughts or words appear, or if any guide appears that tries to manipulate you into doing something you don't want to do, put a white light around them and send them out into space.  But the more you concentrate on guidance for your highest good, the less you'll be open to negative forces of any kind.

Of course, you might want help to facilitate your first meeting with your guidance.  I can do that on an individual basis through relaxation and guided imagery, so give me a call if you want to schedule a session with me.  It might be safer that way as I can instantly detect negativity and false guidance.  I was once instrumental in protecting one of my first spiritual teachers from a negative entity.  I instantly knew it was not who it said it was . . . because my own guidance told me so . . . and asked it to leave!  Oh . . . another thing . . . if your guidance tells you it's a famous person . . . I wouldn't trust its information.  Unfortunately, it may just be your ego talking.  And, let's face it . . . not all of us can have Cleopatra . . . or Buddha . . . as our spiritual guides.

I'd love to hear from you if you attempt to meet your guidance, so please don't hesitate to write me about your cosmic exploits at jill@actingintuitive.com .

Next month, we'll talk about The Power of Positive Thought.

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MAKE ACTING MAGIC! 

I intuitively guide actors to discover the best within themselves so that they can bring their unique talents to the world. I'm Jill Place, the Acting Intuitive. I combine the best of 20th Century acting technique with my 21st Century intuition. I honed my intuitive and acting skills through years of intensive training with such illustrious teachers as Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen, Sanford Meisner, and Viola Spolin. And in my career as a successful singer, actress, and original Groundling.

I'm also a medical intuitive and spiritual healer.  I can see where actors have emotional or energy blocks that kept them from fully expressing their craft.  And I can intuit ways to easily remove these blocks.  My students not only become better actors but quickly understand complex acting techniques that have taken me years to learn.  And they consistently work in films, on stage, and as television series regulars.

As I do every year at this time, I'm condensing my class schedule down to one class on Saturdays at noon. Saturday classes will continue until December 13th and resume again on January 3rd. Beginning in January, I'll also begin teaching a Wednesday evening class, so please call for an interview if you're interested. I will continue to work individually with students by appointment throughout the holidays if you need some expert help for that important audition. For more information, visit my website at www.actingintuitive.com, e-mail me at jill@actingintuitive.com, or call me at (323) 225-9850 if you're local or (888) 237-6875 if you're not. I sense that you can't wait to talk to me and start my classes . . . right?

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Acting Magic is on hiatus until January, when we'll return with some exciting news about people, places, and events in the Entertainment Industry . . . just in time for pilot season!

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Showing Up!

Woody Allen once said "Eighty percent of success is showing up".  As far as I'm concerned, you have to show up for your craft on a daily basis to call yourself an actor.  I once heard a popular TV actor say that if he didn't work until 2 am to polish his acting to professional perfection that there were alot of other actors out there working until 3 so that they could take his place.

But if you truly want to make acting your profession, I can't imagine that you'd be any other way.  Actors are driven to create like any other artist.  When I was acting, I spent four to eight hours a day working on my craft.  I have to admit that I was lucky to be working for Lee Strasberg and attending as many classes as I wanted for free as well as being an observer at The Actor's Studio.  But after class I'd go home and spend even more time working out the particulars of a scene or character.  What if she did this gesture here or said that line this way . . . I couldn't think of anything else!

Acting is a social art.  An art done throughout history with groups of actors performing daily under the tutelage of a strong director.  That's why the Moscow Art Theatre, The Group Theater, and the Actor's Studio consistently produced great realistic acting and actors and began theatrical revolutions. In lieu of strong companies and acting associations these days, actors need an environment where they can grow and change.

These days it's important to align yourself with an acting coach who will help you grow and change.  I once read an article about Sean Penn.  He used to climb the fire escape to Peggy Feury's studio, his coach at the time, and spend the night working on his acting.  So it always amazes me that some students don't even have the motivation to show up for class on a weekly basis.  Or that prospective students swear they'll begin class any time now and they never do.  Showing up for class is the primary indicator of how serious you are about learning your craft and becoming a professional actor.  It certainly worked for Sean Penn.

I believe that actors are made, not born.  Most actors have a modicum of talent when they start.  Some have more than most.  But it's really what you do with what you have that makes the difference.  Charles Durning, the great character actor of Tootsie fame, once said in an interview that he didn't think he was a very good actor so he worked very hard on his craft.  Doing whatever you can every day with whatever you've got from wherever you are can turn little baby acting steps into giant acting leaps.

Showing up for class is also an indication of how you show up for your life. Sometimes just making the commitment to get to class once a week can make what you do with the rest of your life fall into place.  Making the commitment to your craft at the beginning of each day can also make the rest of your life make sense, whether you're currently a full-time actor, a secretary, or a waiter.

In my actress days, Deborah Winger used to wait on me at The Improvisation in Hollywood. Even through she was a waitress, all she could talk about was acting and becoming an actress. We spent many moments between table services debating the fine points of different acting techniques. Obviously, that commitment and single-mindedness of purpose really paid off for her. So . . .

If you don't get to class on at least a weekly basis . . . and more if you can . . . then you don't want to be an actor.

If you don't embrace acting techniques that enable you to continually grow as an actor . . . then you don't want to be an actor.

If you don't have the courage to practice that technique daily . . . no matter where it leads you . . then you don't want to be an actor.

If you don't do as many scenes and monologues as you can and work in as many student and independent films as you can . . . then you don't want to be an actor. I once had a student who did FORTY films of all types in the year that he studied with me. Now he's a regular on two series.

If you don't practice cold reading daily . . . then you don't want to be an actor. We'll talk more about cold-reading in-depth in the January issue of Acting Magic .

If you don't take different types of classes so that you can hone your skills in different ways . . . then you don't want to be an actor. The Method made me a good actor. But I didn't get really good and start to work until I began studying improvisation. And later, when I was lucky enough to study Grotowski work, my career really soared!

If you don't find a coach that'll guide you through this process . . . someone you trust to tell you the truth about your acting . . . then you don't want to be an actor. One of my students and I have a running joke about how bad he was when he started studying with me. He had no way to express or connect with material. But he worked hard. And he listened to me. And he got better. And he just finished a major role in a film.

Next month, we'll talk about how you can use holiday shopping and end-of-the-year parties for Character Observation. Until then, make acting magic!

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Jill Place, The Acting Intuitive     1309 Montecito Drive     Los Angeles, CA 90031     (323) 225-9850