What You Do

So what's the difference between the REAL ZEN YOU and the ZEN ACTOR?

Choice.

Every moment is a choice.

We must be ZEN ATHLETES who can control our choices.

This enables us to control who we are.

This enables us to control who we are not.

This enables us to control who we are pretending to be.

This is especially strong in people who KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

When you know you have a home to return to you feel more confident away from home.

When you know you have an IDENTITY TO RETURN TO you feel more confident out of character.

Directing is controlling. Directors control the actors. Directors control what they say, how they move, and what the character is thinking. To be a Zen actor you must either be the Director's puppet or train the Director to have faith in your self-directing.

To be self-directing is too easy and should be avoided. As one of my Director mentors once said, "How can I have respect for actors? They're a bunch of men and women who put on makeup and do whatever I tell them to do."

I know. That's harsh. But you must trade your body, mind, and soul with the Director to gain his confidence in your characterization of his character. If you can't convince the Director that you are right for this acting part--give it to someone else who can. Unless the Director is anxious to beat you up emotionally, they'd usually prefer to trust you with their movie / television character.

That's why many actors rehash certain characters over and over in various movies. The Directors hired them with faith they would deliver a repeat performance. Somehow if you can improve the characterization of your acting character, you must still convince the Director of your perspective. How? That's why you're an actor: YOU BELEIVE YOU CAN PORTRAY THIS CHARACTER.

Actors and Directors should study behavior in all types of people. All types. Fortunately, despite the many ways you can mix up the emotions and intellects of people to create a wide variety of characters... eventually you start seeing duplication and pairings and triplings of some qualities. Eventually you find someone who looks identical you. I've found my stunt doubles several times. My daughter said once, "Check this guy out dad he looks just like you as a teenager..." She was right. He was me, in looks.

If you play a real life character, study that character for mannerisms, twitches, ways they sit, how they eat, where there eyes go when they talk, how they hold their mouth for various emotions, and their body language when nervous, lieing, excited and embarrassed.

I bet that most actors would choose Psychology as their minor if it were a recommended combination.

Buddha Zhen
Patriarch, shaolinZEN.org