Occasionally I have been asked if I have any advice to give to aspiring actors. I presume this is because I have been one myself for a number of years. Surely it can’t be because I have reached that magic age at which wisdom and arcane knowledge are conferred upon me, to dispense like an oracle to those who seek guidance. Nah. Not that old.
However, because I have seen a thing or two, I have formed an opinion on a thing or two.
And as brevity is the soul of wit, here goes:
Be like a dog.
Before they finally crept out of the shadows and joined humans by their fires, dogs had been watching us closely. They are the foremost experts on human behavior in the world, but because their ability to speak is pretty much confined to “Arf,” and its synonyms, and a keyboard is out of the question, they do not publish learned articles in the American Journal of Psychology.
But they know stuff. Their survival as a species is inextricably tied to their knowledge of humans. How did that happen? Thousands of years of observation have somehow bred into the DNA of dogs the ability to “read” us. My partner and I have lived with dogs our entire lives, have enjoyed their company and their devotion, have wept over them when they passed, and would not have it any different. At present we have three fur babies: Sparky, Nina, and Sophie. Like most of the dogs in our life, they are very bright, have impressive vocabularies, and usually know what we are about before we do. How do they do this? By paying attention to everything we do or say, including body language and subtle sound cues we aren’t even aware of, not just words.
It works both ways, if we pay attention. They don’t have speech, but their behavior tells volumes. I still remember our sheltie mix, Florrie, as a puppy at the local rescue kennel. She was still small enough to sit in my hand, but had the wisest little face. I fell for her immediately. Her littermate, Vickie, had a completely different personality. They became inseparable, and both bonded to us. When we later lost Vickie, Florrie went into mourning for over a year. If only they could have spoken; but in many ways, they did, if we were paying attention.
So let me modify my advice, even more brief, two words:
Pay attention.
If you are an actor, it is your job. If you are simply waiting for your turn to speak, you don’t belong on that stage. All acting is reacting. If you are not paying attention, then you have no reason to be there. Find another line of work.
If you are not an actor, put away your iPhone, iPad, or whatever device takes you away from the world around you, and pay attention. You are missing out on real life.
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