NON-ACTING PRINCIPLES THAT STRENGTHEN YOUR ACTING- By Nick Maccarone
The work we do as actors is incredibly important. A common problem that we face is that your focus can become so linear that you can fail to gain any perspective on the bigger picture at hand. Sometimes the advice we are told may seem like it has nothing to do with acting, but everything we see and hear can help us on this journey. The following are some tips to help empower you, showing you how your experiences and insights can help with your acting.
1. Lifelong learning
It’s very important to diversify your knowledge. We all read the plays, scripts and countless books on acting, but try to branch out and read about history, philosophy, psychology, science and leadership. The more you learn, the more you should feel compelled to lead a richer life. Acting alone shouldn’t define who you are.
2. Travel
There isn’t much that can compare to visiting a foreign country, but you don’t need your passport to spend an afternoon walking around a public garden. Each place, near or far, will offer you a chance to challenge the assumptions you feel. And you will find that the greatest lesson will simply be the importance of following your own curiosity and protecting your inner tourist.
3. Service
It doesn’t matter if you’re serving food at a homeless shelter or tutoring at an after school program, society will always work better when we all help each other out. Even if it seems only small. Through volunteering you will discover that there will always be someone who has a harder life and that helping people help themselves gives integrity to your ambition. Helping challenged communities can offer you perspective. If all of a sudden you find out that you didn’t get a call back for the job you wanted, it’s not the end of the world.
4. Define success on your own terms
It’s amazing if you have a friend or family member who manages to keep a full-time job while still finding time to sing, act, write or play. True success is becoming truly great at something you love to do, and attainment of your goal is not the point but rather who you become in it’s pursuit. From then you start to recognise the accomplishments you had previously overlooked and realised that you are already living the dream.
5. Create
It can be frustrating, but the “perfect part” is never going to fall into your lap- you need to create it. With action will come an awakening to your potential. Thanks to the remarkable power of technology, you have no excuse not to get started. Today, all you need is a smartphone and an idea. You can get your voice out into the world and it won’t be about how many hits you get or the amount of followers you have, but the satisfaction you get from starting and finishing something important to you.
6. Allow for change
What you want at twenty will be so different than what you want at forty. It doesn’t mean you’ve quit a dream, it just means that you have evolved and what you value most in your life has now changed. Voice, movement and acting class actually have little to do with acting. Instead, try to take more risks, speak your minds, be lifelong learners, and do something kind for someone else, not just yourself. If you were fortunate in this endeavour, you may become great actors along the way. The main point is to be open and welcoming to where life might take you.