Stop Trying to be Interesting

STOP TRYING T0 BE INTERESTING

Please

Stop trying to be interesting

Let me explain :)

This question has come up a bit recently

How can I be interesting?

How can I make interesting choices?

How can I stand out from the others?

How can I be a rebel and make dangerous choices?

First things first

Rebels are just as boring as sheep 

Why?

They are predictable

A sheep does what the group does

A rebel does the opposite 

Predictable 

And predictable is the opposite of alive

Therefore

Boring

Next

Let’s look at an actor who is wanting to make “interesting choices”

Who is wanting to “stand out from the crowd”

Well

Right from the get go

The actor has given their power away

Why?

Well, who determines if the choice is interesting or not?

Exactly

It’s something external to ourselves

I might think I have made the most interesting, unique, dangerous choice in the history of acting

But the kid in the front row eating his bag of crisps might stare back at me and yawn out of tremendous boredom (true story)

Therefore

The kid is the one who determines if my choice is actually interesting or not

This is outside of my control

And the chances are then

I’m up for an exhausting journey 

I’ll go to sleep happy if the kid stands up on their chair and cheers for me because they’re enthralled by my choices 

But the flip side is that I’ll go to sleep disappointed if he takes another crunchingly-loud mouthful of crips because the bag is more interesting than my work.

Big ups and downs

Not very sustainable 

So

To be clear

Interesting choices are a result which is out of our control

Let’s let go of the results here and go back to process

Let’s look at the experts 

What is unanimously the most dangerous, interesting, unique thing an actor can do?

Be. Present.

An actor who is present is alive

Now, THAT is a goal worth working towards

However

One can not instantaneously become present just by thinking “C’mon Michael, be present dammit!”

Presence itself is a bi-product, a result 

So

The question then becomes…

What is a process that results in presence?

What can I actually DO in this moment, right now

In order to help me move into a place of presence?

Breathe

Breath = presence 

If I can go back to my breath

I can become present

And being present means I can genuinely react to my given circumstance 

DAYEM

Now, I love that actors go out of their way to have a “character’s secret” or copy Brando and make their "character’s animal" an English bulldog that’s been shot in the throat for dramatic effect

But when it comes to skills I truly believe are worth investing in

That will actually result in the improvement and progression of their craft

I still have not come across something more valuable than breath

So please

The next time an acting teacher says to you 

“Make interesting choices”

(which I believe is equivalent to saying “hey just be amazing but I don’t actually know how to help you do that”)

Go back to process

Breathe

Your breath will help you move into a state of presence

Your presence will help you listen, react, speak truthfully and in general, come to life!

And you being alive… you living in front of the lens and reacting truthfully…

Mmm

That’ll do pig 

That’ll do

So

Stop trying to be interesting

Instead

Breathe 

And let the results take care of themselves 

Hope this helps

X 

Sheasby 

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