What It Takes or Making Demands 0n Your (sweet) Self

Making demands on yourself is one of the keys to being a professional actor.

If you played the piano, you would have the music to tell you exactly how to play it. If you were a lawyer you would have, the law to dictate to you how to practice law. If you are in construction you, the laws of physics tell you how to properly build. As an actor, yes, you do have the story, the script, but how you play the story out - moment to moment - is up to you. You put this problem (the story and situation), this demand on your heart, mind and soul and it pours out in your performance. Yes?

You may read about acting, you may witness great acting in the moives, TV or live theater, however until you pick up a script, practice a role, and make the demand on yourself, to use the "work", the craft, and actually " act." Making the effort to become someone else - you are not acting, you are not learning acting, and will not become an accomplished actor until you make the effort and do it. And that is the end of that story.

First demand: How do I get myself in a position to act as often as possible? "I will ______________" You should fill in the blanks with doing theater, doing plays at home with friends, plays at school, acting class, AOW monologues on line and AOW evaluations, auditions, act for film student directors, making your own films. Be what I like to call a "self-starter."

The writers, the director, the producers, and the audience, all make demands on the actor. They ask the actor to give out with a performance, "tell us the story" let it speak to us through you, do it, act it out for us. Why? Because they can't! ONLY an actor can do this task.

However every one of us know that until we turn that demand on ourselves -- nothing, nothing is coming out of your heart, your soul, let alone your mouth. How it comes out, how you interpret the story, express and perform this task of "acting" is directly related to the demands you make on yourself NOW. It is directly related to what degree of passion and depth that you study acting.


How hard you study now. How often you act now. Exploring and comparing acting theories, learning from every mistake, every success, but you MAINLY LEARNING ACTING BY DOING!

It does not matter if it is acting you do in front of an audience of two thousand fans or for us at AOW and a camera of one. Doing it is ultra important to your using AOW to your greatest benefit or any acting class to your benefit.

Stepping into that ethereal special world known as "acting" where for an immeasurable moment a percentage of your being is not you but some new created being that only exists because you demanded that it exist. It is close to Godliness.

It is true creation, from the first act curtain to the last bow. So special a thrill that it is hard to put into words, or explain to non-believers but as all actors know -- makes acting addictive. We long to do it again and again and again. (That is why we need a strong union because we love it so we would do it free. What an ugly thought.)

One delightful older French actress, her beauty still evident, expressed to me her theory about acting - "It is a holy triangle," she said in her lovely accent - The Actor experiencing on stage, the Audience sharing in the experince, and God looking down on his creations, on stage and in the audience forming a triangle of energy and thought, a holy concept only in live theater. An ancient and holy concept that was probably performed before there was the written word and certainly long before vaudeville and TV and moives. (makes us begin to see how improtant a good crew is.)

Iin conclusion "acting" this holy experience does not happen until you the actor make that demand of yourself to use the craft. TO DO IT.

Unless you are acting in theater, in a workshop, in an acting class, or making a film, you should take advantage of Acting On The Web and send in your monologues. (Listen to Jane Jenkins.)

The growth of practicing and recording your performing before a camera is in itself of great value to your acting and learning the acting craft. Which on it's face may look easy but achieving it on a level of critical and mass approval, of achieving something close to brilliant on a continuing basis is not at all easy but in fact is as difficult as making a hit record, or sinking a hole in one.

If join AOW you will be inspired, you will learn a great deal about acting. You will be versed in the highest ideals about acting - a very important ingredient to sticking it out and making it as a professional actor.

Demand of yourself the task of actually acting, doing one of our monologues, or being in a live class, I do not see how you can become competant at acting, become a consistently good actor... one worthy of being paid money, even if you do already know how to act "naturally" as some people claim.

I mean it is possible... but not really. Why risk it, it is wiser to study hard, do what is asked of you, and make that demand of yourself and have the security of really knowing what you are doing when you audition, when you perform. With the knowledge acting will continue to be a pleasure and not be come painful. You will always have fear but you will know how to work, how to have the "acting state of mind" so that fear is part of the job and just a fun challenge.

In the end let me say learning a mentally healthy way of making demands on yourself and delivering the rewards of achievement and recognition back to yourself will help you in every aspect of living no matter what career path you choose or that chooses you.

Invest in your talent today and join us here at AOW the only real acting class and experience on the Internet. Isn't your talent and future worth it. If you don't learn much more than you do now about the acting craft. You can get your money back. You have my word. So don't waste another day. Learn to make a demand on yourself and you will collect the rewards.

Acting On The Web - Don't Leave Home To Act - Not yet anyway.

Break a leg,

Frank Cavestani, Your Director

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