Hi Harold Ferré I am not understanding how your comment relates to the post. Can you explain how a bad plot makes you afraid you can't pull off playing your character?
I'm not actually afraid of anything in a script. I bring everything I can to each role I take,,and then expected the director to lead to the place he/she needs me to be. Every emotion possible I've done, so that doesn't worry me. Maybe weapons, that's a place that I get concerned about depending on the training the company will give me.
Think of yourself as having a multiple personality disorder and it will pry the door wide open. It's what they call method acting - visualize the character, step into his shoes and you're rocking ~~~
I do not think at my age (senior) I am afraid of anything performative anymore. To be honest, nothing would scare me to do, reveal, perform. I could not say this about my younger self.
Without overthinking it one key thing I find challenging, not scary but challenging, is either physical transformations or accent changes.
Thanks to Head of Community, Ashley Renee Smith for providing the answer in her email. Cheating? Oh well hah.
I was in a community theatre production of the 1967 film, Wait Until Dark, in 2018, playing the lead villain, Roat. He tries tricking Audrey Hepburn's blind lady into thinking three separate people are visiting her on different occasions, in order to steal some expensive possessions. One of those three people is a 70+ year-old man.
I was highly concerned about how to make the audience understand the co-star playing Hepburn's blind character, knew someone was trying to get in the apartment by faking other identities. She later reveals knowing this to a safe contact.
I chose to walk slower, make my voice husky and my footsteps "clumps" instead of my young, silent steps.
No pain, no gain...!!! No fear, so hold my beer...!!! I am typically ready to stand & deliver. Concerns only arise when the script does not match the character (e.g., Wallstreet Investor, Ivy league graduate, Rhodes scholar who grew up in the hood and speaks Ebonics fluently and authentically.... WHAT???). My other concerns are dance routines. That's when I pray that weeks are allowed to master the routine or have a stand-in who can move better than Jagger.
I could have answered this question more easily 10 or 15 years ago. However, in that i am now what one might refer to as an "agèd" actor, any fear is considerably less pervasive than it used to be. At my age, in that I am limited to certain character roles, the biggest fear rarely lies in the dialogue or its delivery, but in the physical directions therein. A role that appears to be too physically demanding, leads me to refuse even the audition. Nevertheless, roles suitable to my age, appearance, style, language and emotion delivery, foreign language abilities, and general knowledge which allow me to be creative without being heavily physical, are still fun to play. However, in that I have become a screenwriter in these last two years, the only fear I have, is that my lack of experience. may be easily seen in the script. My screenwriting partner and I are working very hard to keep that fear in abeyance. We'll see!!! Cheers!
For me, it’s not a specific scene or emotion — it’s the moment where the character becomes completely honest.
Not dramatic honesty, but quiet, internal truth. The kind that isn’t performed, but revealed.
That’s the part that feels the most challenging, because it requires letting go of control — and trusting that stillness can carry just as much weight as action.
I think Viola Davis said it well for me "When you critique a behavior, but not having the motivating factor behind the behavior" Now make that your reality. It put a halt when it came to audition for roles. What if you don't have the motivating factor? or worse. You can't critique the necessary behavior you need to have for that audition.
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For me, it's all about the plot, nothing but the plot. A story without a solid foundation is a stillborn story.
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Who offers other opinions?
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Hi Harold Ferré I am not understanding how your comment relates to the post. Can you explain how a bad plot makes you afraid you can't pull off playing your character?
1 person likes this
I'm not actually afraid of anything in a script. I bring everything I can to each role I take,,and then expected the director to lead to the place he/she needs me to be. Every emotion possible I've done, so that doesn't worry me. Maybe weapons, that's a place that I get concerned about depending on the training the company will give me.
Bill
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I am not afraid of anything. If I apply for a role means that I recon that I can give it the right character.
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Think of yourself as having a multiple personality disorder and it will pry the door wide open. It's what they call method acting - visualize the character, step into his shoes and you're rocking ~~~
1 person likes this
I do not think at my age (senior) I am afraid of anything performative anymore. To be honest, nothing would scare me to do, reveal, perform. I could not say this about my younger self.
2 people like this
Without overthinking it one key thing I find challenging, not scary but challenging, is either physical transformations or accent changes.
Thanks to Head of Community, Ashley Renee Smith for providing the answer in her email. Cheating? Oh well hah.
I was in a community theatre production of the 1967 film, Wait Until Dark, in 2018, playing the lead villain, Roat. He tries tricking Audrey Hepburn's blind lady into thinking three separate people are visiting her on different occasions, in order to steal some expensive possessions. One of those three people is a 70+ year-old man.
I was highly concerned about how to make the audience understand the co-star playing Hepburn's blind character, knew someone was trying to get in the apartment by faking other identities. She later reveals knowing this to a safe contact.
I chose to walk slower, make my voice husky and my footsteps "clumps" instead of my young, silent steps.
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No pain, no gain...!!! No fear, so hold my beer...!!! I am typically ready to stand & deliver. Concerns only arise when the script does not match the character (e.g., Wallstreet Investor, Ivy league graduate, Rhodes scholar who grew up in the hood and speaks Ebonics fluently and authentically.... WHAT???). My other concerns are dance routines. That's when I pray that weeks are allowed to master the routine or have a stand-in who can move better than Jagger.
3 people like this
I could have answered this question more easily 10 or 15 years ago. However, in that i am now what one might refer to as an "agèd" actor, any fear is considerably less pervasive than it used to be. At my age, in that I am limited to certain character roles, the biggest fear rarely lies in the dialogue or its delivery, but in the physical directions therein. A role that appears to be too physically demanding, leads me to refuse even the audition. Nevertheless, roles suitable to my age, appearance, style, language and emotion delivery, foreign language abilities, and general knowledge which allow me to be creative without being heavily physical, are still fun to play. However, in that I have become a screenwriter in these last two years, the only fear I have, is that my lack of experience. may be easily seen in the script. My screenwriting partner and I are working very hard to keep that fear in abeyance. We'll see!!! Cheers!
2 people like this
Great question, Suzanne.
For me, it’s not a specific scene or emotion — it’s the moment where the character becomes completely honest.
Not dramatic honesty, but quiet, internal truth. The kind that isn’t performed, but revealed.
That’s the part that feels the most challenging, because it requires letting go of control — and trusting that stillness can carry just as much weight as action.
2 people like this
I think Viola Davis said it well for me "When you critique a behavior, but not having the motivating factor behind the behavior" Now make that your reality. It put a halt when it came to audition for roles. What if you don't have the motivating factor? or worse. You can't critique the necessary behavior you need to have for that audition.