“It’s important to present oneself as relaxed and confident..”

Gabriel Byrne commented that the audition process “is really a most inadequate way to determine if an actor is right or not for a particular role. Unfortunately, it’s a situation that most actors have to accept.

“Work on developing an unshakable trust in yourself and your talent. It’s important to present oneself as relaxed and confident even when you don’t feel it.”

From the book: How to Get the Part… Without Falling Apart! by Margie Haber

Quote from the page Acting3
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Photo from “In Treatment.”

Too much of a good thing

In her LAcasting.com article Relax into acting, Colleen Wainwright notes, “It’s great to have a little fire in your belly. But if you’re reading this, my guess is that your problem, if you have one, lies in the other direction. Because too much ambition, ferocity, gung-ho-ness is death to good acting, bad for the health, and not particularly attractive in an audition situation either.”

She adds, “We’ve all seen it: that high-strung actor who’s so intent on saying his next line, he’s barely listening for his cue. Or maybe (ahem) you’ve actually been that person on stage, having a scene go by you in a blur, kicking yourself for letting the scene play you instead of the other way around.

“For the speed-meisters, the simplest, easiest ‘hack’ to help you regain control of yourself in the moment is literally to stop yourself ever so briefly before responding in a scene. Take a beat and take in your partner, or, if it’s a monologue, the situation; let yourself check in with how you’re feeling and how your partner is feeling before moving on.

See her article for more suggestions.

Intensity vs anxiety

It isn’t that high energy is “wrong” – it is sometimes called intensity or excitability. Giftedness consultant Lesley Sword describes this in her article Overexcitabilities in Gifted Children as “an abundance of physical, sensual, creative, intellectual and emotional energy that can result in creative endeavours as well as advanced emotional and ethical development in adulthood. Overexcitabilities feed, enrich, empower and amplify talent.”

But there seems to be an enduring mythology about creative inspiration and performing as an actor, for example, that it benefits from an “edge” of nervous tension or even anxiety.

Creativity coach and author Eric Maisel, PhD comments in our interview Ten Zen Seconds (about his new book) that this really is a false and distorting idea: “It isn’t at all clear that tension or anxiety is what’s needed for peak performance and lifelong creativity,” he says.

“They may be unavoidable by-products of the difficulties that we face as we try to do large things and connected to our fear of failing, fear of making messes and mistakes, and so on, but they are not beneficial per se.

Passion without anxiety

“You want enthusiasm, passion, love, curiosity, interest, and so on to inform your work and to exist right in the moment, in the performance moment or the creative moment, while at the same reducing (or eliminating) your fears, worries, anxieties, and so on.

“Creating is not an energy-neutral state: it is a high energy state, with, at its healthiest, enthusiasm and not anxiety driving its engine.”

From my post To create we need high energy – not anxiety.

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Also see Overcoming Stage Fright and other Anxiety Relief Solutions, and Self-esteem Products / Programs.
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Many people, maybe most, want to avoid anxiety, fear and other “stressful” feelings. Except for the occasional roller coaster ride.

But talented actors (and other artists) often use those kinds of feelings to guide and energize their work.

Julia Stiles [left] says she chooses projects based on “ways I need to be stretched as an actor. I wouldn’t want to keep doing the same thing over and over again, which is one reason I wanted to do this play [Fran's Bed].

“I wanted go back onstage in a way that’s different from anything I’ve ever experienced before. That’s the way I look at movies, too. I think you can get into a comfort zone as an actor and I try to break out of that.” [broadway.com interview]

Fear can be energizing

Sandra Bullock has said, “I don’t do anything anymore that feels safe. If it doesn’t scare the crap out of you, then you’re not doing the right thing.”

Audra McDonald thinks “The most important thing for me as an actress is to be fearless and to challenge myself. Acting in TV and film forces me outside of my comfort zone.”

Choreographer Twyla Tharp thinks “terror, loathsome as it is, is very energizing. To channel that, to call it excitement, enthusiasm, curiosity, maybe that’s not a bad thing.”

When fear is disabling

Sometimes, of course, fear or anxiety such as stage fright can be disrupting or disabling if it gets too extreme. It may be a matter of perspective, of how you label and think about your inner experiences.

But creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD notes in his article “The way that we say things…” that we have “our little linguistic tricks” that can hide anxiety that we really would be better off dealing with – “tricks” like saying, “I can’t see the point in auditioning for that – I’m just not the type.”

Related book: The Performance Anxiety Workbook – by Eric Maisel

Also see Anxiety Relief Products / Programs.

Also see Self-esteem Products / Programs.

anxiety self-help, anxiety products, anxiety and actors, anxiety relief products

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Amanda Bynes, talking about going to college, commented, “I have such a busy mind and it’s really hard for me to do one thing at a time. I can’t only be acting. I have to either be reading something or drawing. It’s hard for me to sit still.”

Finding it “hard to sit still” is what Heath Ledger talks about as “nervous energy” [see post 3.07.2006 below] and having “such a busy mind” is another form of “excitability” or “overexcitability” – summarized by giftedness consultant Lesley Sword [in her article Overexcitabilities in Gifted Children] as “an abundance of physical, sensual, creative, intellectual and emotional energy that can result in creative endeavours as well as advanced emotional and ethical development in adulthood. Overexcitabilities feed, enrich, empower and amplify talent.”

Amanda Bynes continues [in the article in CollegeBound Teen, Spring 06] that going to college is “not so much about graduating as much as it is trying to keep myself educated by taking different types of courses,” possibly including literature and art.

She sees acting as “a job. It’s not my life. I don’t need this. I love that I love to do it, but I could find another job if it started to change me.”

Exploring your talents off stage, off the set, and being aware of how acting is impacting you mentally and spiritually, can help make you a more complete and healthy person, and a more potent actor.

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“Sometimes I find it hard sitting still, usually when I’m in the spotlight or even in rehearsal. My nervous energy comes streaking out of my fingerprints. My hands go all over the place.” [Los Angeles Times, March 5 2006]

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Psychomotor Excitability is lots of physical energy and movement, fast talking, lots of gestures, sometimes nervous tics… Excitability is a higher than average capacity for experiencing internal and external stimuli, based on a higher than average responsiveness of the nervous system.

From description of the personality development theory of Kazimierz Dabrowski, MD, PhD. – see the page Dabrowski / advanced development

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Heath Ledger, acting and high sensitivity, Dabrowski excitability, acting nervous energy

“I love to act because it’s the only aspect of my life beside God and family that I am truly passionate about on a daily basis.”

Michael Ealy [currently in the Showtime series “Sleeper Cell”] continues, “I thank God for not only the gift of creative expression but also surrounding me with others who both possess the gift and support it to the fullest.” [imdb.com]

A number of writers have emphasized these spiritual and emotional dimensions of creativity and personal success. Wayne Dyer says people he calls connectors have developed a “harmonious connection with the field of intention.. have made themselves available for success… they’re always in a state of gratitude.” [one of his books: The Power of Intention]

Exuberance and hypomania

Psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison notes hypomania, a kind of cousin to passion, can be creative fuel, and thinks “A passion for life, an exuberant temperament, allows people to do things they wouldn’t be able to do if they didn’t have it.” [book: Exuberance : The Passion for Life]

Passion breeds success

Entrepreneurs – including actors – who love what they do “are more apt to be successful,” notes writer and workshop leader Valerie Young. She adds in her article 10 Steps to Escape the Job World and Create the Life You Really Want that you can discover your passion “by paying attention to situations or things that grab and keep your attention. … What types of things did you love to do as a child? What kinds of characteristics or talents do others compliment you on?”

In her article 5 Steps to Goal Setting Success, Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler says “Many, many scientific studies have shown that intense emotion (passion) is a key success tool. PLUS (and this is really a *big* plus), intense passion will also help you rapidly override any inappropriate old “failure messages” stored in your subconscious mind.”

> related pages: passion … spirituality
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