From Conception to Life: An Actor's Artist Statement

One of my acting teachers used to say that acting is a tacit knowledge in that it is hard to define to an outsider perspective but is readily understandable to those who are actively participating in the artform. Because of this principle, it becomes difficult to objectively and artistically discern my work as an actor. It becomes even more difficult to attempt a clever, articulate explanation of the working process when that process I undertake is never the same for each work. The process is fluid, ever-changing and constantly deviating to meet the complexities of the role. However, the purpose of the work remains the same: to authentically and truthfully replicate a specific human condition and experience in the given realities of a story's environment.

The process begins as a conception of the character and how they serve the story at large. After an initial reading of the text, I undergo a detail-oriented exploration and analysis of the character including their specific desires, needs and behavior. This initial step in the process offers a blueprint and outline for the character in the confines of the story that I can always refer to later. Furthermore, this first step is the only part of the process that remains constant in practice. It is not until after the beginning pre-developmental stage where my process fluctuates to accommodate the specific nuances of the role.

The next step is always the most difficult: the transition from the conception of the character to a living form. That's not to say the character as written comes to life, however, my interpretation of the role enables the character to actualize in reality. Up to this point, the work has been internalized; a visualization of who and what the character is. Now, the process externalizes and the character manifests itself through the agency of my body. The character does not completely envelop and take control my senses, however, it becomes more than just a figment of the author's creative penmanship. The character's voice is heard vicariously through me, the actor, and by doing so, it takes on the illusion of reality.

In the end, a given text remains ink on the page. It is up to the actor to undertake the necessary steps to make the character the closest form to a living, breathing being. The most effective actor can offer themselves up as vehicles for the character's actualization but in the end, the actor is still in control of their own creation. In my work, I attempt to offer this illusion of a real-life being created by the writer through my own interpretation of the character without sacrificing my own control in the artistic process.