BE PREPARED

Chapter Five

Be Prepared

    I realized, as a young performer, that the best thing I could do was to develop a workable technique, one that would produce reliable results, so that my work would not be left up to chance or intuition, and that I could be trusted to deliver a valuable contribution and product to the project at hand. So I prepared myself by moving to New York City, and studying with Uta Hagen, and later with Mira Rostova, and Robert Lewis. As wonderful as those years were, I was unhappy and unprepared for the work I would do in the coming years. So I looked around for more training, especially with professionals who also were educators. I understand that many actors do their craft and may or may not know exactly what they do, but rely on their imaginations and intuition. My experience showed me that my intuition was not always accurate, and that for certain roles, it didn’t help me find the special significance that helped me get the message across. In the middle of a run in New York, I discovered that the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art was holding auditions for their one year postgraduate course in the classics. That was the major turning point of my life, when I presented seven out of nine monologues to them, only to be surprised that they would invite me to join them in London! I was truly prepared for that moment. So my advice to performers is have an entire resume of audition pieces on hand. Be Prepared! You never know when someone will want to see what you have to offer.   That motto has stayed with me my entire life, and has helped me deal with criticism, disorder and discouragement.

Dealing with criticism and discouragement   One encounters all of these in high school, college, graduate school and in the professional arena of stage, film and television. Rather than react to discouragement, criticism and negativity, one largely ignores them and the people who present them. It’s best to consider such people non-existent. One should prepare for the occasional criticism, discouragement and negative reactions that can come along. It is one’s sole responsibility to protect oneself from anything or anyone who would act to suppress or discourage us from doing what we like and love. It’s best to have control over destiny as our thoughts and reactions shape our futures. 
   I had spent much time trying to understand why people would be critical and try to discourage me from living the dream I had as a young man. I read books, attended lectures, sought out others who had experienced setbacks and were confused and even dismayed. There was a time, when I was in the Navy, that I adopted two identities, one as a sailor and another as an interested college student, pretending to attend classes and doing homework.
That deception eventually caught up to me, and a wise man from a local church said I didn’t have to do that. He said all I needed to do was to confront the person or people and disagree with the premise that they were right! All I needed to do was to stand up for who I am, and know what I believed, and just live my life based on that belief, and eventually the “naysayer” would believe me and either ignore me or acknowledge me for who I am. It didn’t matter to me that everyone would not like me. I had to live my life unfettered by the concerns of the few who were critical of me. I had to learn that there would be those who were attracted to me, who agreed with my unique viewpoint, and were interested in finding out more.

Making positive choices    As a performer, this operating basis became valuable to me, and to the people around me. Making positive choices is the only way to proceed as an actor, because people (characters) naturally consider themselves right, no matter what they do. Critics may have harsh words for them, but from their unique and interesting viewpoint, they believe themselves and their actions as true and righteous. Even Shakespeare’s Richard III believes, because of his deformity and ill fortune, he had to assert himself by killing others in order to gain popularity and control of his world. It’s a matter of viewpoint.

How to start a professional career    Whenever a young performer asks me for advice on how to get started, I say the same thing, over and over, “You need to develop a workable technique and a body of prepared songs and monologues that you can perform at the drop of a hat.” Once you gather those audition pieces, you’ll want to find your way into auditions for work, and it doesn’t matter much where the performance will take place, in a theatre or a church or a store front, as long as you can perform in front of an audience, any audience, even if it is in a retirement home. We recommend you perform as often as you can, because your improvement is dependent upon the number of performances you do. Performances prepare you for the many eventualities and situations that are possible, including sickness, accidents, conflicts and discouragement.
You need to become a master over any and all distractions in order to be a valuable contributor to the industry. Being able to focus your attention amidst chaotic events makes you into a leader that people can follow and emulate. That takes a lot of preparation to achieve that status.     Some performers go from one venue to another, from theatre to film and television, from one theatre to several others, and there is no special way to build a career. A good friend of mine, back when I started my career at Berkeley Repertory Company, stayed with the company for ten years until someone from Los Angeles spotted him and invited him to audition for a television series, "Hill Street Blues."  That jump started his career. I was too impatient and bounced around from theatre to theatre until a director saw me in Richard II and asked me to play R.P. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which started my professional career.

Dealing with the issues of talent   Preparation comes in many ways. When one has talent, having discipline can be a problem. One can also lack diligence and perseverance, as it is easy to consider oneself invincible and can do no wrong. One feels it’s easy to get away with more things, being special and unique, and therefore more difficult to replace. That is an assumption one should not adopt. Having too many assumptions can be dangerous, as you can “burn your bridges” easily in this business. It is just too risky to let something like that happen and wind up “black listed” by the director or producer. Use the talent as a wonderful gift that can be shared by many people. Place attention 
Be a problem solver
   Being a problem solver is important in any team activity, and performing is certainly a team sport. It takes an entire company of performers, coaches, technicians, designers and producers to create a wonderful performance. Everyone needs to contribute by being supportive, helpful, and keenly aware of the role you play in creating the whole story. We are story tellers par excel lance. In order for the story to be told, each valuable part must be delivered without incident, without errors, mishaps and miscues. Part of our preparation is to understand the rhythm, pace and meaning of the work. We need to understand the desired message we are sending out, bearing the right degree of importance and significance. Whatever we do, we need to prepare ourselves for the task, bearing in mind that we are not there to create problems, but to solve them.

Find a good mentor   There are many situations we will not have answers for, and it is beneficial to find a mentor or person who can be trusted to help. Not everyone is eager to help, however. Seek out those helpers in every company, and usually one or two of them will be there to ask for guidance. It is not easy to ask for help, but it is often necessary. It is a humbling moment when you need to ask for help, but know we all need help from time to time, and there is no shame attached to asking for it. If someone shuns you when you ask for help, find a willing participant who wants to contribute to the production, no matter what position the person holds in the organization. I recall asking a stage hand for help making an entrance, as I saw no way to get around the moving scenery in time to make my entrance. That man went out of his way to alter the motions he made to provide me with a clear path to the stage. Again, some people know it is a team activity and respond amazingly well.

Read as much as is possible   Preparing your mind is another area of growth which is important to the performer. Sir Lawrence Olivier was told by Dame Judith Anderson to increase his abilities as a reader, that he needed to read more, especially histories to develop his mind and imagination in order to succeed as a performer. He discovered the world of research! He became one of the world’s finest actors ever after that. He realized he had to prepare his mind to understand the variety of roles and viewpoints he would adopt. Even as Hamlet, a role often laden with criticism and disgust for his uncle and mother, Olivier found positive choices to guide him through the process of “setting the world right.” 
   Read historical accounts and read philosophy. Read to discipline the mind as one fills the stomach. Ponder all the thoughts as they come up. Gain a full understanding of the situation.
    Ask how such thoughts might be interpreted and communicated. Study and appreciated the stories available. Delineate the thoughts by writing other thoughts prompted by them.
   It is the thoughts we have that shape our futures. Thoughts attract vibrations which alter the nature of the physical universe and create new realities. By preparing our thoughts, we protect ourselves against adversity, falling into deep traps, and failing to produce the desired results we want to achieve. Use the thoughts to prepare for the tasks ahead.