Tag: Comedy Books

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“Five Approaches To Acting” Quotes

I just finished reading Five Approaches to Acting by David Kaplan. Here’s the parts I found most interesting:

“The five approaches to acting are: identifying tasks, playing episodes, building images, learning the world of the play, and telling a story.” (xxiii)

“The essence of Stanislavsky’s thinking is that behavior and emotions are functions of wanting ot do something for a purpose on the stage.” (4)

“When you don’t know what to do in performance and rehearsal – or when an unforeseen circumstance happens – you can always fall back on the spine of the character, or hope that the super-task will swoop down from your thoughts and save you from disaster.” (18)

“When you define character by obstacles, you don’t define what you need, you define what you do when you don’t get what you need.” (23)

“The key to recreating a living truth on the stage: don’t copy the form of truth; repeat the structure of relationships that go you to the truth.” (24)

“Talent is a relative term. The ability to make love to the camera, for example, was not a recognized talent until film acting called for it.” (27)

“Although the character is an illusion, the emotions of the character are not. You experience real emotions onstage when you play your actions and attempt to accomplish your tasks.” (39)

“In his novel Resurrection, Tolstoy writes:
One of the most widespread superstitions is that every man has his own special, definite qualities; that a man is kind, cruel, wise, stupid, energetic, apathetic, etc. men are not like that. We may say of a man that he is more often kind than cruel, oftener wise than stupid, oftener energetic than apathetic, or the reverse; but it would be false to say of one man that he is kind and wise, of another that he is wicked and foolish. And yet we always classify mankind in this way. And this is untrue. Men are like rivers: the water is the same in each, and alike in all; but every river is narrow here, is more rapid there, here slower, there broader, now clear, now cold, now dull, now warm. It is the same with men. Every man carries in himself the germs of every quality, and sometimes one manifests itself, sometimes another, and the man often becomes unlike himself, while still remaining the same man.” (39)

“Many people think a rehearsal process is a series of less bad performances. Their process is to criticize each rehearsal in order to eliminate more and more bad choices until, after painstaking attacks, the choices become stage-worth. A rehearsal process need not be a savage removal of bad choices, but a steady build-up of good and better choices. During productive rehearsals you plant the seeds of what works, watch what flourishes, and encourage what is successful so that it can overtake what isn’t. if you find something that succeeds, the chances are good you will abandon what doesn’t. What doe not help will often drop away naturally.” (42)

“Your earliest responses in rehearsal are like pencil sketches. The historical process of rehearsal and of art (and of life, by the way) is such that all sketches build depth to your eventual choices, even if they are replaced later by more effective ones.” (42)

[During read throughs:] “End and begin sentences with your eyes on the other person, not on the book.” (43)

“As with good lying, acting is slipping in a few untruths among many truths.” (43)

“For dealing with overly dramatic people in life: Let them have their little or gigantic fit. When they’re out of breath, you can pounce.” (45)

“It was intended by Stanislavsky that his audience have compassion for the actions of the actors. No character should be seen as a villain or a hero, but only as a human being with recognizable hopes, dreams, and ambitions with which the audience can identify.” (46)

“No art form, including acting, has any one way of working, any one true method.” (58)

“Episodic acting is where the play is best acted in segments, carefully separated from each other, without continuity.” (62)

“Brecht and Piscator said the actor should prod the audience to judge the action, not seduce them into sharing the character’s emotions. Empathy would confuse the audience about what was going on.” (76)

“Playing oppositions frees actors from thinking that inconsistent behavior is a puzzle to be solved by the revelation of consistent need. Playing oppositions makes incongruity fun, not a problem; the tension of contradiction makes such theater theatrical.” (81)

“As a society and as individuals, we all enter into contracts we don’t recognize, yet these transactions determine our lives.” (103)

“That sums up the intention of episodic acting: play so that everyone in the theater understands.” (116)

“Sarah Bernhardt’s body was unusually thin. She was teased about her thinness as a girl and ridiculed for it as a woman – until her own fame made being slim fashionable.” (122)

“Without personal content, performances are essentially inhuman, even when they are technically proficient.” (124)

“The first use of imagery in rehearsal might be crude, or halting, or just plain wrong. But images get you started; that’s their usefulness. Images give momentum to rehearsals in ways that working towards a task does not. In painting, you have to start with bright color to get bright color.” (133)

“Remember not to deal with other people in life as clichés, but do deal with the characters you are about to play in that way – at first, anyway.” (133)

“Polus brought a funeral urn that contained his own dead son’s ashes onstage with him, so that when he had to weep, he’d have something to cry about.” (146)

“The post war era remembered nostalgically for its stability was also a time of suffocating conformity.” (148)

“The intelligence of a film performance is in the hands of the editor and director.” (154)

“D.W. Griffith ordered pins stuck into babies to make them cry.” (154)

“Personalization is substitution made to correspond with personal history. The question to be answered is not What is this like? but rather How is this like me? This “finding the character in yourself, rather than yourself in the character” can be developed into an art.” (157)

“An emotional narrative is a form of expression, not communication. It unblocks a feeling for the person telling the story, but it ignores the audience.” (160)

“You act AS IF you were reliving the events. You are NOT reliving them; you are remembering them… If you really were reliving uncontrollable rage, you’d forget your lines and smash the face of your partner like a doll. This is not being in the moment; this is being an amateur. The ability to control what you do is what makes you a professional.” (163)

“Care must be taken when using an image from your past not to discuss it – to keep its potency by using it only in performance. The more explicit you are in performance, the better; describing an image robs significance from the experience of acting it.” (163)

“Carry an object onto the stage with you that will be your hidden motor for your work. Keep it small; keep it hidden.” (163)

“As an actor you’re responsible for knowing your lines and not rewriting them because you can’t remember them. On the next level, you’re responsible for understanding what the words you say and listen to mean… The final responsibility, once you do understand what you are saying, is to communicate that understanding to an audience while you’re performing.” (170)

“These may or may not be the values of the audience members, or the playwright, or even of the onstage characters. They are the values of the world in which the play takes place.” (175)

“A big mistake – and a common one – is to think that every character you play is wise, beautiful, strong, and a winner.” (179)

“The environment in which the play was written is often more important for a world of the play analysis than the period in which the play is set.” (184)

“Answering these questions defines the rules of the world of the play:
In the world of this play, what is beautiful and what is ugly?
In the world of this play, what is strong and what is weak?
In the world of this play, what is wisdom and what is ignorance?
In the world of this play, what is skill and what is ineptitude?
In the world of this play, what is common and what is elite?
In the world of this play, what is good and what is evil?
In the world of this play, what is polite and what is not polite?
In the world of this play, how do people survive?
In the world of this play, how do people improve?
In the world of this play, how do people win or lose?” (195)

“The value of a world of the play analysis for the actor doesn’t lie in its ability to reproduce history or imitate reality, but in its ability to create meaning. The words and behavior seen and heard in a play by Moliere, as in any other play, are dramatically significant because they establish dramatic actions and human relationships.” (198)

“Too much concern for period detail can divert a performer’s attention form the search for the more significant pattern of the whole text.” (199)

“As an actor, it is important you break the rules without calling attention to yourself or winking at the audience that you know better. Usually, the character breaks the rules without thought to the consequences.” (210)

“A Spanish theory says the second-rate literature of a culture reveals more about that culture than the first-rate literature.” (216)

“If the script is open to only one interpretation – the playwright’s – it probably won’t surive its author’s death, if it lasts that long.” (222)

“The power to place an image in other people’s minds, and to make that image vivid enough to arouse listeners to emotions of their own, is rightly called casting a spell – spell being related to the German word spiel, for “story.”” (226)

“What the audience watches onstage is how the speaker is transformed by telling her story.” (228)

“Improvisers can change what they say to respond to the audience. Performers who honor the words of the text by speaking them as written can still alter the meaning of those words in order to respond.” (248)

“Exclusive reliance on form has its own limitations, as when an outer image tries to mask an inner hollowness.” (292)

In Long Day’s Journey into Night, Eugene O’Neil drew on his father to create a similar actor named James Tyrone. Late in the fourth act, when family secrets are spilling, the old man has this to say about himself:
… That God-damned play I bought for a song and made such a great success in – a great money success – it ruined me with its promise of an easy fortune. I didn’t want to do anything else, and by the time I woke up to the fact I’d become a slave to the damned thing.. I’d lose the great talent I once had through years of easy repetition, never learning a new part, never really working ..” (293)

“The founders and great practitioners of acting theories are more often than not synthesizers, not purists.” (296)

“Close-mindedness will prevent you from benefitting from what other people can give you, and over time, it will limit your expertise and freeze a supple response even in your chosen approach. Choosing more than one method is not a sign of weakness; it can be a sign of strength.” (297)

“Not every actor will be good at the same thing. It is self-sabotage to compare yourself with other actors’ skills.” (299)

“Seomtimes the speed and pressure of fast work bring out a bond-rattling intuitive response; sometimes a long time is just enough time to kill of good instincts and dull the spontaneity of execution.” (302)

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“The Art of War for Writers” Quotes

I recently read “The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises” by James Scott Bell. Here are the quotes I found most useful.

“I still read books on writing. My philosophy is if I find just one thing of value, even if it’s only a new take on something I already know, it’s worth it.” (2)

“Sun Tzu understood that it was the accumulation of small advantages that added up to long-term victory. You need to view your manuscripts the same way.” (4)

“In any enterprise, quality is job one. Quality is defined by two things: 1. Appeal of the workmanship 2. Absence of defects.” (5)

“David Ogilvy once put it, “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original unless you can also sell what you create.”” (9)

“Publishers want to publish novelists, writers who can build readerships and make money for the company over the long term. You need to position yourself as someone who can deliver the goods.” (10)

“The essentials of success for a long term writing career… desire, discipline, commitment to craft, patience, honesty, willingness to learn, business-like attitude, rhino skin, long-term view and talent. Talent is the least important. Everyone has some talent. It’s what you do with it that counts.” (11-13)

“A hero knows it takes hard work and a long time to get published; a fool thinks it should happen immediately, because he thinks he’s a hero already.” (16)

“A hero makes his luck; a fool cries about how unlucky he is.” (17)

“A hero recognizes the worth in others; a fool can’t believe others are worth more than he.” (17)

“A hero keeps writing, no matter what, knowing effort is its own reward; a fool eventually quits and complains that the world is unfair. Be a hero.” (17)

“It’s not the will to win that counts, but the will to prepare to win.” (18)

“Write a quota of words every week.” (18)

“Every moment spent whining about your writing career is a moment of creative energy lost.” (27)

“Status, worry, and comparison are ways to madness, not victory.” (33)

“To keep from turning off those who can publish you, you must not be desperate.” (37)

“Take one of your favorite writers, preferably one who has written a book in your genre, look in the mirror, and say, “Behold ____!” Then sit down and write.” (43)

“Playing an instrument, even badly, fires off neurons of creativity in the brain.” (44)

“Open a novel at random. Look at the first complete line on the left-hand page. Put that line in your book, and start a scene with it. After you’ve written the scene, cut the first line and substitute one of your own.” (44)

“The successful novelist will not worry about competition, but will concentrate only on the page ahead.” (47)

“Learn from the greats. Read and study those you admire. But never compare yourself to them. You are becoming the best you, not another them.” (48)

“Harlan Coben says, “if you’re not insecure about your writing, you’re either mailing in forgettable stuff or somebody else is writing for you.” (50)

“The next level holds those who write another novel, because the first one is probably going to be rejected. They do this, because they are novelists, not just someone who happened to write a novel.
Next are those who get published. Above that are those who are published multiple times.
At the very top is a Wheel of Fortune. This wheel goes around and lands on a book like Cold Mountain. Or The Shack. No one can control this.
Your job is to keep moving up the pyramid. Each level presents its own challenges, so concentrate on the ones right in front of you. As you move up, you’ll notice there are fewer people, not more. If you work hard, you might get a novel on the wheel, and that’s as far as you can get. After that, it’s not up to you anymore.” (52)

“Preston Sturges considered the possibility that all he had might be taken away and said, “When the last dime is gone, I’ll sit on the curb with a pencil and a ten-cent notebook, and start the whole thing all over again.” (54)

“The way to get a brilliant idea is to come up with lots of ides, then set aside the ones you don’t use. Set them aside, but don’t delete them. They may come in handy in another project entirely.” (57)

“Create your own stock of visual motivators. Put them where you write. Look at them when you don’t feel like writing, but know you must.” (59)
“I like to see a writer’s heart on the page.
Heart = passion + purpose.
Passion means heat. Strength of feeling.
Purpose means you know what you want the reader to feel when she gets to the end of your story.
Heart means direction passion so it serves your desired purpose.” (62)

“Finish your novel, because you learn more that way than any other.” (65)

“People may keep you from being a published author but no one can stop you from being a writer. All you have to do is write. And keep writing.” –Katherine Neville. (67)

“Melville can never be accused of writing mere fiction. He was going for it… There is too little time for anyone to be settling for mere fiction.” (69) [Or MERE jokes]

“A novelist takes the long view, the lofty view, and that does not include the price of eggs.” (70)

“Alfred Hitchcock’s axiom: “A good story is life, with the dull parts taken out.”” (72)

“Create characters readers will be drawn to and put them in desperate straits soon.” (72)

“Find ways to write without the infamous inner editor constantly shutting you down. Write hot, revise cool.” (76)

“When you write that first draft… write hard, write fast. Revise the previous day’s writing, then move ahead with what’s in front of you. That’s it. As fast as you comfortably can, until the first draft is done.” (77)

“A professional is someone who does his job, every day, even if he doesn’t feel like it.” (78)

“A pro is someone who writes, whether inspired or not, and keeps on writing.” (78)

“Publishers and agents invest in careers. They want ot know you can do this over and over again.” (78)

“Stephen King says he used to write 1,500 words a day, every day, except his birthday and the 4th of July.” (81)

“Writing “genius,” like any other kind, is 99 percent perspiration.” (81)

“Isaac Asimov, author/editor of seven hundred-plus books, was once asked what he would do if he knew he had only six months to live. “Type faster,” he said.” (83)

“Editors and agents are all looking for the “same thing” only “different.” That’s the elusive marketing angle that tells them: a) we can sell this because similar books have sold before; but b) there’s a freshness to it.” (86)

“Open up a new document and write for five minutes without stopping. Write a list of what can happen that’s worse, letting the thoughts come fast and furious. Don’t’ edit. Be as outrageous as you can be. Then stop, walk around for a couple of minutes, and come back and choose the idea you like best. Rewrite the scene now. Repeat the process for several other scenes.” (94-95)

“For your novel to blast off, your readers have to fall in love with your Lead character.” (96)

“First, figure out what the most positive characteristic of your Lead is… Now, list what battles against that characteristic… Next, create in your Lead’s background a reason for this struggle… Dramatize this, and you can well use the beat as a “reveal” in your novel.” (100)

“Remember, most inner struggle is not tied to the plot. It’s something the Lead brings to the plot from her past, and it is something she will carry with her throughout the story.” (101)

“A great premise will not stand without solid scenes to prop it up.” (107)

“Every scene should have that moment or exchange that is the focal point, the bull’s-eye, the thing you’re aiming at. If your scene doesn’t have a bull’s-eye, it should be cut or rewritten.” (113)

“Sometimes you’ll get stuck. When that happens, I use a pocket thesaurus. Say I’m writing about my character’s background. I need to know what her father did for a living. I pull out my thesaurus, open to a page at random, and take the first word my eyes fall upon. I read that word and all the synonyms. Invariably, I get a web of pictures and possibilities for whatever I’m looking for.” (114)

“People read to worry.” (119)

“People read because they want to have their emotions wrenched by the plight of a character to whom they feel emotionally connected. You do the connecting. You start connecting from paragraph one. If you want to sell your fiction, you must grab the emotions of the reader by putting a character in some kind of discomfort or danger or the possibility thereof. Immediately.” (120)

“The faster we worry about a character, the quicker the bond. And the greater our desire to turn the page.” (123)

“Editors tend to view dream openings with suspicion. I know some wildly successful writers have opened novels with a dream. After you sell eight gazillion copies, you can do it too.” (125)

“Give us the action first, then the setting information.” (127)

“Don’t wait too long to let the reader know why the scene is here, and why it is important.” (128)

“Saying “I love you” is manipulative and cliché. It’s a plea for sympathy. It’s flat. Instead, show your characters loving. Adding the words (or relying on them) actually dilutes the emotional content you’re going for.” (129)

“Characters all alone should do more than think.” (131)

“The Lead character should reach a point near the end where everything looks lost. This can be something outside or inside the character, or both.” (137)

“The Q Factor is something that is set up early in the story that will provide the necessary inspiration or instruction for the character when he needs it most.” (137)

“Backstory is what has happened before the present story begins, usually related to the Lead character’s history.” (142)

“Readers will happily wait a long time for the background if you have a character dealing with a disturbance. Using backstory judiciously is important because it helps bond the reader with the character. Backstory deepens that bond via emotion and sympathy.” (143)

“Go through your opening chapter and highlight every bit of backstory. Cut what can be delayed until later.” (149)

“John Howard Lawson said, “Dialogue must be viewed as a compression and extension of action.”” (152)

“Never have a character say anything that is unconnected to that character’s objective in a scene.” (152)

“Every character in every scene must have an objective, otherwise he shouldn’t be there. Replace him with a chair.” (152)

“Before you write a scene, review in your mind what each character wants at that moment in time.” (153)

“John Huston once remarked that the secret to a successful film was three great scenes, and no weak ones.” (160)

“Three scenes should be elevated relative to the rest. These scenes need to be packed with conflict, emotion, and surprise. All three. Conflict. Emotion. Surprise.” (161)

“A good comedy works when the characters in the comedy think they’re in a tragedy, but the audience knows they are not.” (163)

“You will be published, and compensated, to the degree a publisher sees you bringing value to their table.” (186)

“The market is set up to reward excellence. Although it is imperfect in this regard, you must become excellent to have a shot. You must constantly strive to be better.” (189)

“Decide, in advance, you will never quit. You are a writer. Not someone who wants to write a novel. A writer.” (195)

“If you can write each dya, do it, and meet a quota. Minimum 350 words a day. A baboon can do 350 words a day. Don’t be shown up by a baboon.” (199)

“Take a break, one day a week. I take one whole day off, and don’t write a word. It recharges my batteries, freshens me up for the next day. I find I’m more creative and more energetic.” (199)

“Isaac Asimov had several typewriters around his apartment, each with a different project sitting in it. He’d pick on and type for fifteen minutes.” (200)

“Michael Bishop says, “One may achieve remarkable writerly success while flunking all the major criteria for success as a human being. Try not to do that.” (201)

“A bad agent is worse than no agent.” (204)

“If you can’t take “no,” or if you can’t take criticism, or if you can’t take direction, go back to the dry-cleaning business. You obviously aren’t tough enough for the writing biz.” (205)

“Always ask a prospective agent who she represents, ask to talk with some of her authors, and ask what deals she has done lately.” (206)

“If you recognize a trend, it’s usually too late to jump on the bandwagon.” (216)

“The part of your proposal that is usually read first is page one of your sample chapters. Why? Because it saves time. If you can’t write, the reader doesn’t have to bother with the rest of the package.” (220)

“Unless you can generate a logline that has the ka-ching, you’re not ready to submit.” (223)

“Whether you write literary or commercial fiction, a potent logline is a must.” (223)

“Do not include a self published novel as a “credit” (it’s actually a debit).” (226)

“Don’t be dull and don’t be desperate.” (237)

“One reporter asks, “How did you happen to become a bullfighter?”
The matador replied, “I took up bullfighting because of the uncertainty of being a writer.” (239)

“A rejection says one of two things: Either a piece isn’t right for the publisher at that time, or it is not up to their standards. The first is something you can’t change; the second you can. You do it by learning to write better.” (240)

“Writing is a craft. People can learn how to write.” (240)

“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” – General George S. Patton (240)

“William Saroyan collected a pile of rejection slips thirty inches high – some seven thousand – before he sold his first short story.” (240)

“Regarding Animal Farm, George Orwell was told, “it is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A.” (241)

{Regarding Social Networking] “Just remember, people aren’t into reading glorified ads. You have to offer them something of value in everything you put out there.” (245)

“For long-term success, design a typical writing day and stick to it.” (247)

“Never end the day at the end of a chapter.” (249)

“Mickey Spillane recalls how, “I’m at a tea party and this guy comes up to me and says ‘What a horrible commentary on the reading habits on Americans to think that you have seven of the top ten bestsellers of all time,’ and I looked at him and I said, ‘You’re lucky I don’t write three more books.’” (253)

“Writing itself is the only known antidote for bad reviews, dings, nasty e-mails, returns, and skeptical relatives.” (255)

“If you want to get anywhere, you have to be authentic. That not only means in your writing, but also in your dealings with other people.” (257)

“Write hard, write with passion, because that is what you do. Don’t waste any time dissing other writers or whining about how tough things are.” (258)

“You are responsible for your own self-discipline. No one can find the time for you, or write the words for you. You must be strict with your standards, too. Don’t settle for the easy, the familiar, the cliché. And at the same time, do not let your aspirations and actions lead to anxiety and distress.” (259)

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“How To Audition for TV Commercials” Quotes

I recently read “How To Audition for TV Commercials: From the Ad Agency Point of View” by W.L. Jenkins. I recommend this book as an addition to taking a commercial class or doing one on one coaching. Here are the quotes I found must useful:

“If you treat every part as if it were a big one, you’ll book lots of small ones.” (1)

“Ad agencies and directors want to see someone that we believe. We want somebody who is that person in the commercial.” (4)

“If you come in and you’re not as serious as we are, then we don’t want you!” (7)

“The final decision between you and another talented actor who looks just as right for the part as you do may not be about being right for the part at all. It may come down to, “are you a person we want to work with?” An actor who seems to be taking the situation lightly isn’t somebody we want to work with.” (7)

“If your motivation comes purely from the idea that this looks like an easy way to make a few bucks, then you won’t last very long.” (8)

“What happens in that audition studio is really more important than what happens in the commercial.” (8)

“Every character written into any TV commercial, directly or indirectly, has something to do with what’s being sold. They know how they fit in with that program without actually being a salesperson.” (10)

“Dorothy Kelly looks for “a feeling of confidence. A feeling that the person is a professional. Someone who knows what they’re doing so there’s that certain bearing. That the person is in control.” (11)

“One of the things that hindered me as an actor was that I got so hung up on who I thought I wanted people to think I was that I forgot who I was.” (15)

“Advertising is a cutthroat business where agencies spend a lot of time landing a client and, once they ge tone, spend the rest of their time trying not to lose it.” (20)

“Advertising people don’t have much time to get things done, so the one thing that you don’t want to do as an actor is waste their time at an audition.” (20)

“Brand personality. Target market. Tone and manner. These three advertising elements are the DNA of a brand, and therefore, elements that are at the heart of a commercial.” (26)

“You’re always going to be confronted by scripts that don’t track. What do you do there? The best thing is to roll up your sleeves and look for the concept.” (29)

“The creative team wants to know, “Is this ad honest? … Believable? … Clear? … Memorable? … And lastly, they want to know: if we replaced our client’s logo at the end of the spot with one of our competitors, could they say the same thing we’re saying?” (31)

“As far as the client is concerned, their product is the star of the commercial, not you.” (39)

“A TV commercial concept will be directly related to the prospect of either selling something or creating a strong bond between the target market and the advertiser.” (43)

“One giveaway to a brand’s personality is its slogan.” (45)

“Reading for an advertiser where you’ve discovered the style of music they use in their ads could be helpful.” (47)

“Don’t Sell! Actors who can deliver “selly” ad copy without selling are number one in my book.” (51)

“Look for the approval date at the top of the script. That date – or its revision number – is your clue to a change in the commercial.” (58)

“MOS means filming without sound.” (61)

“The best way to play misdirection is with honest conviction.” (69)

“When scenes look short, that doesn’t mean that when you read, you must rush to do them in the allotted time.” (70)

“If they don’t include the name of the advertiser, ask who it is. If they don’t tell you what’s being advertised – a product or a service – find that out, too.” (107)

“It will be infinitely more helpful if you know something about the director’s style and the kind of spots he directs before you go to the initial call.” (108)

“Speak to the casting director or have your agent speak to the casting director and ask, ‘What types of spots does this director do? Is he a comedy director? Is he a drama director? Is he a people director?’” (109)

“When you put on any of these [audition] outfits, it should look like something you wear all the time.” (112)

“If you make it to the callback, wear the same clothes you wore to the audition. That little bit of recognition can go a long way.” (112)

“Never, never wear read; red bleeds on videotape.” (115)

“Don’t ask acting questions like, “What’s my motivation?”” (120)

“Be sure to find out when the callback is being held and when the spot is shooting.” (121)

“Believe that they’re looking for you.” (122)

“Ask if you’re being paired with someone. If so, find someone to run lines with, even if you’re not going to go in with them.” (123)

“The reason there are so many bad commercials on TV is that the scripts are bad to begin with, and only bad actors are willing to sacrifice their integrity to work in them.” (124)

“If you look at the script and think, “This is terrible! I’m not going to do this!” then go to the casting assistant or casting director and politely tell them that you’ve just gotten a call from day care about your kid (or some plausible excuse) and that you’re sorry but you can’t audition. Don’t tell them the spot stinks!” (124)

“The worst thing an actor can do is turn down the spot after he or she gets cast.” (124)

“While in the waiting area, find some place to read the copy out loud so that the first time it comes out of your mouth isn’t when you’re in the studio… If you’re going to go in to read soon, stand up. Stay on your feet so that you can maintain your energy.” (125)

“Always have a jacket and a tie with you so you can switch wardrobe. Likewise, have a ball cap and a denim jacket available.” (126)

“When you pick up the material, you must ask, what can I add to this to make them need me? Why do they need me? .. the most successful people in the business have this attitude: ‘What can I bring to this?’ Every script is a puzzle to solve, a game you can play to try to figure out what you can do with the material. The worse the commercial, the more work you should be doing to make it better.” (128)

“Whether you think it’s the wrong one of the right one, come in with a choice. Even if it’s wrong, you’re better off than having no choice at all.” (130)

“If you decide to make weird script interpretations or do something off the wall purely because you feel it’ll make an impression, that’s a bad choice. Make choices based on the truth you see in the scripts.” (131)

“Slate as yourself because good directors are always looking under the skin for the real person inside. According to director Danny Levinson, “If you slate your name and go into character they can see where you can go. If you’re automatically the character they never know where you started.” (133)

“Turning a line or lines, or a piece of business, into a statement that is overtly “selly” is the mark of an amateur… The last thing we want to see is someone selling something… Unless directed otherwise, please resist the temptation to hammer on lines like these.” (135)

“When you blow a line, or get lost or bobble a prop and you have the presence of mind to keep on going, after you finish it would be appropriate to say, “I know I screwed that line up there,” or, “Obviously I klutzed that prop, so would it be all right if I gave it another shot?”” (139)

“Even if you’re really pissed about being interrupted, don’t show it. Ever. Because if you do, then the director will feel that on the shoot, which is infinitely more chaotic than an audition, you won’t be able to handle it.” (139)

“One of the main reasons the same actors get hired over and over is because they’re cool and flexible; i.e., they’re reliable.” (140)

“Some of the better directors have worked with certain actors, and they’ll alert us to watch out for somebody they like. “Hey, keep an eye out for so-and-so. I worked with her and she’s really good.” An endorsement like that can color our opinion in such a way that even though this anointed talent didn’t really perform well, the director will make us feel that, “look, even if you didn’t see it today, this girl’s gonna do better than anybody else we saw.” In a case like that, it’s a lock that that actor is going to be called back – even if she doesn’t look right for the part.” (147)

“Michael Norman says, “Something I tend to do is, I may see somebody on an initial tape and I’ll think, ‘They’re totally wrong for this, but they’re an interesting character and a good actor.’ And I’ll bring them back to the callback just because I want to meet them. And I’ll want to get their Polaroid and save it for something else, ‘cause I think they’re interesting and I’ve never seen ‘em before. An actor may come in and feel like, ‘Why did they call me back for this? My agent sends me and I’m totally wrong and I don’t get it.’ Well, it may be that the director is interested in your for something you never even thought of.”” (149)

“The best actors I’ve worked with have either been highly intelligent, or they simply are the character that I’m looking for – in which case they don’t have to be intelligent, but they do have to be reasonably good at taking direction.” (150)

“There’s an air about true professionals – they seem to be in complete control, yet so loose at the same time. It’s immediately apparent that they’ve done their homework and that they’re comfortable in the situation. When we see that, our comfort level instantly moves into the warm zone.” (151)

“No matter what, try not to pick up on the energy of the room. Even if it appears that we’re dealing with some kind of bad mojo, don’t play into it.” (156)

“Bernard Hiller recommends doing this: “When you walk in, you’re not walking in to audition. See yourself as going into the shoot. It’s a different attitude. You’re not trying out anything. You’re there already. You’re part of the team, so you’re going in to meet people who are already crazy about you. And even if they look really serious, that’s how people look when they’re really crazy about you.” (156)

“Forget about all the other people in the room. Take focus and seek the director’s attention.” (157)

“If you say, ‘You know, this is a cute script. I like this,’ it sort of breaks the ice and they’ll say, ‘Do you want to take a pass at it?’” (157)

“Actors being too friendly turns me off.” (159)

“The director may decide to push you in a different direction just to see how you handle it.” (159)

“If a director likes you, he may ask for a take that’s a little forced, just so he has something safe to use to sell you to the client.” (161)

[At a callback] “Before they being, they strike out by not asking, “What is it that you’d like me to do?” Don’t ever assume. Just ask and you’ll have begun your dialogue with the director.” (162)

“As soon as somebody gives direction, the actor’s next job is to ask, “What do you mean? Do you mean like this?”” (162)

“It’s the job of the talent to enable the director to start the casting session as quickly as possible. So a crucial quality is the ability to listen.” (164)

“Never show off in the session. Don’t show off during the slate. Don’t draw attention to yourself by being a smart aleck. Don’t try and humor the agency or the casting director. Everybody’s trying to do that. The way to get noticed is to draw attention to yourself by being quiet, highly attentive, and charming. If you quietly communicate that quality, people will notice you.” (165)

“Don’t feel that, by staying longer in the room, you’ll in any way increase your chances of getting the job. On the contrary, you probably reduce your chances.” (165)

[In a callback] “I want to reassure what they did in the initial casting and see if they can duplicate that. It’s very interesting that some people have no clue what they did.” (166)

“Pros just say, ‘Higoodtaseeya,’ and then they get on with the work. No schmoozing, no war stories, just focus – ask the director a good question about the part and go to work.” (169)

“One sure way to lose a part is to play to the director or someone else in the room you think is important.” (169)

“After your audition, hang around for a minute or two in the waiting area.” (172)

“Be yourself, and you’ll find your niche. Or rather, the niche will find you.” (175)

“Headshots and those materials just get thrown away. Agency and production people just toss your stuff in the trash because they’re so busy creating and managing advertising that they don’t have time to pay attention to actors. That’s why casting directors were created, and they should be the focus of your personal advertising campaign.” (180)

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“Greatness: Who Makes History and Why” Quotes

I recently finished reading Greatness: Who Makes History and Why by Dean Keith Simonton. While comedy is never actually discussed in this book, creativity and artists are and I think some of these quotes might be useful.

“T.S. Eliot got depressed when he won the Nobel Prize for literature: “The Nobel is a ticket to one’s own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.” (57)

“There are no shortcuts to greatness. A person who aims to achieve anything of worth must learn, study, and practice.” (68)

“Humans cannot help seeing themselves as the center of the universe, with other events and people hanging upon their actions.” (72)

“Too many fail to answer opportunity’s knock at the door because they have to finish out some preconceived plan.” (100)

“To turn out ever more original work, the artist must resort to increasingly outlandish combinations of the given materials.” (102)

““Genius does what it must, and Talent does what it can,” apologized Owen Meredith.” (140)

“To attain success of the highest order, a person may have to suffer first.” (153)

“Orphanhood, especially the tragic early loss of the mother, is conducive to the development of reformers, philosophers, and religious figures in modern times.” (155)

“When we examine the general population, just two groups show orphanhood rates similar to those of the eminent – namely, juvenile delinquents, and depressive or suicidal psychiatric patients.” (155)

“Colleges that stress conformity to specified norms and dogmas, as some sectarian schools do, produce fewer of tomorrow’s innovators.” (161)

“For achievers in general, self-education often assumes the form of omnivorous reading… to have read widely is a hallmark of those who become widely read about.” (165)

“Donal Campbell said, “Persons who have been uprooted from traditional culture, or who have been thoroughly exposed to two or more cultures, seem to have an advantage in the range of hypotheses they are apt to consider, and through this means, in the frequency of creative innovation. “ (166)

“To conform to all the dictates of one’s culture is to condemn oneself to creative mediocrity. In fact, empirical studies show that creativity is linked with autonomy, or even radical anticonformity.“ (169)

“Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. said, “If you haven’t cut your name on the door of fame by the time you’ve reached 40, you might as well upt up your jackknife.” (180)

“Making it big is a career. People who wish to do so must organize their whole lives around a single enterprise. They must be monomaniacs, even megalomaniacs, about their pursuits. They must start early, labor continuously, and never give up the cause. Success is not for the lazy, procrastinating, or mercurial.” (181)

“Short of winning a lottery ticket, the average person should not expect a drastic improvement in his or her financial condition after the age of 40.” (198)

“Ironically, innovators themselves often become the central opponents of innovations. The difference is often one of age: The revolutionary of youth may mature into the stalwart defender of the establishment. As a consequence, advocates of novelty must expect a generation gap in the reception of their ideas.” (201)

“Robert Benchley said, “It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.” (203)

“Oliver Goldsmith said, “People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves to copy.”” (203)

“Cox found that, “high but not the highest intelligence, combined with the greatest degree of persistence, will achieve greater eminence than the highest degree of intelligence with somewhat less persistence.” (232)

“The possession of an unusual intellectual power does not guarantee success; high intelligence is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for achievement.” (232)

“Many potential geniuses twiddle their thumbs for a lifetime, waiting for something that really turns them on. Maybe the field in which they might attain greatness no longer exists, or will not exist for centuries.” (243)

“One drawback of extreme precocity is that success comes too easily. A child prodigy may thus attain a too-facile fame. This easy life does not provide adequate preparation for the struggles and frustrations of adulthood. Even the greatest geniuses must suffer many setbacks – incomplete projects, rejection slips, cancelled commissions, inept rehearsals and poor performances, scathing critiques, and the like. Accordingly, it may not be a virtue that so many child prodigies lead overly protected lives. Sooner or later, they must gain the emotional stamina and motivational endurance to survive in the rough-and-tumble world.” (243)

“Dylan Thomas once complained, “There’s only one thing that’s worse than having an unhappy childhood, and that’s having a too-happy childhood.” (243)

“We too frequently see geniuses as infallible agents, as if they had some direct conduit to truth or beauty. This commonplace image is pure myth. Creative geniuses stumble; they trip; they make horrible mistakes. Their highest and most acclaimed successes are constructed on the low rubble of humiliating failures.” (255)

“Creativity (quality) is a mere function of productivity (quantity). On the average, those periods in a creator’s career when the most products ensue are the same periods that see the most masterpieces. The quality ratio of hits to total attempts neither increases nor decreases with age.” (255)

“The most successful creators are those with the most failures. As W.H. Auden put it, “The chances are that, in the course of his lifetime, the major poet will write more bad poems than the minor.”” (256)

“The willingness to take creative risks often brings with it a special knack for alienating the public. The upshot is sometimes eventful scandal and protest.” (257)

“The gregarious who fritter their time away cocktail parties, social outings, and family get-togethers are less likely to leave enduring impressions on posterity. At death, their mouths are silenced forever, while the voices of deceased introverts speak on.” (269)

“Enough Roman orgies, and the result is a large population with hangovers and sexually transmitted diseases who, worse yet, feel spiritually empty. Enough monotonous prayers in austere monastic cells, and the result is more and more souls turning away from salvation and toward the invitations of the body. Hence, when a whole civilization plunges toward one extreme type, it is just a matter of time before the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction. The oscillations will continue for as long as Homo sapiens occupies this planet.” (281)

“In the 1800’s, it was a prevailing opinion among the epxerts that genius is a mental disorder.” (285)

“Illustrious artists and scientists came form families where mental disorders were rampant – at least in comparison to pedigrees that produced less outstanding minds.” (291)

“Success is more often achieved by those disposed to be unconventional, nonconforming, antisocial, impersonal, unempathic, cold, egocentric, impulsive, aggressive, and tough-minded. This same cluster of traits points toward psychotic disorder.” (292)

“Major innovators must buck tradition to stirke out on their own. They cannot be so wrapped up in pleasing people that they loose sight of their life’s true mission. They must be persistent and self-centered to overcome the many obstacles placed in the path to greatness.” (292)

“Only a thick-skinned person can venture on new paths. It requires a big ego to stay the course while family, friends, colleagues, and critics advise the person to back off from his or her ambitions. It’s not easy to accept many bombs en route to the few hits. The mad genius has the “right stuff” in these hard conditions, but the ego of the merely mad cannot pass muster. True psychotics do not take criticism well, and withdraw quickly from a hostile world.” (293)

“Those populations that have a higher incidence of mental instability may also harbor a bigger collection of creative geniuses. Presumably, the innovations of those geniuses have enough survival value to compensate for the societal costs of dementia.” (296)

“Those whose ambitions thrust them to the top must often forfeit the dream of longevity. Positions of power and prestige are amplified sources of chronic stress as well.” (307)

“Robert Frost warned the mere technician, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”” (309)

“Laboratory studies have shown that raising a room’s thermostat does indeed increase the aggressiveness of its occupants.” (317)

“Even those who have caught a particular news broadcast can seldom recall the key news stories of the day! Evidently, a person can sit in front of a TV set for a half hour without really processing the sights and sounds thrown toward the living room couch!”

“Genius does not appear in isolation; rather, one genius clusters with others of greater and lesser fame in adjacent generations. These clusters Kroeber called “configurations.” When a configuration reaches a crest, a Golden Age of creative activity is the result; when the configuration descends to a trough, a Dark Age occurs.” (376)

“Thus, as each generation builds upon the one before it, it attains a high point of perfection that stymies further growth. The tradition degenerates into empty imitation, as the most creative minds move on to greener pastures.” (378)

“Developing talents must assimilate models without becoming enslaved or silenced by them.” (379)

“In general, if a person has studied under a distinguished mentor, this raises the odds that the pupil also will attain distinction. Those who work directly under illustrious predecessors often launch their careers earlier and exhibit a more prolific level of output for the rest of their lives. Moreover, the teacher-pupil relationship is a two-way street. Having many intellectual offspring who are extraordinary is a good way of securing a place in the history books.” (382)

“One study examined 10,160 eminent creators, leaders, and celebrities in the history of Chinese civilization. Those periods that produced the most first-class exemplars of creativity or leadership were those that produced the most also-rans in the same domain.” (385)

“For those who wish to achieve greatness, the number of professional contacts appears more critical than the relative fame of those contacts. For example, as long as a genius takes rival seriously, that competitor can push the genius to greater heights – even though later generation may wonder about why the behemoth fussed so much about the small fry.” (387)

“The same individual may be the right person at one place and time, but the wrong person under contrasting circumstances.” (406)

“Individuals may vary, but percentages remain constant.” (413)

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“The Second City Unscripted” Quotes

I recently finished reading “The Second City Unscripted: Revolution and Revelation at The World Famous Comedy Theater” by Mike Thomas. The book is a history of the famous improv theatre in Chicago compiled as almost exclusively quotes from different people involved with Second City.  Here’s the quotes I found valuable.

second citySheldon Patinkin:
“There was more of a willingness to fail then, because we all knew that as the only way you were going to find the good stuff.” (11)

Alan Arkin:
“There is no place to fail anymore. And failing is crucial. You don’t learn from anything unless you fail.” (11)

David Steinberg:
“It’s no surprise that I would become a stand up comic, where you only have to be yourself all the time.” (28)

“What you took away from that is, if you try to hide any version of yourself, you’re not going to be good. And be as smart as you want to be. Don’t play to the dumbest person in the audience. Play to the smartest person in the audience. That seems like a little rule, but at the time it was a sort of revolutionary thing.” (28)

Eugenie Ross-Leming:
“You were dealing with funny people who understood that there is no price too high to pay for funny, including self-humiliation.” (58)

Dave Thomas:
“The thing you do that becomes the most popular is not necessarily the thing that you love the most.” (108)

Conan O’Brien:
“People increasingly want comedy to mean something, and they wan tit to be relevant to what’s happening in the world, and I’ve always believe the opposite, which is it should be irrelevant. It shouldn’t mean anything. You shouldn’t look for meaning in comedy. That’s my religious conviction and I’m orthodox about that.” (112)

“John Candy was everybody I wanted him to be, and I still think about this when I meet young people who seem happy to meet me. I never want to let them down. I want them to walk away feeling as happy as I was when I met John Candy.” (113)

Danny Breen:
“You can’t do the sily stuff till later in the show when you’ve earned the audience’s respect. You had to make them respect your intelligence before you could do a fart joke.” (138)

Joshua Funk:
“Finally in my life I felt like what we do is important. And it’s so easy to think of comedy as that jester in the king’s court, where this useless goofball is making people laugh and that’ his whole existence. And I get that feeling sometimes when I look at myself in the big perspective. Is making people laugh really a valuable role in society, or am I just a joke? Especially in times like that, when you see people who are firemen and people who are going to war and people hwo are doctors and lawyers and saving lives and making huge differences. You second-guess it. Before 9/11, the shows had degenerated into a bunch of poop and fart jokes and just silly scene work. We were livin’ life high on the hog. There was nothing that was pissing us off. We didn’t feel the importance of social commentary. We were just going for laughs. And then when 9/11 happened, I think the paradigm of Second City finally went back to where it was when JFK got assassinated and when the Vietnam War happened and when the civil rights era happened.” (234)

Bruce Pirrie:
“The take-away from the success of Facebook of Revelations was: get a brand name in the title.” (241)

Joe Canale:
“That’s the first time they really started to realize the impact a title could have. Every time we pitch titles, I pitch “The Second City Sells Out, because it’s a double entendre. But they’re very conscious now of getting a good title because they think that can help them out a lot.” (243)

Mike Thomas:
“Talent needs stability and opportunity to truly shine.” (247)

“The one thing I like to say is “Enjoy the journey.” When you go on your road to stardom or fame in this business, the journey turns out to be a lot more fun than you ever think it will be. That’s only in retrospect, but the journey is a blast.” (248)

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