Q: What recommendation do you have for actors to keep not only studying but working during this pandemic?
An essential tool for the professional actor, no matter how advanced, is to return to the breath. We always connect there, to ensure that the body, mind and spirit are relaxed and ready to create. In fact, the word ‘inspire’ is from the Latin ‘inspirare’, meaning ‘to breathe or blow into.’ There is no inspiration without breath.
We find ourselves in a moment in time that requires an artist to be an alchemist: to find a will within to transcend destructive forces with creative ones. Alchemy is peacefully protesting in response to an officer forcefully holding his knee to George Floyd’s neck, stealing his last breath, his inspiration, his life. We’re in the largest global civil rights movement in history. As creatives, this does not mean closing our eyes, but opening them wider.
I don’t know what the world would be without art. Certainly in the times of a pandemic, it is unimaginable to not have books, movies, television, plays, poems, visual art – all of these creative human forms of expression we all turn to every day. So how will we create, while feeling the pain of knowing that right is stolen from so many?
Actors use their bodies as weather vanes, their craft to inspire empathy. That is not your concentration while you’re doing the work, but it is the result of a good actor’s work. Investigate and understand the relationship between what’s going on inside of you with what’s going on outside of you. Staying informed and aware of how the information you’re receiving effects you personally, is an important part of the work at this time.
When you’re acting, you inhabit your character’s circumstances with the knowledge of her society, religion, race, class, gender, and environment. You now have an enhanced opportunity to fully inhabit your own circumstances. Participate in current events in a way that is safe and right for you. Educate yourself, and journal about your awareness. How you’re effected. What you observe.
-Read new plays. Some of my favorite plays by underrepresented voices that have won the Pulitzer Prize are: IN THE BLOOD and TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Susan Lori Parks, RUINED and SWEAT by
Lynn Nottage, FAIRVIEW by Jackie Sibblies Drury, FENCES by August Wilson, TWILIGHT LOS ANGELES, 1992, by Anna Deveare Smith. Of course, when you think about it, most voices in the world fall under the category of “underrepresented.” It becomes a question as to why brilliant voices like these aren’t more accessible. Perhaps there’s a mentality of scarcity at play, a belief system that there isn’t enough to go around, so one small group must hoard it all. But we of the creative spirit know that is a false belief. Creativity is connected to the soul and the spirit and the imagination, and every human being is born with these attributes. It’s time to make ourselves privy to voices that mirror our own in storytelling. I for one want to hear stories with characters that reflect a life I can somehow identify with. These plays hold a mirror up to nature for me, and it’s a great time to find those that do it for you, or even to create stories that will. Alchemy.
-Watch movies and series. Start to make a list of shows and films you’d like to be on and why.
-Practice self-care. You are your own instrument. Now is a time to nurture your soul. Take long artist walks, sensing the nature around you. What do you see, smell, sense, hear, smell? One ironic positive that has resulted from the pandemic is the skies have cleared and more animals have come out to play. Go out and experience nature, as if you were a child.
-Find what you love. Part of creativity has to be sourced from love. Get in touch with the sensation of love. Write down what this is for you and find a way to use your love every day.
-Be of service, safely. It doesn’t help anyone to put your health at risk and wearing a mask and distancing and washing your hands often is necessary. So, with your health and others’ as a priority, find a way to participate and support what you truly believe in. Many are peacefully protesting with masks on, many are engaging in other ways. Here is a list of some options.
Creativity is a balance of processing and giving. Keep paying attention. As an actor, you take words on a page, breathe your vision into it, and create a life. Our breath is a gift worth fighting for.
Please send your specific questions about the art of acting to staytuned@gmail.com and Kymberly will respond to a different question each week! There are no invalid questions, as long as they pertain to your craft and life as an actor.
Kymberly Harris is an actor’s director. She specializes in character-driven stories, whether the genre is drama, comedy, thriller, or action. Her extensive experience as a method acting coach to professional actors of all ages has led actors to seek her out to direct them towards their best performances in film, television, and theatre projects.
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