Peace in the Paradox

Profound words are not clever.

Clever words are not profound.

Wise people are not quarrelsome.

Quarrelsome people are not wise.

Those who are intelligent are not ideologues.

Those who are ideologues are not intelligent.

The enlightened never hoard anything.

They share their possessions.

The more they give,

the greater their abundance.

The Great Integrity is the physician of the universe

who heals without harming, and how acts without contention.

This quote has been on my mind for some time. And I suppose, I use this concept to navigate the perils of pilot season. The way to stand out is by letting your inner light shine, not by forcing yourself upon scores of managers and casting directors. 

I was recently invited back to 30 Rockefeller Plaza this month to participate in a sketch for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was unexpected, but extremely fun. And while I can't say for sure the reason why I stuck out to their casting lady, (a very gracious and pleasant studio rep) I can say that somewhere along the line I made a favorable impression. Sure, I try to be gracious and crack a joke here or there if something occurs to me. But I never go out of my way to try and appear witty or 'on' so to speak, something that I notice a lot of the other actors spending much of their time doing. 

First and foremost, the way to make a good impression is professionalism. That is hands down the best tool an actor has at their disposal. They have to know that you're reliable, and they have to know that they can depend on you and your word. This is a very fast paced business, and trust me, if you do not understand the concept of a time sensitive work environment, then you will struggle to make it anywhere in the entertainment industry. 

Often you can stand out the most by simply being efficient. And thats not to say that casting people don't like charismatic people, everyone does. But thats not enough, and I'm not even sure if thats the main thing. Being prepared, being reliable, but most of all being on time; these are things that make you stand out. If everyone does their homework, then the process is extremely fun and exciting in its fast paced work space. But when actors show up concerned about the wrong things it makes the process a headache for everyone involved. 

Better to fill in the demands of a scene, than to look 'sexy' on camera. Better to be profound in a handful of words, than to be clever in a diatribe. That is the Tao of the industry. 

The Rebirth Of The Cool

in the beginning, 

God created the funk, and the cool

now, the coolness was chaotic, and without form 

and discord covered the face of the deep

and God said

let there be peace

sparkling like diamond

gentle as the ray of the sun

an interstellar drum

with a cosmic heartbeat

and yes, there was the blues

that blacker than 1,000 midnights blue

eternal blazon of endless nothing

that chasm between reason and dream

the place i call home

and the cool was with me

the cool was in me

the cool was me

the cool knew me

the way i know

my very own name

sweeter than the taste of fresh cut sugar cane

we walked the yellow brick paths

of each and every dimensional plane

i sing a song for the cool

that melodic thumping in my ears drums

that comforts me just before i fall asleep at night

the gentle tap taps on the outskirts of my slumber

that whisper sweet nothings of peace and light

i sing a song for the cool

boogalooing jazz hall droplets of sweat

that glisten on brows of every color men

the mutated mind emissions

of castrated time transmissions

searching for a light wave

a loose-leaf page

and a pen

i sing a song for the cool

a post-modern influx

where faith is a crutch

hobbling thru fears of the day

our passions grow slender

but children remember

life is what unfolds along the way

syncopated sound waves

that sparkle like a moon ray

seeking out river bank reflection

resonant and free

we struggle not to be

sissified by delusive introspection

before there was ever any such thing as a wino or a junkie

we were cool

before there was ever any such thing as homelessness or aids

we were cool

before there was ever any single parent homes or halfway houses

or so-called holy wars

we were cool

me, i sing a song for the cool

Method Living

So, someone asked me the other day, what is Method Living?

In short, to see the world through the eyes of a true artist. Nothing more, nothing less.

Traditional method acting employs a tactic of what is called "sense-memory techniques" to draw upon real life experiences from the past and use them in your current character. It's sort of an 'imagine me if I grew up this way' technique, which is the basis for most of modern acting. 

What many people mistake for the whole of method is the whole thing where you are in a character for weeks on end and acting all weird on the set as that character. That is only 1 singular method technique, and it gets a bad rep for the whole Daniel Day Lewis thing. And then there's the method exercises that can go awry in acting class where they do psychology games to "break down" an actor's psyche and get closer to some Id form of the creative process. I don't mess with those in my workshops or my classes. If you want to get broken down to pieces psychologically, there's lots of free ways to do it.

My technique is Method Living. True method living is training yourself to see the world, the people in it, and your own damn self, freely and unabashed, and without judgement. (As the late great Colonel Kurtz taught us through the eyes of Marlon Brando, "it is the judgement that kills us"). For many of my students the hardest part of reaching their potential is allowing themselves to act freely and without embarrassment.

Some of the most creatively expansive things I've ever done on stage took place in my acting class at Northwestern University. I was fortunate. I was honored to have the great David Downs leading my class for 3 years, and the environment he created was one of discovery, and freedom. He encouraged us to reach for new and abstract ways of relating to a character, whether bringing in an observation from an animal at the zoo, or choosing a music number to emote fully and unhindered. One of my favorite exercises we did was when Professor Downs gave out the assignment of going to a statue park and working up a silent story (essentially a mime short) that would lead up to the pose of the statue. 

Although I didn't fully realize it until much later, these types of exercises garnered the state of mind to observe and report the essential ethos of story telling. In most art forms, this can viewed as some heady, intellectual, abstract thing. But acting burns away all of that. And not to say that acting isn't an intellectual sport, but first and foremost, it IS a sport. It takes athleticism. It takes a oneness of mind, body and soul. (And like good music or dancing, it does help if you have soul).

An actor (on stage or screen) gets to be the maestro of moments. It is the stringing together of instances of clear lucidity that pulls an audience in, or makes the character "fly off the screen" so to speak. Too many people think that you have too try hard to emote. It is largely the opposite. If anything you have to try hard during your homework. By the time you get to the set, everything must look effortless. This is only achieved by an extremely high level of preparation.

When I was in the jazz band in high school our music director Mr. Kirk, (we should've called him captain) he had a great saying that has stuck with me to this day. He said that "when we go up in front of the school or at competition, that is a performance. What we do here during class, that is a rehearsal, and what you do at home to prepare for class, that is called practice."

Your homework is your practice. Make sure and put the time in by yourself or you will wasted the time of your fellow actors when you go in for scene study. All of this becomes easily apparent when it is time to actually do a tech week in a theatre run, or heaven forbid, the inescapable table reading. Seeing the world in a constant state of creativity (and keeping a good actor's journal along the way) is the best way to be constantly practicing, constantly taking in new ideas and modes of living and ways of seeing the humans around you. Take notes, but no judgement. Just observe, and let it soak. But you have to put in the time. And you have to want to get better, every single day.

(for bookings for acting workshops and motivational speaking events, 

please send all queries to blackaugustent@gmail.com)

Tao Poetry

Ikkyu said it best:
writing something to leave behind is another kind of dream
when i awaken, i know that there will be no one to read it

the true master lowers himself into illusion every time he speaks
what is there to be said for the natural born teacher?

your genius must remain as hidden as your pending insanity,
a cerebral solar flare that eclipses the icy caverns of neptune
          runs circles round mantras

shimmering mellow tones of grey luminosity
reach up the stratosphere and cry freedom
          sometimes in silence,
          sometimes aloud

the true master lowers himself into illusion every time he speaks
what's there to be said for the natural born teacher?

sisyphean griot destined to translate the circumference of pi
into astronomical units that the people can consume

bring the people together, and watch what comes forth

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sometimes the most refreshing things in the world can be
to just sit outside in the sun and sweat

rejuvenating elixir of early summer pheromones
that broil the skin to cool down the core

we wear our emotions like the shadows at our feet
ignoring and disbelieving the silent wisdom they contain

pressing the suppressing the proverbial inner voice
wringing the dirty laundry out

neglected impulses stretched taut
like kites shifting from one breeze to another

turning and turning in the midsummer air
the way of the samurai is silent immediacy

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a single moon clear and bright
          in an unclouded sky
yet still we stumble in this world's darkness

how simple and chase were the words of the ancients
calligraphic star charts of mystery and sage wisdom
mapping out the middle passage
                    from the square to the circle
                    the chaff to the grain

inspiration poems are the best
not to take anything from those complex ideas
that curve along like a twisted valley carved
from years of weathered toil and erosion,
setting the boundaries on our mental tributaries

its the impulsive trips downstream that bring us closer to home
          the next step is always right before the eyes
obscurity
          passion
                    brutal honesty
                              that's a good place to start