Monday, August 13, 2012

Actors: Rivers and Freight Trains

In my experience acting in and around New York City, i have come across many actors.  I'd say that  most of these actors fall into two basic types.

Rivers and Freight Trains.

River actors are like what the name implies, they move in largely the same direction, following the path laid out for them.  Whenever something is in the river, that usually isn't there, say a boat, a swimmer, or a rock, the river moves around it and it's flow adjusts to whatever is necessary to flow around the obstacle.

River actors are masters of spontaneity, no matter what happens on stage, a late entrance, a missed/jumped line, or a technical failure, these actors can adjust, adapt, and move on.

Freight Train actors are the opposite.  Freight Trains travel along an established track, going at the exact speed thats allowed by the track.  The train may stop from time to time, to let off passengers or take on cargo, however the start and end of the trains route do not change.  Freight trains also take really long to slow down, and a really long time to accelerate.

Freight Train actors are masters of consistency.  These actors have a practiced and rehearsed performance, they know what they're going to do, when they are going to do it, and everything in between.

So which are you?

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