Know Your Job

From faculty member Alison Turner:

I looked out my window the other day and I saw a graffiti artist painting a mural on the building across the street. I became completely captivated and hoped he didn’t look over and notice me staring at him for an uncomfortably long period of time. He started with a plain wall, and little by little he would start to spray shapes. He was using very large, broad strokes at first, and they gradually became smaller and more detailed. He started mixing the colors of the lettering, adding a purple base with pink accents and using black and white to outline the words. He would step back, look at the piece as a whole, and then would go back in and carefully add more pink or more purple or more highlight as he felt the piece needed. The part that was so interesting to me was how he knew when to add what. My artistic ability is pretty limited, so if I looked at that piece and felt something wasn’t quite right it wouldn’t occur to me that it needed 3 more strokes of purple and another pass of white, but the artist sees what’s missing and adjusts accordingly. That’s why he’s an artist. If they just wanted some schmoe to come in and make a mess on their wall they would have called me.

As an actor, it is your job to understand the script you are given and execute it beautifully. That is your art. You have to see the script for what it is and what you need to do to bring it to life. Just like the graffiti artist that stands back and sees the missing holes in the artwork and knows what it needs, you need to see the script as a whole piece with an understanding of how to fulfill the moments that tell the story that was written. Sometimes we think our art is to interpret the script in an interesting way, showcase our ability to access emotions and look natural while doing it. That is like someone telling the graffiti artist they want their company logo and him drawing an abstract self-portrait. Do you think that artist would get hired if that were what he brought in to show the client as a markup?

Artistic expression has its place. If you want to show your range and wow the world with how clever you are, write your own material. Otherwise, know your job and know what a piece needs in order to be executed beautifully. That is being a true artist.