SILENCE IS GOLDEN

The film, THE ARTIST, pays homage to the golden age of silent film. And this film, except in a few well chosen places, is devoid of spoken words.

It depicts the booming career of a silent film star whose flicks kill at the box office, until a pretty new ingenue, one whose career he unintentionally launches, inches him out of the picture with a new talkie.

But it is not just about that. It's about commitment to principles and to people and to one's own art.

Most amazing is the fact that the audience sat spellbound, laughing, cheering, even crying, at events that went without words, proving that the face and the body can communicate beautifully.

Often, when we are asked to speak, our bodies freeze, and we lose the natural connection nd congruity between emotion/thought, words, and physical expressiveness.

Here is some advice for those who experience "the freeZe."

First, look into a mirror , deliver your text in your mind, and make your face act out, in an exaggerated way, every word, every phrase.

Second, tap into your breath. If asked to breathe mad, you will not only be able to do that instantly but your face and body will show evidence of the angry emotion, amaking any word you say sound "mangy." Smile.

The same is true for all the emotions. Breathe sad, and your body and face will show sadness. Breathe glad, and your physical self will exude buoyancy. And so on.

So, take your script. Write the emotions you need to feel next to certain lines and paragraphs. Then breathe the emotions. Take time doing so. Then add the words. In this way your body will be totally expressive, in sync with the words and the emotiOns.

Third, try to communicate with your face in the silences. After a pause, look at the audience with your face showing the emotion you what them to feel. And bounce your eye contact from one to a few people so that the whole audience can see what you are feeling, evidenced by your facial expression.

More about this later.

But see THE ARTIST. My theatre audience gave it a resounding ovation both times I saw it.

Silence is golden

Merry Xmas
I just saw the silent film THE ARTIST, a wonderful entry that pays homage to a bygone era. More about speech lessons to be gleaned from it tomorrOw . I dOn't want to upstage Santa ;)

TIS THE SEASON TO INDULGE--UGH UGH UGH UGH UGH, UGH UGH UGH UGH

OK--i am not to eat very spicy food
OK--i am not to eat overly bulky, hard-to-digest food
OK--i am not to eat a lot at one sitting
SO--what did i do

YOU GOT IT.

But the stomach cramps are making me forget about my knee pain.
Ba dum bun.

When we write speeches, we need to realize certain truths
--many don't like over-written texts that are too spiced up: too ornate, too metaphoric, too silly
--many don't like paragraphs that are bulky or sentences that are too complex to follow easily
--many do not like long self indulgent speeches


You see, it is all about simply phrased simple messages that audiences can digest at one sitting, and leave feeling simply and happily satisfied, not bloated, not burned-

FALALALALA

This eve I saw a fun and funky review, a xmas parody/burlesque, consisting of scenes that, initially, involved sexy and scantily clad performers putting clothes...back on!

The counter-intuitive choice was brilliant and it can teach us all lessons.

The downright unexpected can be the upbeat switch that can keep your audience alive--thinking, awake, and oh-so curious.

Take a contrary stance, concede the ornery part of it, and make the audience see another point of view.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN--MY TAKE ON THE FLICK

I'M BACK.
And I just saw MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, a film that grew on me, as did Michelle Williams' performance of the icon herself.

Seeing how Marilyn was so dependent on her schoolmarm-y acting coach, I was inspired to say a few words.

True--when you speak/act, often it is best, if you have stage fright, to pretend that the audience is a set of your most supportive friends and that your performance is actually the hobby that brings a smile to your face. That is what Marilyn was told to do a few times as she was struggling against many odds to remember and be comfortable with her lines.

True--what Olivier keeps on insisting is accurate: it's just acting. Just pretend.

True: finally what Marilyn learns is that by being true to her self--heck by just being herself--she can shine.

Take a pick as to which tip or what combo works for you.

PS: Eventually, Ms Williams' Marilyn became Marilyn---for me anyway; my eyes watered at her vulnerability, her charm; at whatever it was that makes her, to this day, so memorable.