Why Acting Isn’t About Performing, It’s About Truth

In my last blog, Get Out of Your Head and Into the Present Moment, I spoke about being private in public, as this is key to getting out of your head and responding to what’s actually happening in any given moment in acting. One of the biggest pitfalls that blocks a talented actor’s ability to do this is falling into performance mode. In doing so, the truth of the moment is sacrificed for the sake of outer approval, which ultimately leaves the actor frustrated and defeated.

To get to the root of this drive for outer approval, it’s important to understand that every infant and child has a natural desire for their parents’ approval because it’s critical for their sense of survival. Driven by this need, many of us sacrificed our deepest animal instincts and intense feelings when our parents gave us strong messages that these parts of us were upsetting or overwhelming to them. As a result, our rejected feelings and instincts were suppressed and resisted, eventually settling into our unconscious.

Michelle Yeoh shares her immense range in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film’s themes of interconnectedness and the impermanence of life align with my teachings: all we have is what’s happening right now. And now. And now. Actors who dare to bask in each unknown moment become more able to access their true animal instincts, free from society’s CONditioning.

If you were fortunate enough to be raised by parents or caregivers who supported all your feelings, natural instincts, and drives while also providing strong, healthy boundaries, this blog will serve as a deep recognition and appreciation of the gifts you were given. That said, it’s highly likely that most readers of this blog weren’t as lucky.

It’s important not to fall into blame or victimhood if you weren’t in that fortunate category. Understand that it’s just the way it happened. You didn’t deserve or not deserve it. It simply happened. In the spirit of Zen, each moment of your life, just like each moment of not acting, is what it is and can’t be different from the way it is. That’s why I have this quote on my Classes page:

Actors hit false notes when they don’t trust what IS… IS enough.

Trusting and going with what is sounds simple in theory but often presents challenges for most actors. Along with seeking outer approval, you may also find yourself trying to control certain animal impulses and instincts, as mentioned earlier. This isn’t your fault. It’s not your parents’ fault either because we often repeat what was done to us. The root of this cycle lies in society’s CONditioning process. One of society’s main functions is to domesticate us so we’re controllable and well-behaved, which is the opposite of what’s needed for alive and dynamic acting.

This domestication process is reinforced in most schooling, where we’re rewarded for knowing the correct answer and rarely encouraged or approved of for not knowing the answer. While this approval-and-reward system may work for some professions, it is counterproductive for truthful acting.

Why?

Because all the “good stuff” in acting arises from not knowing what’s going to happen from one unknown moment to the next. It cannot be emphasized enough:

Your spontaneous, unpredictable, and instinctive responses to the given circumstances of a script come from your courage to NOT KNOW what will happen next.

Developing the inner muscle where truth matters more than approval is the foundation of authentic, powerful acting.

Get Out of Your Head and Into the Present Moment

Stanislavski had a great term for not being self-conscious as an actor. He called it being “private in public.” After all, there’s an unnatural element to acting that’s rarely mentioned: you’re being watched! While I often joke that actors love being watched (otherwise, they wouldn’t be actors), it can still freak out many talented people. Self-consciousness puts actors in the worst possible place: their head. The head is dead. The moment is alive. Living in the present moment is essential to expressing your truth. To be fully alive as an actor, you must master the art of being private in public.

Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life. This scene is widely regarded as one of the most raw, emotional, and influential moments in Hollywood history. Stewart, who had just returned from his service as a WWII bomber pilot, was grappling with the emotional aftermath of the war. His wife and daughter later said of his performance, "That's him in real life." Stewart didn't plan how he'd feel or express himself in this scene. Instead, he took the risk every actor must take: to be private in public.

"Self-consciousness puts actors in the worst possible place: their head. The head is dead. The moment is alive. Living in the present moment is essential to expressing your truth. To be fully alive as an actor, you must master the art of being private in public."

The foundational challenge in acting is overcoming the self-consciousness every actor faces. In Meisner training, this is addressed by putting your attention on the other actor, a habit instilled early with the famous “repetition” exercise. In Method acting, the focus is on sense memory, private moments, and affective memory. The Adler school teaches actors to use their imagination along with actions and justifications. While each of these respected techniques contains a wealth of discovery, the common thread is eliminating self-consciousness while providing a pathway to truthful acting.

It took me years to realize how easy it can be to be private in public. That understanding only came when I found my natural way of working as an actor. Recently, in class, I demonstrated a powerful way to explore a character and script using Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story. I spent several minutes diving into the multi-dimensional character of Jerry. Using the not acting approach I teach, I became so immersed in my exploration of Jerry that I forgot the students were even in the room. Both the actors watching and I were amazed and inspired by what unfolded. This level of privacy in public is thrilling and addictive. Once you experience it, you’ll never settle for anything less.

"This level of privacy in public is thrilling and addictive. Once you experience it, you’ll never settle for anything less."

Your ability to get out of your head and into the present moment will depend on how self-conscious you are as an actor. I believe my ZEN of NOT Acting class offers the easiest and most natural way to be “private in public” while developing rich, multi-dimensional, and memorable characters. Join us, and discover the freedom, truth, and power that only comes when you fully step into the moment.

The Art of Listening: How It Elevates Your Acting to a New Level

The Art of Listening is the foundation of The ZEN of NOT Acting. Truly listening as an actor requires being open, receptive, and spontaneous, while embracing a state of not knowing. It demands being fully present, because real listening can only happen in the moment.

We often think of listening as simply hearing, but it is much more than that. Listening involves all of our senses and extends beyond sound. Here, I use the word “listening” to mean receiving impressions. These impressions, which come through our senses, affect us and play on the only acting instrument we have: ourselves.

"We often think of listening as simply hearing, but it is much more than that. Listening involves all of our senses and extends beyond sound."

Morgan Freeman in his Oscar-winning role as a gym associate and former boxer in Million Dollar Baby. Freeman is a master at The Art of Listening, it's no wonder his career has spanned seven decades of memorable roles.

We listen with our eyes by observing behavior, both obvious and subtle. The more nuance we notice in our scene partner’s behavior, the more fun it becomes to respond. Our sense of touch can also deeply affect us as actors, whether it’s the feel of a prop imbued with personal meaning, or the physical touch of a fellow actor in a scene. Through our imagination, we are touched internally by images that arise. These images can evoke powerful emotions and transport us to places we could never have planned.

"The more nuance we notice in our scene partner’s behavior, the more fun it becomes to respond."

As an actor, truth is your compass. Only through listening can you respond truthfully and authentically to what is happening in the moment. Constantin Stanislavski, the great Russian acting teacher, proclaimed, “Truth in art is truth in circumstances.” I would add that truth in art is also truth in listening and genuinely responding within those circumstances.

Mastering The Art of Listening will elevate you to the realm where true greatness in acting resides. In fact, show me a great actor, and I’ll show you a great listener. Did you hear that? 

---

Are you ready to uncover the power of authentic listening? Whether you’re based in Los Angeles for in-person scene study or joining online from anywhere in the world, my classes are designed to help actors master this transformative skill. Reach out to learn more. Let’s take your acting to the next level, one moment at a time.