Yippee! You have an audition!
Then, dread. It’s a one-liner.
I know what you’re thinking. How will I stand out? How will I let the CD know what a good actor I am and that I can cry on cue? What about my Meisner Training?
Throw it all out the window! (But not too far.. you’ll need all of this when the guest star auditions roll in).
Here’s what I mean.
For most co-star roles (especially one-liners) your line is there to move the script forward for the other actors. For example, let’s pretend your scene is in a restaurant where the two series regulars are meeting to discuss an important case. You’re the waitress and your line is, “Can I take your order?”.
Yep, just that. No bells, no whistles.
You’re thinking, “How do I prepare for this,” right? I understand. You soooo badly want to add meaning, depth and authenticity to those 5 words so you can stand out. But don’t fall into this trap. The scene isn’t about you.
I’m pretty sure that most acting teachers will agree that this is the ONE time you don’t have to do any audition preparation around the character’s motivations, intentions or what’s happening in the scene. But just because you’re not doing all that prep, doesn’t mean you don’t do anything.
Aha. So what DO you do?
All you have to do is ‘just be yourself’ and say your lines the way you would actually say them (by the way, you’re not the only one who hates all the variations of the term, "Just do you").
Easy peasy…..unless you have no idea what it really means to “just be you”, right?
So, I’ll ask you. Do you know who you are? At your core? If so, can you articulate it, exactly?
Most people don’t and can’t. And thus, they don’t know what it means to just be themselves or how to do it (pssst: I know! And I wrote about it in this blog post).
But back to your one-liner.
The real reason actors hate the term “just be yourself” is because most actors fear they’re not enough. So ‘being yourself’ is a downright terrifying proposition. In fact, one actor I coached around the “just be yourself” concept said, “Why would I want to do that? I like playing other people.”
Exactly.
By now, you likely know that I think the fear of ‘not being enough’ is rooted in the lack of self-trust; It’s rooted in the absence of self-certainty which means that you don’t know or appreciate how your unique qualities make you successful and powerful.
And I believe, once you’re comfortable in your own skin, you can trust yourself to say the words, just as you would say them, and be certain that it’s enough! Because, YOU are enough.
If you want to unlock the secrets of figuring out who you are, click here to get my FREE Magnetic Actor Method Action Guide.
The Action Guide is designed to be a journey in self-discovery and appreciation for the secret talents you probably don't even know you have – the talents that make you unique, awesomely you, and worthy of your dreams.
This is important, because when it comes right down to it, isn’t that what we all want? To know that ‘just being ourselves’ is enough?