I Want to be an Actor

When I grabbed I Want to be an Actor off the shelf, I envisioned myself opening it up, and ripping apart everything it had to say. A fact that I don't normally like to share with people (because honestly it just sounds silly) is that I've spent the better part of my life acting (see, now you are picturing me dressed all in black self-indulgently soliloquizing to a skull). But I was amazed. This book is actually a very good resource for children who want to learn about acting. It gives a rundown not only of the basics, but of the entire theatrical process.

The book is set up as a step-by-step introduction to putting on a play from conception to performance. It includes information on writing a script, stage make-up, scenery, costumes, and publicity. "Send invitations to your friends in plenty of time and make some posters to promote the play," the book offers. "Don't forget to include the date, time, place, and name of the play," it warns.

It is wonderful that this text explains these parts of the process. Too often actors are removed from the technical processes of the play. This creates a rift between the technical crew and the cast. Actors are seen as elitist and rude, while the technical crew is seen as insular and difficult. I love that this book combines these elements from a very early stage in a young person's acting career.

There are several gems in this book. It explains to children then importance of projecting their voice, or "being heard clearly without shouting" as the book explains it. This is a problem that even adult actors struggle with. It explains to young actors that they should hold for laughs, rather than continuing with their lines and gives tips for opening night jitters.

A two-page spread that really impresses me is entitled "Letting Go". The book opens up by explaining to young actors that they need to be as relaxed as possible when they are on stage. This will help their performance be more natural as well as help ensure that they do not make mistakes. It also explains that this will help them be healthy. Actors put a lot of stress on their voices and bodies when they perform, often taking on their character's problems and sometimes "bringing the character home" with them. When this happens, actors may become tense, fatigued, or moody. When actors warm-up they try to let go of all of their own tensions (even if they are recycled from last night's performance) in order to fall naturally into a character and to protect their bodies from all the stress of performance. This is a concept I did not learn until college, and until then I could never understand why all my teachers insisted I "warm up" before class.

An idea that this book only hints at, is that the fact that actors need to be comfortable in their own skin and willing to make wild choices. It insists that children make their actions "big and bold", but I wish it had discussed more explicitly not being afraid of looking wacky or acting completely differently than they normally do. Perhaps this is because children do not often have a problem taking risks when they are pretending, but this is easily one of the biggest problems with novice actors when they are older.

Overall I think this is a wonderful resource for young children. Be warned, however, that if your child or student reads this book you may quickly find yourself helping build cardboard treasure chests or printing up programs!