Being and Doing

I started reading this in order to better communicate with actors so I could more easily get them to do what I wanted. I realized that "do" was the wrong word in the first place. The right state of mind governs the kind of acting that is genuine and compelling which turns out to be the most entertaining. This book helped me understand that among the most important tasks a director has is providing the environment within which the right state of mind is a natural part. The actor just simply becomes and "acting" is no longer necessary.

I'll admit that at first glance Eric Morris's System can seem scary and misaligned. But I believe it to be a very misunderstood system. I too was skeptical in the beginning, but after studying this technique (with Eric, but mostly with Anthony Vincent Bova in NYC, Eric's protégé), and after seeing the difference from "acting" and what this Work creates, there's no way I'd ever go back to the "acting" form. Eric Morris teaches the actor how to react honestly and in the moment, including everything that's going on inside and out-the other actor, the props, the imagined objects that one might be working for-that impels you to "do" whatever the character is required to "do", but out of a real reaction, not just because you're doing it. I've studied Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, and with Robert Lewis. I've hashed through the process of verbs, actions, objectives, obstacles, and onward; and they're all good and dandy for figuring out what's going on in a script, what the characters are doing and why; but other than that, these techniques never helped me figure out HOW to make it real to ME... How to get to a place where I'm actually functioning from a real, organic, truthful state ... How to get to the point where I am "doing" all the script tells me to do, fulfilling the "actions," out of an honest REACTION to what's going on.... Not just "playing" as if I am; how, in essence, creating the realities of the character.... No matter where you go, all the great teachers (and actors) say the same thing, "Acting is reacting." Even the most used and cherished word in the actor's language, LISTENING, is about focusing outside of yourself and REACTING to what is there. This Work trains the actor to create the stimuli that will fulfill the demands of the piece, specifically, wholly, and with Truth. For the most part, plays and movies are imagined circumstances, and we as actors, have to create stimuli to react from, so we're not just faking, or indicating our performance. I'd rather watch two people have a relationship on film or on stage, than two actors reciting words, no matter how well they "act" it. If they don't believe it, I won't. This System trains you to create those stimuli and REACT to them honestly, fully and truthfully. A crucial part of Eric's System is based on Instrumental Work, which is the process of identifying blocks and fears and tensions to expression and, one-by-one, through the use of hundreds of exercises, eliminating them. It's really about self-awareness-learning about yourself and how you function, so you can "get out of your way" and function truthfully on stage or film and get to where you need to get to in a scene. I think this is the aim of every method, but I feel that this System is the only one to address the issues of the actor on a personal level. If I'm tense and depressed (in real life; me the actor), I'm not going to be able to REACT truthfully in a scene where the character has just won the lottery and is jum

This is a wonderful workbook--easy to follow with great exercises. If you do the exercises, I guarantee you will improve your acting and accessibiltiy to your emotional instrument. I use them in my classes when I teach acting. The results are phoenomenal. If you just read them-- and let them sit there they won't do diddly squat. This book is the beginning of an eye opening approach to acting by Eric Morris. The exercises are powerful, will deepen your intensity and provide access to your emotional instrument. Do read this book in conjunction with No Acting Please which better explains Eric's work. Follow it with Irreverent Acting. The three act as a powerful acting trilogy and together form some of the best books on acting ever written.