Always be closing.

In the 1950s, a wave of “method actors” took Hollywood by storm. Actors like James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Montgomery Clift, brought a whole new toolset and perspective on the actor’s craft to the films they performed in. The foundation of their work, however, was laid in Russia more than fifty years prior to their stardom. Stanislavski’s conception of “psychological realism” in performance challenged ideas about the essential features of the actor’s craft that had been held for centuries. In theatre before Stanislavski, acting was defined as a craft of vocal and gestural training. The role the actor played was to give life to the emotions of the text in a broad illustrative fashion. Formal categories such as melodrama, opera, vaudeville, and musicals, all played to this notion of the actor as chief representer of dramatic ideas. Stanislavski’s key insight was in seeing the actor as an experiencer of authentic emotional moments. Suddenly the craft of performance could be about seeking out a genuine internal experience of the narrative’s emotional journey. From this foundation, realism in performance began to flourish. This not only changed our fundamental idea of the actor but invited a reinvention of the whole endeavor of telling stories through drama. Teachers would adopt Stanisvlaski’s methods and ideas and elaborate upon them in American theatre schools. The result, in the 1950s, would be a new wave of actors and a style of acting that emphasized psychological realism to a greater degree than their peers in motion pictures. This idea of realism grew to dominate our notion of successful performances in cinema. Stanislavskian-realism is now central to the DNA of how we direct and read performances, whether we are conscious of it or not. I think it is important to know this history and consider its revolutionary character. Understanding the nature of Stanislavski’s insights allows us to look at other unasked questions, other foundational elements of our craft that we might take for granted. — Stanislavski’s books are still fascinating explorations of the craft of performance. Check them out: An Actor Prepares: www.goo.gl/8CR551 Building a Character: www.goo.gl/pZR1U4 Creating a Role: www.goo.gl/ato2rZ The Stanislavsky System: www.goo.gl/JDGkfK — Visual References: A Place in the Sun, A Streetcar Named Desire, Anatomy of a Murder, Baby Doll, Before Sunset, Blue Valentine, Carol, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Daisies, East of Eden, Giant, Grandmother, Kid Auto Races at Venice, Moonlight, On the Waterfront, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Splendor in the Grass, Taxi Driver, The Breaking Point, The Heiress, The Conversation, The Misfits, There Will Be Blood, Twentieth Century, Vaudeville: Early American Entertainment, Wild River — Patreon: patreon.com/luxessays Twitter: twitter.com/travratc YouTube: youtube.com/c/LuxVeritas

Episode One.  Watch the rest on: www.adultstheseries.com

Andy Kaufman's Foreign Man - Saturday Night Live (Season One)

Not sure how I missed this ... well played JF.

Well it's official ... everything on the internet is fake [yes I'm only just working this out now].

I just started watching Season One of 'Nathan For You' - a seriously amazing series recommendation from Riley Madincea [that ridiculous human next to Dolly in Zipcar].  It might sound overly simplified, but the show can be easily summarised as a hilarious blend of gut-wrenchingly awkward performance comedy from Nathan Fielder and slathering of reality ... I'm not sure LA is reality anywhere other than in LA, but regardless it works. 

What the show does more than anything is provide an insight into how dumb and/or gullible people really are.  You could argue that most of the concepts hinge on the fact that it's people's livelihoods at stake so they do anything to make them more successful or at least marginally better.  I sniff a waft of greed and TV cameras ... me like it.

Episode 2 is where the show went next level for me ... to be perfectly honest it was actually the poo flavoured yoghurt ice cream of episode 1, but that's a different article all together.  Back to episode 2, in which Nathan devises a plan for a small petting zoo to drum up more business ... he's giving, as he puts it, her very own 'Shamu'.  The owner obliges.

Enter a baby goat, a pig named 'Vince' and a SW500 Magnum wielding Santa and about 9,488,354 suckers.

Until the next goat in the water.

Jonas

Sam is hungry and feels like ham but can he abide by the rules of the deli? Sam Simmons is a Wallstud..he divides the room. He is not good at people, he has a weird looking head, his paranoid fantasies clutter the gutters of his mind and he doesn't look good in jeans.

Sam Simmons is one of the most daring and unconventional comics in Australia if not the world. Completely original and vastly absurd, he has one foot firmly planted into the soils of reality, and the other rooted deep into the psyche of being silly. TEDxSydney 2012 took place on Saturday 26 May 2012 at Carriageworks.

Saw this guy live a couple weeks ago at Soho Theatre ... loved every minute of it.  He's inspiring the shit out of me.  Thanks Sam.

P.S. Do you mind if I contact your agent about being in my short film?

Directed by Lionel Goldstein

This just made my day.  The only question is: do I send it to my Father?    

Roger & Roger head to the studio to record sound effects for a remastered horror movie. Comedy series about two Foley artists, both called Roger, who haven't had a hit in years. With studio engineer Jeremy, Roger M's wife Pippa & only fan Jacob, they try to rekindle their career. Cast and character details (in order of appearance) Roger H – Rich Hardisty Roger M – Andy Needle Pippa – Gemma Warren Jeremy – Mark Heap Graham – Declan Kennedy Watch More Blaps here: http://comedyblaps.channel4.com

"You know something?  That was pretty funny."

Colbert puts together a fantastic interview ... really great to see him sans "character". [via Face The Nation]

Keep it real Internet ... HAPPY FESTIVUS and bring on 2016!