What a day. I had breakfast in my favorite Mexican restaurant. They had a new server there, that hadn’t worked before. But he saw me…and said…”The usual sir?” Wow…I don’t know if that recognition is a good or bad thing. I am a creature of habit. I got into the office and had a lot of work to do…So much so, that im a little intimidated by it all. I just have to learn to balance being a General Manager and a filmmaker. For years, all I did was make movies…as a writer-producer-director-editor. One project would consume my professional life for weeks. By focusing on one thing, I was able to produce excellent work. I don’t have the luxury any longer. In fact with my day to day commitments of running a company, I don’t think I have time to make many films at the present moment. Instead I need to rely upon my very capable staff. I have to keep them to a high standard to make sure that our product remains top of the line. But that takes good communication…something at which I excel. I have big documentary that I’ve been working on for the past few months. The production is complete and now the post-production needs to get going. I decided to hand that over to Guy, so I can manage the day to day operations of the company better. I think that is more of a priority at this point in time. If work continues to flow in the way it has been…I’m going to have to divert more and more projects that way as we expand. As long as the quality stays the same…im fine with that. It just further expands our influence.
Today we had another round of classes at St. Christopher. I feel much more refreshed this time around. The kids were very excited. I was told by many mother’s that they were asking about the classes all week…like …Is it Wednesday yet, Is it Wednesday yet? It makes me feel good that they are having fun. Then something happened in the teens class that made me feel quite good. I made someone else cry. Let me explain. I always espouse that 80% of communication is non-verbal. So I try to encourage my students to use inflection and body language to act out their scene. I have this game I play, called…Yes/No. The only thing the one actor can say is Yes, the other actor only can say No. It’s a pretty powerful game. I went first to give a demonstration how it would work. My word was “Yes.” I really got into it…I did a quick sense memory of my failed marriage as my motivation. So I kept saying Yes…at first forcefully, the desperately…then with a sense of resignation. I must have said “Yes” about 60 different ways in about 3:00. When I got finished…there were two girls crying. All I said was “Yes” I guess it was pretty effective. I never really considered myself a good actor before. I am pretty honest with myself and my own abilities. I always loved acting…but knew I couldn’t make a career out of it, that’s why I became a director. But ever since my divorce…and the acute amount of pain that I endured…now…I’m a great actor…but only because of the pain. Im able to channel it a productive manner now through my art. I have a theory…that the most brilliant artists in the world…have been through some measure of extreme pain. I think the pain refines who we are and it allows us to become one with our emotions. The arts are also a good coping mechanism to deal with the pain. So all in all…the girls’ tears made me feel pretty good about my performance. To think that it came in such a simple exercise was awesome. I know I will never be a professional actor for a full-time gig. But having the ability to deliver a great performance makes me a better teacher, and that is what Im most concerned with. If I can someday cast myself in a bit role in one of my movies…all the better.
No comments:
Post a Comment