UPDATE ON SCREEN ACTORS GUILD THEATRICAL CONTRACT
SAG members are voting on it. We will know the results by the time I send out the July newsletter. The only thing certain right now is that, regardless of whether the contract passes or is shot down, fully half of the Guild's membership will be happy and the other half angry. I sense that Screen Actors Guild is in the process of re-defining itself. When the Guild was organized in 1933, there were only movie studios to worry about. It was difficult for SAG to adjust to the arrival of television and commercials in the 1950's. Now it must figure out what to do about the Internet and the digital age. By all means, stay tuned.

HERE'S AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT ACTOR TRAINING
This piece appeared recently in a new and excellent British publication, More Intelligent Life. It is all about the challenges UK acting teachers are facing with incoming students who have been born and raised browsing the Internet and texting. And twittering. Like everything else, acting training must continually evolve (http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/story/pixellated-generation).

CHICAGO SCENE STUDY
The scene study workshop meets at The Acting Studio, 10 West Hubbard Street #2E, in the Loop. That is located half a block west of Hubbard and State streets. Hours are 7-10:30 on Thursday nights. It is free to audit once, and you can start at any time. Tuition is $135 per 4-week month. PRIVATE COACHING I am available for private coaching in Chicago. $75 per hour.

ACTING FOR ANIMATORS WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
June 17 Greenwich, Connecticut - Blue Sky Studios
Nov 4-7 VIEW Conference, Turin, Italy
Nov 18-27 Swansea Animation Days (SAND), South Wales
Planning - India (some time between October and the end of the year)

CRAFT NOTES
Un-scrambling a Pinball Brain
Some years ago, American Theatre magazine ran an interview with actor Joe Montegna. It has stuck in my mind because of something he said about the challenges of working in first productions of David Mamet's plays. The gist was that, inevitably, in every single Mamet play he had done, there came a point in rehearsal where he became convinced that the great playwright had dropped the ball. The lines would not work. I am paraphrasing now, but his solution was: "I just kept on saying the lines, with the pauses where he put them. After a while, through a process I did not understand, they started to work. David was always right."

The Montegna interview is on my mind as I reflect on the work of an actor in my Chicago scene study workshop. He is struggling to understand Pale in Terrence McNally's Burn This. Pale is a rather erratic and explosive man, and his lines do not always make sense at first. If you are reading this newsletter, John, I have a fresh note for you.

It is true that an actor must answer the action, obstacle, objective questions for any role. In addition to knowing what a character is doing in a scene, it is also necessary to become comfortable with the character's particular style, rhythm and mental patterns. Your rhythms in real life are not quite the same as Pale's. I think that part of the difficulty you are experiencing is that you are trying to make Pale's pinball thought process fit your own personal rhythms. That won't work.

Montegna discovered that if he kept repeating the lines, they would eventually "feel" right. They would feel organic and justified. David Mamet's writing is all about rhythm. When you key into that, the lines will start falling into place. That is also the case with Pale. My personal impression is that Pale is unique because he tends to speak aloud his inner monologue. If something pops into his mind, he says it. That can be a disarming, even charming character trait, but it can also make him come off as insensitive at times. You, John, are not that way in your daily life. Like most of us, you make an effort to get along with everybody. Pale is a take-it-or-leave-it kind of guy.

Here is what I want you to do. For the moment, forget about the how and why of Pale's behavior. In rehearsal, get the lines out of your mouth in the rhythm that Pale would. At first, you will feel uncomfortable doing this but, if you keep on doing it, you will discover the same thing Joe Montegna did. Once you are comfortable inhabiting Pale's pinball brain, it will be easier to figure out the action, obstacle, objective issues.

A little more about this and I'll stop. Your thought process is different from everybody else's on earth because of your values and experience and genes. No two people are exactly alike, and most normal humans are content to leave it at that. But actors are not normal. It is part of your job to figure out how your character's brain is ticking. Anthony Hopkins has mentioned in numerous interviews that his acting method is to read the script "hundreds of times". Then he says the words out loud over and over again until they finally all begin to make sense. This is similar to the approach Joe Montegna was describing.

And so.... Before the next class, John, make yourself say Pale's lines until they come out of your mouth comfortably. Don't attempt to make them logical. Instead of looking for the logic that leads to the lines, let the lines lead you to the logic. Part of the genius in Pale can be attributed to his apparent inconsistencies. If he made sense all the time, he would not be the centerpiece in this wonderful play. Work with your heart and not your head, and you will find Pale's rhythms inside you. Promise.

Until Next Month . . . Be Safe!