We are all born with some acting skills. Putting on a good face for the boss that irritates us, or acting as if we like the gift we have absolutely no use for, these are acting skills. Some of us do it better than others.
But what about the task of becoming an actor to portray a seventeenth century king of France who just lost his kingdom? This is another level of transformational skill in mind, body, and spirit.
If you are a hard-working, socially engaged, theater or film actor, most likely your life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and postural habits are very different from those of a privileged king of France.
All your thoughts, feelings, and ideas are expressed in your “use” – your body language and movement. You want to know what your personal patterns are, so you can change them or they can be changed to become the king and tell his story. Your breathing pattern, level of tension, gait, and general demeanor would need to change to become the king.
How to become an actor becomes an issue of understanding the patterns of your body, mind, and spirit. To be able to transform enough of your own habitual patterns, and also connect to where you meet the character…. that is becoming an actor.