"The Retun to Morality"

"Arthur Kellogg is an author whose book has been drastically misconstrued by the American public, resulting in a media storm, a violent incident, and his wife having left him. Arthur is drowning his sorrows in a bar, where he meets Beverly much younger and very beautiful."

I am Beverly Sapperstein. I am getting my masters degree in political science and work for my university's newspaper. I speak some Yiddish. My (final) objective is to get Arthur to give me an interview. Well, to trust me and tell me his story.

First things first -- I have to memorize my lines. I have read the script a few times. Tony Barr, author of "Acting for th Camera", offers these tips for memorizing: (1) determine what me and Beverly have in common and how we are different; and (2) learn my (Beverly's) response to what Arthur is saying. Also, I can record (check out www.audacity.com for some free recording stuff) my scene (in a flat tone), burn it on a cd (I should get an ipod), and listen to it in the car or wherever.

So much of acting is responding to what the other people in the scene is doing and saying to you. Learning how your character respond will help you memorize too. So you listen to what your partner says, then respond with the script.

Acting is also creating or determining what your relationship to the other people. Arthur and I are strangers. Sometimes the script writer doesn't tell you all the aspects of character's past and present, so as an actor I have to make specific choices. There are so many choices out there, so it's important to make choices that are exciting for the actor. Sometimes the choices I make depend on what part of my acting ability I want to "stretch." Stretch my craft means that I work on choices that I don't usually make. My acting coach, Andy Garrison, helps me stretch by assigning me characters who are different from my own personality, or who are put in various "emotionally" charged situations.

Also, sometimes I choose to practice/address the flinch when I feel myself "flinch." Flinching is when an actor makes decisions about what the character will or will not do based on the actor as a person, opposed to the character, being uncomfortable about doing or saying something.

Once I was a character who was college educated and worked in a brothel during the depression era. Yikes. The little feminist in me was like what the fuck. The scene was about me convincing this other working girl that even though we were prostitutes we were human and she needed to treat the other prostitutes with respect. Well, part of the moment before was that she slept with this one guy who was the "boyfriend"/love interest of another working girl. Yeah, there was a fight. I was one of the oldest or seasoned veteran. The danger for me was if I failed. Fuck. It's kind of weird sometimes because like the scene is already written, but you have to totally live in the moment, and be committed to your objective at that moment. No projecting yourself at the of the script to get some magic answer or something. Your objective can change varies times in the scene, but usually there is kind of an over arching objective. Me Kito wanted to cry a couple of times because I was distraught that my character was fighting for her humanity.

Back to "The Return to Morality" Check out this Review of Pachino's Creation

Strangers in more specific context -- includes me beautiful, young, master student, who has aspirations to be successful, to be an up and coming journalist, who will do anything to get the story and make a name for herself. Or maybe I'm just a groupy. Arthur is an infamous author, an older man, intelligent, sad, drinking alone in this bar, who has been subjected to violence, ridicule, and, well, his wife isn't even standing by his side. Specifics about the bar -- I could make it a dive or upscale, is the bar crowded, is the bartender working close to where we are sitting, which choices are more exciting for me --

In the scene I'm doing with Arthur I say "buche," which is Yiddish for book. Anyways, I don't speak Yiddish. So, I visited google and found Jew Fact Org. Interesting enough Yiddish is a language that has it's origins from Hebrew and medieval German. It is primarily spoken by Jews in Central and Eastern Europe. "Oy vey" is still my favorite Yiddish word.

Well, I need to memorize. Make some choices, get me some objectives, switch it around and make some different choices, get some other objectives, and above all else have some fun.

Sassy Girl says "it is was it is."