Mr. Davis

 

I was looking for a file on my computer the other day and came across my five year plan for the acting program at EBHS.  This is something I recommend to everyone, for anything in life.  You should always have a one year, three year, and five year plan.  Start with the five year plan, then break it down into chunks that are achievable, the three year plan is the main chunk.  The one year plan changes every year, it is the smaller steps you need to take to get to where you want to be.  For an actor, a realistic professional five year plan at the start might be: "In five years I want to make 50% of my income from acting"  Now.  Obviously, if you do better than that it is great, but set the plan realistically.  The three year plan might be to have 25% of income from acting and be attending 100 auditions a year.  A good one year plan might be, to get my headshot and resume together, and attend a minimum of 75 auditions.   

 

So that is how a five year plan works.  As I said, I recently came across my five year plan for EBHS Drama.  Though this is only year 4, we have actually accomplished most of the goals I had set forth.  I will paste this below:

Classes:

1. build drama position to full time position 2008/2009

   1. offer full range of classes including:   ** CHANGE IN PLAN**
      

      1. directing

      2. stage combat

      3. solo senior thesis

2. use stagecraft class to build a competent stage crew 2007/2008

3. encourage students to pursue dream of acting ongoing

Drama Club:

1. build drama account to allow bigger productions 2005/2006

2. professionalize all aspects of productions ongoing

3. join thespian society to provide more performance opportunities 06

4. create funding for drama scholarships    **NO PROGRESS**
   

5. increase greatly the profile of the drama productions in the community   ongoing

6. move culture of the school to embrace drama and recognize it’s importance ongoing

   1. two weekends 2005/2006

   2. use of stage 2005/2006

7. improve facilities

   1. mics 2005/2006

   2. stage 2007/2008

   3. lights 2009/2010

   4. cyc 2007/2008

   5. stock of costumes, props, and scenery ongoing

Okay,

This will be an experiment, if no one is interested I will abandon it, but I thought that this blog could be a place for conversations about acting and theatre.  Maybe a question you keep forgetting to ask, or we ran out of time, a point you want clarification on, or a thought you had.  To guide things, I will start by putting forth an idea that you can respond to if you want.

 

Today's idea: Actors need to have ego.  Ego, not diva.  A strong sense of self, a strong desire to be seen.  An actor who hides on stage will not succeed.  You need to be the actor who finds the light, who wants their work to be viewed.  This does not mean upstaging everyone else.  It means simply that you have worked hard and you want that work to be seen.  It means that you believe that you have something to add to the play, and that you want to the reach the audience. 

 

Admittedly, this would seem like a simple statement.  However, many actors hide.  Many actors think that ego only has bad connotations and will not admit to having one.  And I would posit that most actors are more than a little shy, and more than a little uncertain about how to judge their own work.

 

So I put it to you, how do actors develop the stage presence that they need to shine? 

 

I look forward to your ideas.

 

Mr. Davis