Stop DOING stuff!

  Stop DOING stuff! 

You’ve heard it many times, no doubt. “Less doing, more being”.

I want to say it again because it’s important to sometimes be reminded of the simple fundamental elements of acting. 

I’m also seeing a lot of students recently whose default mode is to fill the scene with extra stuff which usually comes from a place of not trusting simplicity and truthfulness. 


Let me be clear, I do not ever tell students to ‘do less’. Just don’t do anything that isn’t honest.

If you’re behaving in an authentic, truthful way, ALL behavior is appropriate and can serve the scene. What I’m focusing on here, specifically, are the habits that creep in when actors or singers feel the need to DO something because the vulnerability of stillness is too uncomfortable.


Film yourself, whether it’s for a self tape audition or just out of curiosity and you’ll notice what things you’re doing because you feel you should and how it reads as unnecessary and inauthentic on camera. 

It could be:

  • Leaning forward or back,

  • Scratching a non-existent itch,

  • Unnecessary extra blinking (I catch myself doing that sometimes),

  • Adding a subtle laugh or scoff before lines,

  • Big inhales or exhales,

  • Touching the face, 

  • Looking up or down or off camera an unnecessary amount,

  • Shifting your weight from one foot to the other (a MASSIVE shift on camera).


What you need to remember is that the camera misses NOTHING. So if any behavior feels ‘fake’, it’s very likely going to look fake too. 

If each moment is simply you, living, truthfully in feeling and expressing yourself with the words (and without) honestly, nothing extra is required. 


YOU ARE FASCINATING! TRUST THAT! 


Keep up the great work

Mark :) 


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