During my time at GRAS, comedic scenes have been few and far between. This is not by design, but I think I have just been unlucky with my timing, as I have been switching instructors more than normal students. This week, I was in luck because we would be performing a scene from comedic powerhouse Jim Carrey.
This week's class was a perfect lesson in how to take the words on the page and make them your own. The script is funny in its own right, but you can't help but read the lines in your head the same way Jim Carrey performed them. He took the character to another level. The challenge, in my eyes, was to try and do that very same thing. Trying to give my best Jim Carrey impersonation would not help my development as an actor, so I had to try and make the scene my own.
How can we do that, especially with such an iconic performance from Carrey? Ellen's advice is to start with memorizing the scene first. Make yourself familiar with the wants and desires of the interaction before memorizing the lines. Not only will this help with line memorization, but it will allow you to approach the scene with emotion first.
More than anything, Ellen's words of wisdom this week boiled down to this sentiment: be believable. No matter what kind of day or week you have had, you cannot let it negatively impact your performance. Again, using our Jim Carrey scene, no one would believe my performance to be authentic if I were going out there and trying to do someone else's interpretation of the character. We have to look for even the smallest of details to own a role.
So, how did I end up doing? I have to be honest, it was hard not to drift into Jim Carrey territory. This did prove to be a great exercise because almost every role we audition for early on in our careers is going to be for a character from a story we have never heard of. This means we should take big swings in our performances. When you are practicing your lines for an audition, and you feel the delivery of certain lines could bring you to a new level, go for it.
This is wonderful advice for self-tapes as well. In the past, I would perform dozens of takes until I got one that I was satisfied with sending, but what I should have done is tried the performance from a few different angles and then submitted two options. Ellen mentioned how many casting directors may enjoy this as it shows you understand the character and want to find out where all the possibilities could lead.