From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Anson had always been curious about one thing: why did the basic acting class involve imitating animals?

What was the principle behind it? What did animals have to do with acting?

Of course, even now, no professional teacher had given Anson an answer, but Anson had gradually figured out his own understanding.

Imitating animals helps beginners enter the world of acting on two levels.

First, body language.

That is, as Julie Andrews said, understanding, mastering, and using one's own body to express forms and emotions without lines, and to feel the energy revealed by the body.

Moreover, imitation is indeed a very important first step into the world of acting.

So, why are the objects of imitation animals, instead of a superstar or a classic movie character or a classic scene? This then turns to another level.

Second, breaking through shame.

On the one hand, animal movements are the simplest, most basic, and most one-dimensional, which is the so-called basic skill. You must learn to walk before you can consider running.

On the other hand, it is to break one's own sense of shame and establish the fourth wall.

Acting is actually an act of revealing oneself and expressing emotions, which to some extent is shameful. For example, performing an affectionate intimate scene in front of one's parents, or performing a tearful crying scene in front of one's close friends. Without the existence of the fourth wall, the actor cannot get into the role, and the sense of shame will prevail.

Imagine, if you were asked to stand at a traffic light intersection and suddenly start dancing; and it's still awkward dancing without background music.

Of course, some people can do it, but not for most people.

However, "acting" is such a thing that requires interpreting different roles in public. Therefore, this sense of shame must be broken through in order for the actor to enter the role in full view and complete things that he would not normally do.

Imitating animals is such an action.

Precisely because animal movements are primitive, simple, and without a sense of shame, when an actor imitates an animal, it means that he must let go of his baggage and roll around and scratch his ears and cheeks in front of others.

That feeling is like being stripped naked in front of everyone.

Only by overcoming shame, breaking through one's own barriers, and establishing a fourth wall in one's brain can an actor truly enter the role and enter the plot.

It is precisely because of this that imitating animals is a very basic and very common action in elementary acting courses. This is Anson's understanding, and the inspiration comes from the class in front of him, gaining a little experience at a time.

In this class, the teacher did not ask them to imitate animals—in fact, the principle is the same, but the expression and investment state are different. He asked the students to dance, but not ordinary dancing.

The students, in pairs, each held out one hand to support each other's bodies with their palms together, and looked at each other, the only requirement being that they could not avoid eye contact—of course, their palms could not be separated.

Then, the teacher played music and asked the students to use their bodies to feel the melody and rhythm based on their understanding of the power of music and start dancing.

This is not as easy as imagined.

Eye contact and palm contact are equivalent to limiting oneself to a "strange but intimate" relationship, which is already embarrassing enough. As a result, you still need to dance? And use your body to express music?

This… is simply an advanced level of shame!

Moreover, this is still not all, the real difficulty is yet to come.

For people of different personalities and types, the tests are also different.

Suppose, in the same piece of music, two people feel completely different emotions. One person starts breakdancing, while the other person dances modern dance. They are completely two worlds that are completely off track.

The problem lies here—

You can't let go of your palms and you can't look away. This forms a physical connection; at the same time, the rhythm of the music is consistent. Even if the dance types and styles are different, the rhythm felt by the two people is consistent. This also forms an invisible connection.

That is to say, under the circumstances where two people have a series of connections, they need to find a way to coexist harmoniously in different channels and different styles.

So, in this case, how to continue?

This is the real test. In addition to shame and embarrassment, what is more important is the actor's personality in the acting state, how to insist on oneself and how to cater to the opponent, how to seek resonance and how to show oneself, how to feel emotions and how to feel the opponent, and so on.

Some people are more confident and may insist on themselves; some people are more inferior and may cater to others; some people are more self-centered and immersed in their own world… But, in the final analysis, two people need to dance together. The touch of the palms and the exchange of eyes make it necessary for the two people to find a way to cooperate in the melody.

At this time, it is no longer just about breaking the sense of shame.

On the basis of imitating animals, this is a small step forward, and it is also necessary to feel the rhythm and rhythm of the performance, to feel the body's understanding of the performance, to feel the collision between you and me in the opponent's play, etc., and to further understand others and understand the environment while understanding oneself.

—In the form of music.

Music, to some extent, is the same as animals, a simple and primitive medium. Melody and rhythm can break through barriers such as language, culture, and age, and become a connection platform for different souls to feel the same emotions. This also allows students to return to their original intentions and touch emotions simply and plainly.

However, not everyone can feel it. Some people find it easier, some find it more difficult, some are more dull, and some are more careless.

This is a process, but no matter what the talent is, everyone can have their own feelings and experiences, so this is called the basic skills of acting.

No wonder the teacher kept emphasizing to feel and experience.

Acting is not just "acting." There is a lot of preparation work before acting, to experience, feel, understand, and digest. If acting is just about presenting emotions, then the actor will never be able to give those emotions life.

Shy or cheerful, reserved or open-minded, fearful or enjoying… Such things are not related to the labels defined by social life, but only about a person's most real and deepest emotions.

There is a subtle sense of nakedness.

It is difficult to accurately describe, it has nothing to do with any secrets, it is just about being real.

Obviously, this is completely different from Anson's impression of acting school and acting courses. Every minute and every second can bring surprises and constantly dig into oneself.

Second update.