A short review of my first acting workshop, at the Actors Centre Australia:
At half past ten this morning, not knowing what to expect, I sat down with a bunch of strangers in an old chapel, which was converted into a studio. It was beautiful inside, with brick walls, wood paneling and lights. Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts studied at the centre and Hugh Jackman is one of their patrons. Colin Ferrell attended workshops here for six months before appearing in the movie, Minority Report.
I won't go into too much detail, but the workshop was packed with energy and emotion. The only words we used during the exercises were, "Yes, no, you, me, adventure (vs.) boring, revenge (vs.) forgiveness." But at the end, I felt like words could flow out of my mouth in a gushing torrent. How strange - I thought acting was about memorising scripts. In actuality, it's about creating atmosphere and energy. The message conveyed by the verbal pauses is far, far greater than what's actually said.
This workshop has stretched my imagination of what's possible for me. Stepping out of my comfort zone was such a breeze and all I needed was atmosphere, a stage and some encouragement. I've been buzzing all day and it has resulted in some amazing conversations with people who would normally talk in mono syllables.
It is true what they say, acting is reception and trasmission of energy.