The first ever AAF One Year Training has started with a bang! There was definitely some nerves up in the air when we started; everybody wants to be good, lets face it. Everybody wants to make an impact and understand how to become better - and that's the case with every profession as we know. But specifically to acting, what I have noticed is that the self-imposed pressure to succeed often actually limits us (read Ashlie's previous blog post about fear and how to get over it here). Naturally, the first three weeks of our training has been about breaking these patterns and just being present with the moment, with no judgement to ourselves or our partner, accepting the nerves and actually "letting it do to us what is does", fully committing to the moment. Similar thoughts were given to us by the one and only brilliant Krista Kosonen who we had the pleasure of having at our studio as a guest of honor for one of our classes.
Krista shines with a sort of non-apologetic self-confidence. Confidence in being herself and having her own visions and opinions. Very refreshing and inspiring! The whole Q&A session took 2.5 hours so there is no chance for me to recap everything spoken, but here are a few things she mentioned and said to value in the profession of acting:
- Study: Acting is a skill, one must constantly learn and study to develop further. No one is a ready-made actor. There are multiple things an actor can do to further their craft, one of them as Krista put it, is reading. At the end of the day, the actor draws from the text (the background of the character, his/her emotions and words, the subtext...) and without being used to analyze text and notice the subtleties in it, the actor cannot fully dive into the experience. Secondly in terms of studying, just do. Even Meisner said it "Acting is the reality of doing". So if you are an actor, act, do. You do not need a professional film crew to rehearse and become more equipped with listening and empathy...which reminds me...
- Empathy: Acting is at the end of the day, experiencing others' lives and emotions that we as actors have not necessarily had. Krista really highlighted that, acting requires tremendous amounts of empathy, being able to put oneself in others' shoes and truly understand what they might be going through. Empathetic skills can be learnt and developed, through enriching your own experiences as well. Being more present about your own decision-making, emotions and drive allows you to connect with that of others'.
- Confidence: Like said in the beginning, Krista shone with this radiant self-affirming attitude. Sometimes work sucks, sometimes you suck, sometimes the director you would so hope to be inspiring and full of clear guidance and vision, but that just does not always happen. What it does NOT mean however, is that you ARE bad. You had a bad moment, that's it. What helps though, is reflecting on it; why did it not go so well? Was I tired? Was I annoyed? What really was the reason behind the so-perceived 'not-goodness'? Simple solution regardless the answer is to fix it: be more prepared with your lines, sleep more...
The most important thing to remember was that as an actor, you will never be "ready". Each experience is new and requires a set of different approaches, flexibility with the work and more specifically with yourself is something that will help you throughout the journey. Accepting what is and what you have to give to the project supports your well-being also. Confidence and a sort of selfishness is allowed!
Huge thank you to Krista for not only affecting our professional mindsets but also our holistic mindsets!
Until next time,
- Anna Tavaila, Student in the One Year Training