"Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible."

Richard Feynman

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​Last week we talked about raising our standards.

Over the last month or so I've really needed to raise mine.

I'm feeling actingly meh.

Relying on a that'll do mentality.

I'll just fudge my way through this tape

I know what I'm doing

learn my lines

call it in

meh

I feel that the overall quality of the work i'm doing is off.

What's going on inside me feels unspecific, muddy, flabby round the edges.

i've got a bad case of the acting meh-sles

a blunt knife that's somehow found it's way into the hands of surgeons who know how to use a dull tool.

i left drama school 12 years ago

After that I enjoyed getting sharper

i'd pay for classes and leave more confident, more charged, more alive.

but then classes got relegated behind parenting/going to the cinema/can I really afford classes/do i really need them?

I know there's no replacement for doing the thing

but right now classes are a luxury that I'm struggling to make work.

I haven't taken an acting class in around 2 and a half years

And so i found myself staring down the book Different Every Night by the director, Mike Alfreds.

It's been sat on my shelf untouched since I first read it around 13 years ago.

all right then

I take it out and start reading

fkn thrilling.

Actions

Objectives

Points of Concentration

How to stay alive

How to avoid dead theatre - there's the dull knife - rehearsed deadness.

he takes you into his rehearsals

talks about what prep he asks for

how to properly use the four lists

what he means by "different every night"

I'm transported into his rehearsal room

i'm a fly on the wall

I read about other actor's processes, about their experiences the mistakes they make, the successful work they make

I make judgements about my process, about experiences i've had, mistakes to avoid and what I can do next time.

I have questions and the desire to go look for the answers.

I know there's no replacement for doing the thing

But i'm getting closer

I'm stimulated.

I'm working.

I'm sharpening.

Acting books are a great source of vigour and rigour.

A route to continual training in the down periods.

I know there's no replacement for doing the thing

but in reading Mike's book, I have seen how far I have strayed from all the wonderful exploratory work that's available to me.

Work that gets put aside due to our industry's desire for quick, cheap results.

Time is what we are having to make compromises for.

We may not have time to sharpen ourselves in a long rehearsal process, or even a short rehearsal process, and we may not be able to afford classes, but we always can find time to read, and books are (relatively) inexpensive for what they deliver.

Acting books may not be the most traditional way to learn acting, but they're an overlooked tool to help us stay as sharp as we possibly can.

If you ever have a terrible case of the meh-sles, then a good acting book is a great place to start.

Here are 3 good ones:

For bringing life to your acting:

• ​Different Every Night* by Mike Alfreds

For a great way into Meisner:

• ​The Actor's Art and Craft by Bill Esper and Damon DiMarco

For some Fundamentals from 1933:

• ​Acting: The First Six lessons by Richard Boleslavsky

*i've tried to find where these are the cheapest but you might find better used prices if you google. e.g. right now there's one used copy of Different Every Night going for £3.59 on amazon.

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What's your favourite acting book?

I'm thinking of making a Readers Reading List with everyones fav acting book (we can potentially add it to The Working Actors Notebook)

So...

If you reply to this email with your favourite acting book, you will be automatically entered into
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​🎉
​The Meh-sles Inoculation Prize Draw
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The winner of which will receive their choice of any of the acting books that make the list.
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Happy replying!

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Big anonymous reader thank you Right, i don't know who you are, but anonymous snooper sam, i really really want to shake your hand for this testimonial: wherever you may be anonymous snooper Sam, may your snooping always be snoopy. snoop forth and prosper Thank you so much whoever you are, and a huge congrats on the audiobook job (the money will be terrible first job - i lost money on mine. plus it took me around 75 auditions before i got it so you're smashing it). Practice on this one, and then you can for sure raise your rates once you've done your first. If you get stuck on anything just shoot me an email. Mahoosive well done. Go snoople into that snoop night. So take a chance Reply with your favourite acting book and a new acting book could end up coming through your letterbox. Have a great rest of week, A x p.s If anyone's interested in doing what Snooper Sam's doing, the audiobook/narrator guide Snoops is referring to is here. p.p. s. i couldn't find the exact gif i wanted to send Margot yesterday, so i decided to make it and now i'm feeling unnecessarily proud of myself and wanted to share it with you: p.p.p.s are you enjoying any of this nonsense?👇

How did you find this week's email? LOVED IT 🌋🌋🌋 MEH 😑😑 I didn't like this one 🚫

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