I remember hearing about how angry Al Pacino was during the filming of a specific scene of Carlito's Way because the actor in the scene with him was simply reciting his memorized lines and waiting for Al to give his lines, so he could deliver his next line. Pacino was upset the other actor was not giving him anything off of which to play. As actors, it is important to bring something to the table. It is equally important that the actor or actors in the scene bring something too so that all can work off each other. It is like instruments in a musical composition working together to make the piece sound beautiful. I am sure there were times that my acting class partners were as upset at me as Al was while filming Carlito's Way. I had spent my entire life building up emotional defense walls to protect myself from being hurt that I struggled to tap into those feelings of sad, mad, glad to fully express them to my partners as well as to an audience. I give credit to all my acting partners who hung in there and kept trying to play off of the little I provided them while remaining positive that it would eventually come for me. It did! There are so many people to thank and so many little moments which lead to the big moment which I experienced one day while performing an exercise with Laura Shatkus. The way the exercise was unfolding I began to feel sad and a desire to cry. The mood quickly changed and instead of crying I was mad. I began to shout and scream at her at the top of my lungs. Part of me was scared of the feelings coming to the surface and how Laura would react, but part of me said this was part of the process of discovering my artistic voice and talent so I kept it going. Laura played off of it so beautifully. She received what I was offering and expressed to me her feelings for me to embrace and return the expression of feelings. At the end, the instructor, Ted, said it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen from me. It was so powerful and true. Laura told me how proud she was as this was the first time she had seen this kind of expression of feelings in the moment from me. I thanked her for being the one who was able to tap into my being and assist me in bringing it out. Her willingness to take it in allowed me to have the confidence to continue displaying what I felt in the moment.
Laura Shatkus is one of the best artists and individuals I have ever known. She is so lovely and talented. Every show I have ever seen of her performances has dazzled me! I feel privilege to call her a friend and know the acting world is a much greater place when she is shining for audiences. She is currently performing in Muse Of Fire Theater Company's production of Macbeth as Lady Macbeth. Performances of this great classic from William Shakespeare are being done outdoors in Ingraham Park behind the Morton Civic Center in Evanston, Il through August 29, 2010. Saturdays and Sundays at 3p.m. For more information about the show and how to see the lovely and talented Laura Shatkus, please log on to:
http://www.museoffire.webs.com/
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