Let’s cut to the chase and close out 2020 by focusing on the most important thing you can be doing right now to make it in the industry.
Looking at production slates and taking into consideration all that has changed in the industry over the last few months, something has become incredibly clear, to those that were paying attention.
Some of the changes have been production related. Other changes have been around the industry culture as a whole.
What most actors have missed, is that industry has also changed artistically, out of a necessity to evolve with the times.
That’s why this one skill is so important. If you want to succeed as an actor, you must be working on it right now.
Even though it’s something every actor learns, very early in their career, it tends to be tossed aside soon after.
But, like all things, it has come full circle and if you want to be a professional, full time actor, you have to become world class at it.
Otherwise, you could end up being passed over simply for not having polished this skill.
Here’s why...
If you were paying attention over the last few months and if you were able to connect the dots, it would have been easy to see why monologues are a coming trend.
In this environment, there are so many advantages that come along with a production that is heavy on monologues.
For starters, there are fewer moving parts during production. When monologues are used to move a story forward everything is streamlined.
There are fewer locations to scout or fewer sets to build, and there are fewer production staff necessary because of that.
That has its pros and cons of course, which we can get to another time. What’s important to understand now is that it leads to being able to trim some line items on the production budget.
That alone would be a big deal for the studios at any given time, but it’s more important than ever before.
See, production budgets are being stretched by increased costs on things they never had to consider before.
The most recent film in the Jurassic Park franchise reportedly spent over ten million dollars on precautions, preparations, and equipment that would allow them to resume production over the summer.
In other words, that cost would have been much higher, if they had to implement everything from day 1.
These costs aren’t going away anytime soon, so productions will have to adapt to allow for them.
Instead of splurging and taking a trip to a faraway island to recreate the “authenticity” of a scene, for example, they have to make room in the production budget to hire expensive experts like The Mayo Clinic to come up with safety plans and protocols.
Insurance companies are also being more cautious nowadays. Halting production because an actor is sick can be very expensive for them.
That means it costs more to insure a production, and they also demand a ton of safety conditions be put in place before they agree to insure the project.
That too, drives up production costs.
All of this is causing the use of monologues to be much more prevalent.
The problem is that monologues are challenging. They aren’t the best fit for film and tv, since those mediums are driven by on screen action.
Some projects try to keep the audience’s interest, during a monologue, by playing flashbacks or whatever the scene calls for, over the monologue.
This is footage that can very easily be cut out of a project and replaced with a monologue done simply.
The problem for actors is that long stretches of dialogue are always challenging, because it’s easy to overplay the scene, in an effort to make up for a lack of action.
When all eyes are on you, and there is no other background action to help drive the story, the tendency is to over do it.
Also, when there isn’t much else going on in the scene, everything you do can be amplified in the eyes of the audience.
Someone you should definitely be studying and modeling for this is Brian Cranston.
He’s a terrific all around actor and has a fantastic range, but what really sets him apart and puts him in a league of his own is his ability to captivate an audience through monologuing.
The greatest characters he’s ever played have all had very powerful monologues. Study his work and you will see that he is masterful at varying his pace and pitch.
Many of his characters “take their time” with their words and have a roundabout way of speaking. Even so, the degree to which he can vary the speed of his delivery is absolutely amazing.
Watch some of his work and pay close attention to that, and work on incorporating it into your scenes.
After you work on your pace and pitch, you can start layering the scene.
Because there may not be much else going on during your monologue, your hands are great props and can help you with emphasis. Identify places where you can use hand gestures instead of changing up your tonality or vocal patterns.
This will keep the audience engaged and keep you from becoming too rhythmic with your speech.
Doing just these few things will set you miles apart from everyone else who tries to work out a monologue all in one go.
The key is to layer the scene piece by piece.
Mark my words, monologues are set to become an integral part of the industry and mastering this skill now is very important, if you want to build a successful acting career.
Of course, you can become great at this but it doesn't matter if you don't have enough opportunities to showcase your skills on set, so make sure that you are also making yourself highly visible to industry decision makers.
Being talented is only one part of the equation.
As we talked about just a moment ago, the industry has to deal with all kinds of things that have nothing to do with “talent.”
Ignoring that fact is what keeps most actors stuck. The ones that are able to recognize everything else that goes on in the industry, change how they approach it and are able to make huge career progress quickly.
That’s how you recognize industry trends and give yourself a competitive advantage.
For example, getting really good at monologuing can help your booking ratio but CDs will still want to look into you and know what you're all about. That's where this comes in.
See, nobody wants to stick their neck out for someone they don’t fully trust.
Most actors don’t realize it but that’s really what you are asking CDs to do when you go in for an audition. The way you get them to trust you is by having an extensive body of work to point to or by having a stellar industry reputation. Here’s how I can help with that.
Hardly anyone looks at it that way, and that’s why most actors struggle to make any kind of real career progress. Don’t make the same mistakes as everyone else.
Sidestep them and focus on what truly works and let me know how I can support you.
Remember, I’m always happy to help however I can, so feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment below.
I’ll do what I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott