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Excerpts
from forthcoming book: Copyright
© 2004, Aldo Vidali. All Rights Reserved.
Why
is acting is much more marvelous than one may have first imagined? Therefore,
storytelling, theater, and motion pictures are critical to the stability
and progress of our society. These arts give the community the opportunity
to examine old and new ideas and to develop the ability of reflecting,
learning, and of discovery as central reasons for the existence of the
human community. Fellini's films reflect this in a very special way
because they are free from conventional constraints. Anyone wishing to undertake the intense task of studying acting needs as much encouragement and guidance as possible. The Fellini Way strives to encourage student actors and actresses to express their inner reality and perception of human states in a manner that best harmonizes with their individual interests, aspirations, and abilities. The wonderful thing about teaching acting as Fellini did is the individualized attention which makes it easier and more stimulating to personal growth than any methodological, academic theatrical style. The focus is on nurturing the creative energy of students and fostering enthusiasm on their part for personal discovery through the acting process. Perfecting one's acting ability is different for each aspirant. There
are basic skills actors and actresses need to understand regarding speech,
movement, and character which must be developed. Refining each performance
according to what works best under the circumstances is the greatest
way to accomplish rapid progress. Becoming an actor or actress in our society depends upon being strongly committed not only to the art from a personal standpoint of growth and career, but also by a commitment to the larger effect of Art as an essential power to lift our society in many rewarding ways.
Acting
is not only art, it is also a science. For example, it should be clear
that if you "act" an emotion, it will appear false. Acting
must be honest in the sense that you act the emotion you really feel.
That is where the very subtle science of managing self-imposed emotions
comes into play. The
first aspect of it is imagination. For instance when your acting makes
emotions rise in the audience, you have tapped in them one of the triggers
you must learn to activate in yourself. Clearly this requires two steps. The first is to understand the actual flavor, so to speak, of the emotion you are trying to act and evoke in the audience. For example: fear. You feel a coldness inside, a tension, a faster heartbeat, a trembling, a near expressionless face with drawn lines, dry mouth, speech difficulty...and so on. Remember that in motion picture acting you may be asked to express fear suddenly and then be asked to do it again a dozen times between takes.
Acting methods often get in the way of realism. There is no single correct way to act. In fact one has to discover one's own way through the process of work/study and trial and error. Too often actors are taught that there is one way to act instead of realizing that different styles of drama will require different approaches to acting and performance. That is why Fellini often preferred untrained people for his films to highly stylized stars.
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