Bryan Bounds, Workingactorworking

DON’T ACT LIKE YOU’RE ACTING
This weekend my acting students will be presenting their scenes one final time. So I offer this to them and to any actor who strives for great acting. It's the kind of acting that captivates, surprises and moves your audience. Above all, it looks authentic. How do we do that? How do we not be fake, phony, hammy - all those things which make us insecure, with our gut telling us that we’re not good enough?

Paul Newman gives the answer. When we embrace that strange, misunderstood technique called Method Acting, when we reject the controversial idea that it means we must keep up the accent during the whole run making everyone else’s lives unbearable, when we have the courage to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances” the price we pay is that we must live, think and do the things we that do in real life - EXACTLY THE WAY WE DO IT in real life, and we must totally give up control over how the audience is going to perceive it. Hammy actors can’t do this - they’re either ignorant of this process, or they’re too afraid or they’re too lazy to contemplate this wonderful, life-affirming way of working.

So, when you’re character is “playing an action” (a transitive verb going from me to you), then genuinely, honestly, 100% full out, play the action. Don’t act like you’re playing the action, don’t fake it, don’t pretend, don’t show us, don’t check it off your list of actions in your mind — actually, honestly do it. If your scene calls you to CHARM, or to PROBE, or to OBLITERATE, do it. All of this is happening to your character in real time (indeed there’s no such thing as a character anyway). You’ve never been in this situation before, you’ve never thought these thoughts before, you’ve never chosen this course of action with your scene partner, and you have no idea what you’re about to say.

Do that and you’ll pull your audience in, hypnotize them, and if it’s a comedy they’ll laugh more boisterously, and if it’s a dramatic moment, you will deeply move them. And that’s what we actors want to do anyway, right? The only way we become good actors, is to stop trying to be good actors in the eyes of our audience. Only then will they say, “they’re good”. They won’t know why, but you will.

To all actors: don't quit five minutes (or fifty years) before the miracle. On the train home I'm so grateful to have played a small part in a humongous film project with some leading lights in the industry. And all because I waited decades for this face to match this voice. So let's all keep suiting up, showing up, perfecting our tools, learning the monologue, doing the warm-ups, polishing the accents, and where necessary creating our own work.

HERE'S YOUR FULL MEAL DEAL. Taking a moment from lesson plans to say: Imagine a 10-week technical course for young actors where they learn from these! Convenient on a Sunday morning with a professionally-produced showreel at the end. 2 places left, the course launches Sunday, September 7. Link below. Shout if you have questions and SHARE to any new actors who need help.
PS thanks to uni buddy Dr. Bill Gelber for your excellent scene study book.

https://www.neuroacting.com/acting-master-course/

*** 3 WEEKS UNTIL MAGIC TIME! ***
Thanks for the shout out Harrogate Mumbler Community Chat Group! Like a dad, I can spot when young people grow beyond drama games and want to move up to something more substantial. We invite you to join us on 7 September for a very special course for young people who are serious about getting actor training, led by working actors Bryan Bounds and Frankie Bounds.

Is your Teen serious about Acting, and ready to learn the craft?

This September in Huby, they can enroll on a structured, 10-session course specifically for young people, taught by an award-winning actor who gets young people ready for drama school or agency representation.

Bryan Bounds, Workingactorworking

https://harrogate.mumbler.co.uk/is-your-teen-serious-about-acting-and-ready-to-learn-the-craft/

**** 4 WEEKS TO GO! ****
Do you know a young person who loves acting - but feels a bit overwhelmed in a huge group? They are probably an 🎭ACTOR who’s lost in a mob of 👩‍🎤PERFORMERS - and there’s a big difference.

If they want to learn pure, straight acting - the actual craft - you can help them get the training they want in a small group in NYorks led by working actors who have a deep knowledge of the craft, and know how to pass this on. In a group of ten students Frankie and Bryan will create a close, supportive, structured environment so that our students can learn Stanislavsky, Meisner and many other Acting Masters.

We call it the ACTING MASTER COURSE (in association with Harrogate Dramatic Society) and we have four spots left. So become a discerning parent. Don't waste time trying to get your actor to fit into that 'round hole' - they'll never get the time back. Get in touch. It'll be ten weeks that your young actor will love. And please share if you know a young person who's earned their time to shine. https://www.neuroacting.com/acting-master-course/

Sometimes this brilliant woman makes me cry with the unspeakable beauty of her writing and wisdom. This passage from Dolly Alderton made me think about us actors: God it's hard on us. Sometimes all we have to hold onto is our "work ethic and independence" of recognizing our unique artistic voice, and the nobility of paying our dues in this profession, which oftentimes doesn't want to hear us. I’ve been heartbroken at times.

But we can make it our intention to live our lives in the same philosophy of Eugene O’Neill, when he said, “What I am after is to get an audience to leave the theater with an exalted feeling from seeing somebody facing life, fighting against the eternal odds, not conquering, but perhaps inevitably being conquered. The individual life is made significant
just
by
the
Struggle.”

For myself, I was conquered by the industry for many years, until I started creating my own projects: writing, producing, directing and teaching. Then at the age of 52, the universe decided my voice was ready to be heard and I began to reap the dividends of the many years of *discovering the artist in me, *learning monologues, *keeping up with my vocal training, *researching acting methods and actors I admired, and *doing ANY damn project that came my way. Next year I get to work with Sam Mendes. Who'd a thought.

I wouldn’t trade those years in the wilderness for anything, because acceptance, patience, love and tolerance is what I needed to learn anyway.

So actors, know that at least someone understands you and loves you. And let's keep suiting up and showing up. Our lives are significant just by the struggle (Wow, I needed that good cry.)

This September 2025 it will be my privilege to help a small group of actors in Yorkshire who, in a supportive environment, start on a 10-week path as they approach the artist within them. They’re tickled and so am I to be passing on what was given to me by my teachers. We have 5 spots left for those who'd like to join us. Sneak preview below:
https://www.neuroacting.com/acting-master-course/

Do you know a young person who loves acting? But who feels a bit overwhelmed in a huge group? What you probably have is an actor who’s lost in a crowd of performers - and there’s a big difference.

If they want to learn pure, straight acting - the actual craft - you can best help them get the training they want in a small group in Harrogate led by working actors who have a deep knowledge of the craft and know how to pass this on. In a group of ten students Frankie and Bryan will create a close, supportive, structured environment so that our students can learn Stanislavsky, Meisner and many other Acting Masters.

We call it the Acting Master Course (in association with Harrogate Dramatic Society) and we have five spots left. So become a discerning parent. Don't waste time - they'll never get the time back. Get in touch. It'll be ten weeks that your young actor will love. And share if you know a young person who's earned their time to shine. https://www.neuroacting.com/acting-master-course/

It's so weird: most actors are very shy. Now you wouldn't think that. But if you're a parent or if you're an actor who feels the torment of wanting to act but paralyzed with the thought, read on.

Most of the really good actors I've worked with are introverts. And I'm one too. But let's take a tour through your brain and it will all make sense. Read the blog post and you'll feel better.

And if you want to join a group of actors who are safe, supported and encouraged to soar in their acting, think about my ACTING MASTER COURSE (you'll find the link at the end of the blog post). It's a small group, it's for anybody, it's introvert-friendly, and I can't wait to work with you. Message me if you'd like. Your voice deserves to be heard.✊🏻

SHY ACTORS RULE - why actors should know about neuroscience | Neuro Acting This post is for the introverted actor who quietly suffers in a world of extroverts. The world labels us as ‘shy’, and yet we have this mysterious hunger to connect with other people through art. There are many of us - this actor included. I spent a long time full of self-doubt and analysis para...

A few weeks ago I found myself sitting in director Sam Mendes’s production office (yeah, me too!). I was in the final callback for a series of films about the Lads from Liverpool. No acting, he just wanted to meet me before the project began.

He asked me, “What was my favorite acting moment?” Immediately I thought about the sparring match I had with David Tennant on the film ‘Mad To Be Normal’. I knew that I’d be playing a pompous American radio talk show host who was trying to grill a gonzo Scottish psychiatrist played by David.

What I didn’t tell Sam, I’ll tell you now. I knew that I’d be second fiddle to David and I found the Golden Key (and this is what I now teach my students) by taking a hard look at my basic instincts as the character. The concept of Instincts was taught to me in early sobriety. We humans have three basic instincts. We all have them and they are necessary for our survival. They are biological fixtures like our brain and our heart. One instinct (we’ll call it Social) has to do with how we relate to other people. We all want to feel a connection, we want companionship, we want to fit into society. And we want to have a good connection with ourselves - to have good self-esteem. That’s the social instinct. If you threaten that instinct, I will feel something (and as an actor, that’s what I want). Number two instinct: we want to feel secure. We want Emotional security - to know that we’re going to be okay - and we want Material security: a roof over our heads, food in our stomach, perhaps a car - things that make us feel secure. If you threaten our security, we feel something.

Now what does this have to do with acting? Nine times out of ten, if we actors look at a scene, one of our instincts is being threatened. That’s where the drama comes from. And when that happens, we feel fear, insecurity, envy, anger, resentment, sometimes guilt and shame. The other person in the scene, they hold the key to getting your instincts met and the chance for you to feel good and secure again. That’s what David Tennant was, sitting across from me: the person who could boost my fragile self-esteem when I proved to him that his psychiatric methods were reckless. And of course my objective was shattered! As I left the set-up, I heard David say to the director, "Bloody hell, he was good." And it was because I gave him a great opponent.

So Acting can be simply our drive to overcome that feeling of our instincts being threatened by getting something from our scene partner. And if the writer is really good, they don’t want to give it to you. This is what I teach my students (and they get it: even 14-year olds), and as far as I know I’m the only person on the planet who does. And it’s a gold mine for the actor: it gets us out of our heads and connected to the other person, it fires up our imagination and we begin to feel our character's feeling and discover what we should be doing in the scene. And best of all, we get over our self-consciousness in our acting because our focus is one them. Now where did this mumbo-jumbo come from? The 12-Step recovery programs. And I discovered long ago that the same knowledge and tools that keep me sober, are extremely effective in acting. I even used my Instincts in my original self-tape that Sam loved.

We’ve only scratched the surface of this gold mine. If you’re an actor, this will give you a template for emotions and actions in any scene (including Shakespeare). If you want to learn more, you can do it three ways: I'm running an Essential Acting Skills course in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in September (link at bottom), or join The Actor’s Way online course at neuroacting.com, or watch my videos from The Actor’s Way on YouTube in Lesson 3: Meet the Instincts and the Ego. I'm glad I started becoming friends with my instincts because then, I can do something toward changing them. And I'm still a big work-in-progress. Shout if you have any questions, and Break a leg.
PS I got the part.
https://www.neuroacting.com/essential-acting-skills/