Confidence and Hilary ClintonAn actress in my Chicago scene study workshop recently presented a contemporary dramatic monologue. I generally presume that monologue presentation in class is primarily being sharpened for audition situations. In this particular case, the actress was giving a reasonable interpretation of the material, but it was clear to me that no matter how extensive her research on the role might be, she would probably not be cast if she used that monologue at a real world audition. The problem was not in the script, but in the performer's lack of confidence. As unlikely as it sounds, it is entirely possible for an actor to hide on stage, to send out the message, "I am not ready for this. Do not look at me." It is a conflicting signal to auditors because, by virtue of the fact that the actor is on the stage, the implicit message is "Look at me."
I am going to tell you something very important - and possibly surprising - right now. If you do not think you should get the job, neither will the people who are interviewing or auditioning you. Success and failure are self-fulfilling prophecies. Everybody wants a winner. Success breeds success. An unassertive actor makes auditors nervous.
The thing is, no amount of acting lessons can correct the problem of self-doubt. Stanislavsky himself could not have fixed it. Confidence in oneself is what an actor brings to the party in the first place. Confidence is the base upon which an actor's craft and art must be erected. This is such a crucially important characteristic that confidence alone can sometimes carry the day. I have seen some woefully un-talented people making big money in Hollywood simply because they suffer under the delusion that they are wonderful. If you arrive on the scene believing that everybody is going to be happy to see you, they likely will. Talent is definitely essential if you are going to enjoy a long professional career. However, a talented actor who does not feel confident standing in the spotlight, is in for a world of frustration.
Back to that actress in the workshop. Rather than talk with her about character analysis and such, I asked her to try an unusual exercise for me. "Please present the monologue again, this time as Hilary Clinton would do it." Sounds like an odd adjustment, doesn't it? Well, let me tell you that the actress was utterly transformed when she took it. She may personally lack self-confidence at the moment, but Hilary does not. In presenting the monologue as she thinks Hilary would do it, she was actually doing it as if she had confidence. As Hilary, she was projecting the dynamic of a winner, and I feel confident she would get into callbacks using that approach. In time, and with some success, she will undoubtedly develop her own self-confidence. Until then she's probably better off channeling Hilary.
One of my many psychiatrists (Stop laughing. All good actors have spent time on the couch...) asked me during a session if I could imagine how things would be if I didn't have the psychological issue of the moment. "Can you imagine how you would feel getting up in the morning if you didn't have this problem?" I thought about it for a while and then smiled in recognition of the feeling. "Have you got it?" he asked. "Yeah. Got it." "How does it feel?" "Marvelous!" "Good. Start acting like that.
