A little bulb went off in my head. Actors today are trained toward playing character, and we do, in fact, often neglect the scene. There’s little hiding from this.

This is especially true in film and television, where more attention is paid to character elements like wardrobe, stylings, mannerisms, look, haircuts, habits and catchy one-liners, than if a scene is any good in its entirety. Whether something is advanced in the emotional make-up of the character, or whether we learn something beyond simple story points has been rendered nearly irrelevant. It’s a race between plot and character, scene be damned.

The scene, as it were, is nearly dead, rendering our most basic criticism of them as to whether they’re too long or too short. “Too long” means we got the plot point and would like the narrative to move on, “too short” means there wasn’t enough time to get our needed dose of character.

I have an audition coming up, and as I sat in class I ran my lines in my head, searching for whether I’d done any work on the scene. I had not. Several choices about vocal pitch, clothing and a nervous twitchiness had been established, but there was little in my preparation that answered the question, “So, what is this about? What’s going on? What are the points A and B here?” I had no idea, and here I was, a professional actor, studying with a celebrated teacher, suddenly clueless about the basics of my own craft.

But I felt as though I’d been mercifully spared another round of an anguished audition later. I could go back and do my work, properly. If I do the job, the rest follows, and it’s the attention to scene that will separate a mediocre read from a good one. Whether anybody in the room knows what’s going on doesn’t matter. Something will be felt, the way good stitching holds a bad together even as we desire only to feel the smoothness of the leather.

And at any rate, nearly all the classes out there are still being advertised as “scene study,” are they not?

In the best of circumstances, you’re working, on something you like, and you’re well paid. In these times you walk the earth with a lighter step. Traffic snarls are merely chances to listen to more music, rain is refreshing, and the dim-witted cashier is a person worthy of compassion.

And in the worst of times, the wisdom of a three day waiting period to purchase a hand gun becomes clearer than ever.

I am no stranger to these matters, of course, much as I can elucidate a point or two about them. An assessment of my life can shift depending on the day, or the hour of the day, so that at breakfast I’m King Midas and by lunch I’m Wile E. Coyote, and all that happened in between was a phone call, or lack thereof. It’s a fragile state of affairs.

It need not be so. Caring about one’s work and livelihood is a good thing, of course, but defining ourselves by the decibel level of applause we hear is a fool’s errand.  It will never be high enough, and even Pavarotti had nights where the standing ovations must have felt tepid.

So, where do we go from here? What is the winning shot in the endless volley of good times/bad times? Can we live lives of equanimity and joy, regardless of the external circumstances?

The answer is yes. The art of it lies in defining what we can control, and what we can’t control, and making sure our energies are focused on the former. If the only joy an actor experiences comes from getting the call with the offer, it’s going to be a dark road. If instead, there is equal, or dare I say greater, excitement in, say, putting up good work in a class, then we might have something.

The formula may seem simple, but it’s effective.  It’s also very difficult to master, and no, I am no great master. But I know the road I have to travel, and that may make all the difference…

For the Mineralava Musings, this is Edoardo Ballerini.

(Ultimately, my rationale is this: in the end, I’m either going to do it consciously or unconsciously, so I may as well fold it into my mindfulness practice and be aware of it.)

I was just asked to do a short film for a fashion-forward website. Directing the piece is the lovely and brilliant Poppy de Villeneuve, who shot the New York Times short, “The Park,” I did some time ago. When she described the character to me as a man of mystery my first thought was, “Who can I steal good from?”

In about two seconds, it hit me: Alain Delon.

Delon was a beautiful and troubled man, maddeningly talented, who has somehow slipped into the cracks of American film consciousness. It’s a shame, though history is a cruel arbiter even in the best of circumstances. But for anybody interested, watch “Le Samourai,” and see if you can either take your eyes off Delon or ever figure out quite what he’s thinking.

Yes, I will be stealing as much as I can from Mr. Delon this weekend, though to be fair he had an on-screen magnetism I can’t really hope to emulate. Still, as an exercise I will be looking for anything that might clue me into what gave him his particular brand of mystery. Perhaps it was a stillness. Perhaps a habit of holding a look for one beat too long for comfort. I don’t know, but I hope to find out this afternoon.

In the meantime, let’s all steal good. And if you feel like confessing to the practice, there’s never any shame in being clever.

For the Mineralava Musings, this is Edoardo Ballerini.

Rex Sikes Movie Beat – Edoardo Ballerini – 15 March 2010

I’ll be doing Part Two of the Interview on April 2nd.  Until then, enjoy…

Now, perhaps it’s because of my newfound belief that anything is possible, but an idea for a film project came to me in the night that I thought might just be able to break this curse.  But upon further reflection, it became clear that it wouldn’t be fast.  Then upon further further reflection, it occurred to me that nothing in film is fast.  An eternity can pass between the idea and the first viewing of even the fastest of the fast tracked projects.

So, if fast is hereby eliminated, and you’re allowed to have cheap and good, and there are several examples of this in film, then…

The real question, I think, is whether the final product is any good.

I would love to hear some responses on this fast – cheap – good idea, so please write me or post a comment.

Click here to see the trailer.

Click here to read the full piece.

I have always been enormously proud of this film, and my work in it.  It never got the attention it deserved, thanks to a miserable release strategy, but it has developed a kind of cult status over the years, and it never ceases to amaze me how often people will ask me about, or how well it played around the world, particularly in Japan, Australia and England.

Thanks, Richard!

Click here for a link to the Roeper article…

Here to see the trailer…

And here for the DVD on Amazon.com…

Enjoy!