I Think I've Decided To Quit Acting

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 12:31am

Indeed indeed.

[Magical_Ms._Mistoffeles_72]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 3:14am

why?

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 3:45am

I have come to the conclusion that I am a terrible performer. I have no stage presence, I cannot make a connection with an audience, and my voice is so inexpressive as to be completely dead. This is something classes cannot fix.

[MarkRascati]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 8:19am

Do what makes you happy.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 3:08pm

And I thought that if the acting bug bites you, you stick to acting...

Well, like MarkRascati said, stick to whatever makes you happy.

[MarkCohen]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 5:14pm

I don't mean to be rude. But the point of this thread is...?

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 5:30pm

Yes, you did mean to be rude.

[star2be]

Posted: 12/2/06 at 6:04pm

anyone who would say that about themself if they really mean it and dont just want attention.......probably should quit acting and performing or at least figure out a way to change those things

[MarkCohen]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 8:28pm

"Yes, you did mean to be rude."

K, you got me.

Stand by what I said. And what she said... ^

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 9:18pm

Anybody can act; we all have the same emotions inside; but it takes a lot for most people to get them out. Which is y the majority of students in acting classes I have taken r not very good at first.

But, if u have that God-given passion to act, do it; if u don't, don't. It's like singing: anybody who talks can become a great singer; the only real difference between u and Kristin Chenoweth or Michael Ball is that they have had more training. Thus, the only natural gift they really have is an awesome drive and passion for this field; a life-long commitment to keep on bettering themselves.

Bottom line: if u have the passion, if something is telling u that u're meant to do this, then do it!!

Updated On: 12/3/06 at 09:18 PM

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 10:19pm

I have passion, I just have so many irreversible problems that cannot be fixed through any other means. I'll probably just have to settle with "acting" through my writing. Oh well...

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:37pm

If u have passion, audition for shows with small companies. Take as many classes and private vocal lessons as u can (with a coach that teaches speech level singing, not classical), and even volunteering at a theatre or having an internship is something more to add to ur theatre resume, which is never a bad thing.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/3/06 at 11:44pm

tmm_fan, why would you tell him not to take classical voice lessons? Different methods work for different people. Heck, BOTH work for me.

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:31am

For a beginner, speech level is best. Most classical teachers only know how to tech the head voice, and it can take years for the student to get anywhere; whereas with speech level, u can get so far within a couple days. Heck, within a day.

One could take both, but for a beginner, if u want a "sure-fire" gaurantee of getting further than u ever thought possible, do speech level before classical. So many Broadway performers began taking sls, and look ehere they r now :). The proof is also in the millions of othere who have taken it around the world, with Brett Mannings or Seth Riggs programs, or private lessons.

Updated On: 12/4/06 at 12:31 AM

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:34am

...oy.

Only know how to teach the head voice? Do you know what classical singing is?

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:46am

Do a lengthy web search. Many a student began with classical, and switched to sls after a yr or two of barely getting anywhere. With sls, u can gain an octave after a few short lessons.

And do a search on this forum; there have been threads about classical vs sls for beginners b4, and if 1 wants a gaurantee -- not just a chance -- that they'll go from a non-singer to a very good one, speech level is the way to go.

And yes, I do know what classical teaches, but the exercises in sls r more suitable for a beginning student.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:32am

i can't do that. i'm just a moving image arts major.

[Difran]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 4:33pm

totally agree with my friend up there
there is no point to this at all

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 5:58pm

Tmm- while singing lessons help IMMENSELY, what you said is definitley not true. You can't take someone with no talent, train them and turn them into Kristin Chenoweth. You just can't. Part of it is what you're born with.

[nate2]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:11pm

Not trying to be mean here but the acting world is a harsh place!! And If someone like you says they have the passion for it...they would stick to it and keep going and FIGHTING TO BECOME GOOD instead of making up excuses and saying I can't do this or I can't do that!! It's all in your head man!!! If you truly want this GO FOR IT!!! TAKE LESSONS regardless of how bad you think you are! How do you think Idina Menzel got to where she is or any broadway performer?? They all had to work for it and i'm sure some were better singers than others but they had the drive and will to BECOME good and worked their asses off!!! I think quitting is ridiculous! If you want to become an actor your going to have to face harsh realities and suck it up and take in all the bad crap people spew at you! Ok so you say you suck now....PUT IT BEHIND YOU and think positively and move on and keep trying!! No one is a bad actor...they just think they are! It's all with your mental attitude! DON'T QUIT

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:25pm

Be a Kristin Chenoweth? Probly not. But be a very good singer? Yes. I've read about it; I've heard it; I've seen it; I've experienced it myself ... it happens all the time.

Speak with students who have sstudied with Brett Manning, Seth Riggs or a certified SLS coach. Each person has their own distincive singing voice, yes; not every girl will become a Kristin Chenoweth.

But, anybody who can talk cherently has the ability to become a great singer. And the God-given gift "is utimately" the drive and the passion.

From the latest singingsuccess.com newsletter:

JUST THINK OF THE IM-POSSIBILITIES!
by Morgan Cryar


It was common knowledge. No one could run a mile in less than 4 minutes.
EVERYONE AGREED, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE. Everyone, except one man...Roger
Bannister. On May 6, 1954, he did what was indeed impossible up to that moment
-he ran a mile in 3:59.

He describes the race where it happened. At one and a half laps, he says "I was
relaxing so much that my mind seemed almost detached from my body. There
was no strain." He described how, during the entire first part of the race, his
legs "felt so full of running."

That's how I remember feeling when I first shot up to an F above male high C.
My
voice just felt "well-supplied with singing." It was so effortless that I
didn't realize
it was real. It was near the end of my third lesson with Brett. He was
shouting, "Do you believe that?"

But I really couldn't. What I had just done was impossible.

I had hoped for ages to someday be able to hit a single solid A below high C.
And
I didn't even think of it as "below high C." I thought of it as "way up there
above
MIDDLE C."

Now, because of years of hanging out with Brett and being trained by him, I not
only sing up there regularly. I can actually teach someone else how to make
these breakthroughs. The funny thing is, IT IS AS INSPIRING TO WATCH OTHERS
EXPERIENCE AS IT IS TO EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF.

There is that moment when you just let the exercises do their work. No hard
mental labor, no physical tax on the body. It's just watching them "find it"
like
they've just broken through a clearing in the woods.

Roger Bannister described a moment toward the final stretch. "I had a moment of
mixed joy and anguish, when my mind took over." It was only a fleeting moment
for him. His body kicked back in, doing what it knew to do, pouring out the
"last
drop of running" as he crossed the line.


HOW HARD IS THIS?

Some people just seem to have great voices. Others of us have always had to
work at it. Some make it look easy. But I have always found good vocals to
come by wayof considerable effort (UNTIL THAT DAY). So what is our common
conclusion?

The conclusion (and assumption) is that people are either born with that amazing
vocal ability or not. *Even the people who possess the amazing ability often
assume that they were just born with it.

But I have found a secret.

People who have any vocal ability at all usually get it the same way...they
"find"
it. I know that there are hundreds of classically-trained singers who might
want to
fight me on this. That's because they have indeed worked very hard to get
whatever they've got.

But STILL, I contend that even THEY ended up "finding" their way in singing.
How
do I know this? It's because I've personally watched dozens of singers of all
types "find" their voice in a single session. (That includes many
classically-trained
singers.) And normally, it leaves them a little dis-oriented.

Part of the reason their head starts spinning is because most singers have
worked
and worked on pushing their limits...just to reach an extra inch. (We all just
want
that one extra note!) So in our minds, after much effort, trying to eke out
just one
more usable note, we find it hard to think that a huge chunk of vocal ability
(namely, multiple, solid extra notes of range) is sitting there waiting for us
to
just...find it.


THEY'RE SO...TINY!

For the concept of "finding" notes to make sense, it helps to think about the
size of
the vocal cords. They are only a couple of half-inch stretches of thin muscle.
It
makes no sense that we would need more "effort" to get more out of them? These
are the ultimate precision instruments, not sledge hammers.

Imagine finding a poor soul trying to write with the eraser end of a pencil. He
doesn't need more effort. He just needs someone to show him how to hold his
pencil!

Let's get back to the "lucky ones" with the golden voices. In nearly every case
I
know of they "felt their way along" until they figured out by accident what
singing
well "feels" like. When they were satisfied with what it sounded like, they
just kept
doing it. (Remember, you can't see the instrument in this case, so it is often
by "feel.")

The bigger and more important question is: "CAN SOMEONE WHO ISN'T A
GOLDEN THROAT...FIND THEIR VOICE?" You better believe it.

I've watched Brett Manning take singer after singer who never knew they had it
in
them and with little effort (a few simple exercises) smash their barriers
vocally and
mentally, once and for all. *I have also seen him take "golden voices" and
simply
show them how their voices work. They are astounded! It's like the light goes
on
in their mind. They get some exercises to strengthen their present abilities
and
they just soar!


THE SYMPOSIUM---YOU CAN DO THIS!

Brett trains singers. But he also trains coaches. There is a rare opportunity
for
those who have come to see what this method will do and experienced the desire
to watch others experience it.

If you have ever considered becoming a teacher of this method--The Brett
Manning Method--you will want to check out the "Coaching Success Symposium"
coming up in January, 2007:

http://www.singingsuccess.com/symposium

But remember...this is impossible. That is, until someone "finds" their voice.


Blessings,
Morgan Cryar
Singing Success Inc

[tmm_fan]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:28pm

Hey, just became a leading actor with this last post!

[nate2]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:31pm

awesome lol!

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:50pm

Yes you can become a much better singer, but you have to be born with SOME amount of talent. It's a mixture of both training and natural talent.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 6:51pm

For what it's worth, my math teacher runs a mile faster than Roger Bannister.