In the roles I've played over the last year or so, I have been dubbed "drug dealer," "assassin" and other dubious types.  I've killed my brother, poisoned my sister's ex-boyfriend, been killed by assassins, stolen ideas, snorted meth, stolen friend's wives, sweared, slugged down whiskey, threatened and insulted employees and colleagues, paid to have my wife killed, threatened my brother's girlfriend with a kitchen knife, and then, finally, I went on a date with a prostitute that turns bad, confirming that indeed, my acting career is moving right along.

Beyond the chain of violence and betrayal, I've been blessed by supportive therapists, understanding exes, apologetic bureaucrats, restrained surgeons, sharp prosecutors, crafty janitors, streetwise cops, compassionate leaders and truth-seeking loving husbands. 

It's been a pretty good mix.  What's next?

Alex Adams's Canary had me back for a second day of shooting.  Working with Alex is a dream.  Light, fast improvisation work around very specific circumstances with long takes and multiple cameras.  It's the most fun I've had on a set.  There are no obstacles to instant immersion. 

I am so glad he needed me for a second day.  Got to work opposite the delightful Dave Menashe and Yvonne (didn't get her last name).  This director is on to something.  Mark my words.  His last film Around the Bay has received favorable press and festival attention, including a piece in Variety.  Working with him again is at the top of my to-do list.

Doug Honorof, who does mostly production dialect coaching and lives back east, was out for his eighth yearly intensive through Elaine Clark's school, Voice One.

We started with articulatory flexibility, learning the international phonetic alphabet, exploring all contours and combinations of tongue, jaw, lips, nasal and oral cavities, larynx, pharynx, you name it.

Then we launched in to a survey of several accents, individual coaching with a variety of texts, a clear work flow for effective study, and finished with some in-accent improvisation.

Very productive three days and two nights.  Now the real work begins; picking the first one to study at length and master. 

Shot a small part in an indie feature called "Canary" on Sunday.  Very cool way of working, documentary feel, three cameras.

When an actor goes up on their lines, the worst thing they can do is apologize.  Giving the editor some tails, saying, "Pickup," pausing, then continuing without dropping focus, holding one's breath, or upbraiding oneself, this is the mark of a pro.  Working with well-cast ensemble, a story, and relationships, but no scripted dialogue, is the ultimate arena for abandoning apology and for continued discovery of one's unique self-possession.  I felt like a marionette who'd sprung to life after the strings were cut.

It's a very creepy website. I feel an arresting sense of altered reality by entering this zone. Very akin to the feeling on set for my day on Canary. Alex gave us some very cogent written information about our relationships, desires, and the situation and then cut us loose.

So much of what one does on camera tends to be abbreviated, chopped-up pieces of a script. Don't get me wrong; I love that way of working and its inherent challenges. But here in improv land (with very compelling and well-crafted givens), we got to stretch out. So fluid.

To get a full breath.  To do what you  want to do.  To be in relationship.  To scratch the itch.  To get out from behind a desk.  To play.  To go to the moment.  To show how it is.  To make friends.  To kick ass.  To get paid.  To make people laugh.  To learn.  To be seen and heard.  To explore us.  To tell stories.  To collaborate.  To progress. 

Swap out adjectives for verbs. 

Playing to adjectives or other kinds of results doesn't pan out.  It won't sound real or true.  If one already know exactly what it's going to be, how can one be in the moment? 

Classic stuff, right?  We need verbs, what ifs, stuff like that.  Not what it should look or sound like.  Not a line reading.  Must be true.

Build something between director and actor.  Establish trust and rapport even while challenging basic methods and assumptions.  Before shooting.  Take the time.  Know what languages you're speaking.  Assess the need for translation to terms you really understand so it lives for both of you.