Acting is hard work

Acting is hard work. I shot a short yesterday, three pages, four actors and my part was over and done with after six and a half hours. I've had longer days; I'm a veteran of one of those eighteen and a half hour "High School Musical 3" days that was followed by thirteen hours on "Bible Stories". (I was up THIRTY-NINE straight hours for those two shooting days.) I did that sixteen hour, outdoor shoot (in was it October or November?) at the Gateway for "Waiting for Forever" (aptly named). I've had earlier call times, this one was only an hour earlier than what I'm used to five days a week. This project was shot less than three miles from home, I've had to travel farther to get to set (refer to the abovementioned "Bible Stories" shot a gazillion miles West of Lehi.)

So why did I fall asleep for five hours yesterday afternoon (yes, and evening) after I got home?

I've often joked that a man is only allotted so many overnight shoots in his life; this certainly wasn't one of those.

Acting is hard work, and it wasn't until I started acting that I realized how physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting it is. I don't know if it's the need to constantly be "on" for hours on end or if it's the repetition of the same emotions time and again. It's probably both. In my role yesterday I had to tell the parents of a nine year old that their daughter has cancer. I got to the place I needed to be by reliving my real life experience of telling my sister that our mother had cancer. (My own little "Stanislavsky moment, but at the same time, the DP commented positively about my physicality.)

I've had roles with more dialogue, I've had more emotional roles and I've even had roles with no dialogue which were far more demanding from the perspective of physicality. What I haven't had until yesterday was a role that was an emotionally draining "Perfect Storm". Since I started acting again nearly three years ago, I've developed an appreciation for what my fellow actors do. I constantly find myself sub-consciously dissecting roles and scenes wondering how they did it and what it took. Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" is a recent example.

But I do love it; the drive for perfection, being "on" for your fellow actors, showing the director that they made the best choice when they cast you for the role, the inner satisfaction that comes from knowing you did your best.

So, Dawn thanks for a good script, a good cast and crew and thanks for the opportunity to practice my craft.

I guess the only time acting is hard work is when you do it right. I can't wait until the next time I'm with my friends on location, on set or in the studio…