Haase Cathy - Acting for Film ()

Praise for Acting for Film , Second Edition

Cathy Haases acting class and the exercises in her book took me from thirty years in the background to fifteen in the forefront of a successful music career. The techniques she taught me make my performances confident and emotionally engaging.

Kid Congo Powers, musician and performer,
The Gun Club, The Cramps, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,
and Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds

Cathys valuable experience, not only as an actress but also as a long-time acting teacher, flows into this tangible and inspiring book!

Christian Wagner, director, producer ( The Limits of Patience ),
and professor for directing, script development,
and screen acting at Filmakademie Baden-Wrttemberg

Cathy Haase is an exceptionally gifted teacher. This precious toolbox, gifted to the actor building a process for themselves, never once mystifies the physical and intuitive practice of the performer, mainly because it is focused on real exercises and daily routines that work. Cathy generously makes this art everybodys business, and her sharp insights deserve the attention of directors, writers, and other film professionals. This group already gains a huge amount from her classes around the world. All filmmakers should feel the ordinary realities of an actors work from the inside if they expect to somehow collaborate, play, and excel in tune.

Ben Gibson, director of the German Film
and Television Academy, Berlin; visiting professor
of Film, Goldsmiths University, London; and producer

As a talent agent, this is an essential book that I recommend all my actors read. Cathy gives you the tools you need from relaxing to developing a character to professionally conducting yourself on set. Simply amazing!

Michele Peacock, talent agent, Andreadis Talent Agency

The second edition of Acting for Film remains a treasured map for those navigating the journey towards working fullyas artists and professionals on setin the exciting and rigorous landscape of filmmaking.

Kathleen Potts, PhD, assistant professor in theatre, the City College of
New York and coauthor of The Professional Actors Handbook

Copyright 2018 by Cathy Haase

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Allworth Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

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Published by Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Allworth Press is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.allworth.com

Cover design by Mary Ann Smith

Cover photo by iStockphoto

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Haase, Cathy, author.

Title: Acting for film / Cathy Haase.

Description: Second edition. | New York, New York: Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018017959 (print) | LCCN 2018018262 (ebook) | ISBN 9781621536659 (eBook) | ISBN 9781621536642 (Print)

Subjects: LCSH: Motion picture acting.

Classification: LCC PN1995.9.A26 (ebook) | LCC PN1995.9.A26 H33 2018 (print) | DDC 792/.028dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018017959

Print ISBN: 978-1-62153-664-2

eBook ISBN: 978-1-62153-665-9

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Foreword

BY IAN MCKELLEN

Note from the Editor: Ian McKellen has written
a foreword in the form of a heartfelt letter praising this new
edition of Acting for Film and its author, Cathy Haase.

12 June 2018

My dear Cathy,

You know I didnt go to drama school. After acting a great deal during three years at university, I thought it time to try and earn a living. You may have guessed that over the years Ive havent ever been to an acting class. Of course, Ive taken riding and fighting lessons when required, and Im a regular on the Pilates machinery, keeping limber. At the Royal Shakespeare and National Theatre companies, Ive willingly joined in voice work to advantage, but I remain one of those who has learnt on the job, lucky to be in the sort of regular employment which helps fulfil an ambition to improve with each part I play, on stage or screen.

Now, though, I have your book to ponder! The latter part in which you explain simply and accurately how films are made and how to fit in, I wish Id had before I started in movies, where Ive made any number of clumsy choices which you caution against. The earlier chapters are a revelation, yet they are commonsensical, based on your experience as actor and teacher. Your ideas are expressed in your speaking voice, easy to follow and understand. You suggest an approach, fostered at the Actors Studio, whence so much talent has been nurtured and allowed to mature. You stress the social nature of filmmaking, an activity that cant be done by yourself. But you encourage that inward-looking discipline of self-discovery without which acting can become repetitious and uninspired.

I do hope actors, who cant get into your classes, discover this book. It will not disappoint the tyro nor the old-timer like me who also needs help.

I leave with the words that Christopher Bram gave to the fictionalised James Whale (director of the Frankenstein movies), who I played in Bill Condons Gods and Monsters : Making movies is the most wonderful thing in the world: working with friends, entertaining people. But you know that, dont you?

Love Ian

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

The More Things
Change...

Plus a change, plus cest la mme chose.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

Since the first publication of Acting for Film , the entertainment industry has been galloping through the twenty-first century at alarming speed. Technology has filtered into every aspect of our lives, expanding the way we communicate and opening up our ability to watch and listen to whatever we choose, whenever we choose to do it, radically challenging filmmakers to keep up.

The simplicity of posting content online has freed up the possibilities of independent production, making it possible for almost anyone to make a movie. Advances in virtual reality (VR) promise to revolutionize the visual capabilities of the viewer, while the actor has had every fiber, movement, nuance, and sound we possess recorded, manipulated, and transformed, like never before.

With all of the excitement going on, I am still teaching relaxation and concentration as the main focus of my workshops and classes. I still put an emphasis on sense memory, and I believe more strongly than before that it should be of utmost importance to every aspect of the aspiring actor, director, and writer. Since the initial publication of the book, I have been leading intensive workshops with a mix of actors, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and yes, even producers. I strongly believe that when everyone trains together, truly original and deep work ariseswork of value, of importance, not only for the actor, but for everyone else involved, as well. The whole process can become one beautiful dance. The triumvirate of relaxation, concentration, and sense memory is still the seed of the work. Technology is just a means to find a way to express our dreams. It is propelled by the desires that come out of the deepest reaches of ourselves, to express something that has not yet been seen or heard. It is more important than ever before for actors to remain human, and by that I mean that in our work we should not hesitate to pour everything out of ourselves to breathe life into our characters.