Acting : How to identify the actor within yourself? by Pitanjal Datta

Good morning Pitanjal. Thank you for your searching posts. I'd like to also use this comment post to address the earlier question you posed yesterday at the same time, "inborn talent vs. a devloped skill." Little questions, big answers, no solutions, except "time will tell." Solutions to "identifying" the actor within" is not any different than being a spiritual warrior. All the answers to your questions come from within - you either feel or know you have talent, the mad desire to act, or you don't. You don't have to understand it, or rationalize it, it's not scientific - it is simply within you. Whether or not the actor decides to dig in, pluck it out, and see where it takes them is an individual choice. The only rationalization that a person needs to make is whether or not they have the self-discipline and patience to develop it properly over time; and whether or not they have the fortitude and patience to weather the financial insecurity while they put it in to practice. A general window of time from training to being a working actor is anywhere from 1 to 5 years. Talent is a must. You cannot be a working actor without it. The range of talent, however, won't be discovered without complete dedication to training. So to answer your other post, you need both - talent and training to develop it. If you don't already know you have talent, then you can discover the truth in about a year after training hard in acting classes. I've taught and coached actors for 15 years - some I'm able to see right away if they have talent or not. Then there are the "sleeper hits" who have it buried under layers of "no." With a safe environment and good teachers, these layers can be removed and the talent can then rise to the surface. [Cautionary Note: Do not allow your classes to be one big therapy session, however. Good training is good acting methods, and leave the emotionally crippling life experiences out of the classroom - take it to a licensed psychotherapist.] Some actors have GIANT talent, and dismiss training because they're working and earning money with instincts and don't feel they need it. But it's like possessing a race car engine, without a drivers license to use it. At some point down the road, they're going to run out of gas and hit a wall, because they haven't enlarged their knowledge of themselves or their potential. Both of which is only done with good training to keep the actors instrument fluid and constantly evolving with new depths and imagination. Other actors have a limited range of talent, but manage to work ALL the time, mainly because they're self disciplined and take their training very seriously. They simply make the best of what they've got, and live their lives with gusto for as long as the acting gods allow them. I won't dismiss the "limited" actor - they have the same passionate desire to live and work as the genius, and their success is none of my business. My success is my business. If you want an acting career, Pitanjal, go to a good acting school. Devote yourself for at least a full year to study. THEN ask yourself these questions. Break a leg, and Carpe Diem.