Simon Morgan's Acting School

Simon Morgan's Acting School.

Hi everyone.

As an actor of over fifteen years experience, I'm often asked about how to go about this business of show. Well, I've decided to give you budding actors and thesps out there some insider tips on how I, an actor, manage to pull it off.

1. The script.

A script is not just a series of words strung together to make people think you're clever, no, it is the actor's tool. Many people have said that I'm the tool, but I'm not, I'm not a tool, the script is the tool, for honing one's character and bringing the play to life. Read it and try to remember the bits you highlighted.

2. The character.

In a play once, I had to play several characters, so I had to really think about what I was doing for each. We all want to be Indiana Jones sure, but sometimes we have to play Miss Marple. In order to make sure you are doing a different character each time, try having a different wig or a different pair of shoes. Maybe a broadsword or a miner's lamp. And try a different voice too, but be careful you are appropriate, a broad Glaswegian accent is apparrently not at all suitable for Miss Marple.

3. The stage

I think it was Judi Dench who said, 'A stage is like a lover, broad, flat and well lit' ~ maybe not, but it's something she might have said. Get to know your stage, walk around on it before a show, test it for knee sliding potential and make sure that there aren't any nails that might inadvertantly tear your breeches during the last act of Hamlet, infront of a BBC Film crew.

4. Ad Libs

Ad libs or 'Additional Libbing' is quite hard to do correctly, so be forward thinking and write them down on your hand before a show, even using bits of the set to stick them so you don't forget. Trust me, your cast will thank you afterwards.

5. Other cast members

In a play, there are often other actors doing things onstage at the same time as you, so be aware of them and make sure you say your lines to them as much as possible. Also, in the dressing room afterwards, it's a good idea to get changed FULLY before you go up to the bar.

6. An Actor's Life

It's hard being an actor. Remembering lines of a play. Remembering people's names. Remembering all the birthdays.

To be a successful actor in the 21st Century requires a lot of guts, as there are thousands of people who would string you up like a halibut just to get an email saying that they might be lucky enough to one day eat in the same restaurant as a Casting Director. So you have to be better than the average actor on the tube, heading to the same audition as you. I try to keep fit, eat well, drink my own urine. But the best thing to do is learn a skill that gives you an edge. Juggling, lion taming, breathing napalm are all very fun to watch, but they have been done to be fair. We have ALL been to that audition, where the guy juggles a fire breathing lion, only to then see he hasn't got the gig before you; so what can you offer?

I often take selections of cupcakes to auditons as they are bitches to get right, they say baking is a science after all. Getting them light and fluffly requires skill. But try it yourself, and why stop at cupcakes? Try other foodstuffs. I had an acting chum who took some pasties with him once, and that went down quite well, as well as curries, pates and homemade preserves.

So, there is a quick introduction to the word of acting as I have found it. I hope it has proved insightful. Acting is always changing, we are always, as actors, on the game, so don't rest!

Learn those skills, eat up all you can, but most of all enjoy it, because if, like me, you didn't train in anything else, you'll be doing it for the rest of your life.