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November 25, 2007
The Actors Voice, 11/26/07
Hi Everyone!
Here's how tomorrow's The Actors Voice starts out.
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The Human Element
As I write this, I'm watching Cars on Thanksgiving morning. I've seen this movie at least three times before, yet I'm crying--again--because the car learned a lesson and took care of his friends, respected his elders, stayed true to his sponsors, and got the girl. Hang on. Let's get it straight. I'm crying because the artists who drew the cars and the actors who voiced the cars and the music supervisor who chose the particular sound that I would hear during the precise moment that the cars were drawn and voiced to elicit this emotional response got it right.
And I know how this works. I understand storytelling. I spend my days breaking down scripts, auditioning actors to interpret scripts, dealing with the negotiations required to attach actors to projects, and--when I'm not casting--demystifying the casting process for actors everywhere. So, why is it that I can--even while noting the inciting incident, a non-traditional casting choice, the transition into act two, the decision to edit a scene away from its originally-scripted destination, an actor's inflection on a particular word--fall for it and end up weeping?
Because storytelling is powerful. So powerful that we all love it, when it's done right. (And, seeing as we don't all agree on what makes "good" storytelling, we are lucky to have seemingly infinite choices and all find something satisfying to consume.) Here I am watching the end-credits roll. Hundreds upon hundreds of people brought this film together, and I believe they all contributed to the film's overall ability to move me. Ah, and then there's the Walt Disney card. And the Pixar card. And I'm thinking about the strike and how I'm supposed to be mad at The Man. How corporate greed is bad and the individual artist is good.
But The Man--with all its flaws--also employs creative artists. Hires individuals to bring our art to these "big" projects. And the reason there is art at such a large scale available to most occupants of this planet is because the suits at the corporations know there is money to be made in the mass production of stories. So, they commission our voices and we are suddenly able to reach a broader audience than with which we could connect on our own. But the bottom line remains: They need us. The world needs storytellers.
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Continue reading this column in the morning, along with a Your Turn request for help on an upcoming series about kid actors at Showfax.com.
As always, THANK YOU for reading!
Woo hoo!
Cheers,
-Bon.
Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will.
Posted by bonnie at November 25, 2007 5:28 PM