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Every scene you will ever act begins in the middle, and it is up to you, the actor, to provide what comes before.

Michael Shurtleff

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Michael Shurtleff
Age: 86 †
Born: 1920
Born: July 3
Died: 2007
Died: January 28
Actor
Casting Director
Writer
Oak Park
Illinois
Scene
Actor
Middle
Acting
Actors
Comes
Ever
Provide
Every
Begins

More quotes by Michael Shurtleff

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If we lived for reality, we'd be dead, every last one of us. Only dreams keep us going.
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Actors, who should pride themselves on their singularity, are forever trying to be someone else. It isn’t necessary for you, the actor, to like yourself— self-love isn’t easy to come by for most of us— but you must learn to trust who you are. There is no one else like you.
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Acting in theatre or television or screen is only for the irrecoverably diseased, those so smitten with the need that there is no choice.
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An actor must make his needs (goals, wants, objectives) so strong that he is willing to interfere with the other actor in order to get what he needs. Interfering means getting in their way so that what you want is stronger than what they want.
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The first step to a better audition is to give up character and use yourself.
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The actor needs to find out what the basic fight is in every character in every scene.
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The moral: Don't settle for anything less than the biggest dream for your future Fight to make the dream come true.
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That's why there's so little romance in our world now: everyone thinks romance is weak.
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An expression of feeling isn't worth anything unless it interferes with what the other actor in the scene wants.
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That's why there's so little romance in our world now: everyone thinks romance is weak.
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Take nothing for granted. Make an emotional discovery as often as you can find one in every scene. Ask yourself: What is new?
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Humor is an attitude, a survivor’s way of looking at life. It’s not about telling jokes.
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Listening is not merely hearing, it is receiving the message that is being sent to you. Listening is reacting. Listening is being affected by what you hear. Listening is letting it land before you react. Listening is letting your reaction make a difference. Listening is active.
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To go into acting is like asking for admission to an insane asylum. Anyone may apply, but only the certifiably insane are admitted.
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Conflict is what creates drama. The more conflict actors find, the more interesting the performance.
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Most actors make themselves unhappy by searching for their sanity, by insisting on their normalcy it's a grave mistake.
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Every scene is a love scene. The actor should ask the question: 'Where is the love?'
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Creating relationship is the heart of acting. It is basic. It is essential.
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There's only one reason why a character drinks: to seek confrontation. To fight for what they want in ways normally denied them.
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The life of an actor is a bit easier to take if you admit you're bonkers.
Michael Shurtleff