Acting : Honesty is the best policy... if you're willing to hear it. by Damien Paul Michael

Damien Paul Michael

Honesty is the best policy... if you're willing to hear it.

When I started acting in high school, circa 1975, I was perfectly content to hear only what my mother had to say. "You were wonderful! You were the best one up there!" Gotta love your mom. Twenty years later, when I decided I wanted to pursue acting professionally, I knew I needed harder critique. Fortunately, I was with an acting teacher who was hard on me and made me flex acting muscles I never knew I had. I love my mom dearly but I knew that in order for me to get better I had to hear the truth. After a performance, I would gratefully thank my mom for her compliments and then walk straight to my sister Jeanine and ask, "Okay. How did I really do?" Jeanine did not fluff her response. "You were shit! What was the matter with you up there?" The ideal thing about my sister is that as rough as she was with her critique, she would always follow it up with a 'why' I was shit. I would take it in and try harder the next performance. Now-a-days I have carried this honesty craving to my writing. I will only let people read my script if they're willing to be honest with me. It's the only way I grow. I realize it's not easy to give the truth, believe me, but it's what I need in order to grow. Therefore, if your read my screenplays, feel free to let me have it. I don't want to send something in if I'm way off the mark.

Other topics in Acting:

register for stage 32 Register / Log In