I suggest downloading or watching Law and Order: SVU, Season 10, Persona

I watched it because of the all-star cast. Got it on Itunes, although I assume it's available other places.

I hadn't watched Law and Order: SVU in probably 3 years. I actually hardly watch any TV. I teach many working actors, so watching TV is like bringing work home...besides the fact that the acting sucks so much of the time -- formulaic, simple, natural, "real" -- and utterly boring and forgettable.

Some of the scenes bother me, in terms of the acting, but there is enough super good acting in this to recommend it to you.

- Notice the fact that the actors, in MANY scenes, need to be in very deep, intense emotional places, ON CUE.

- Notice they need to "believe" things that are quite fantastical.

- Notice the actors have to know how to create imaginary memories to recall and talk about with tremendous amounts of SPECIFICITY. You need clear imaginative processes to do this.

- Notice the fact that the best actors are doing far more than simply being "Simple and Truthful" -- a common nonsense coaching in audition workshops.

- It is also obvious that the actors are not simply "improvising actions." These are actors who are quite clear on exactly what story they want to tell with their bodies, voices, thoughts and emotions -- moment-to-moment. They know exactly what archetypes they want to access in exactly each moment -- and they probably had to shoot plenty of scenes out of order and repeatedly.

- You have to be able to "get it up" emotionally, very deeply, cue -- without it seeming like acting. Those who pretend this isn't a demand of television are living in la-la-land. And if anyone thinks these actors are merely thinking about their objectives and obstacles, they're wrong. Working actors aren't usually merely concentrating on action verbs, despite what you read in plenty of acting books.

I'd love to hear your questions and comments about what you think the actors are doing and HOW they are doing it. How might you accomplish the results, in terms of the PROCESSES you use.

I love Mariska and Chris...Judith Light...and all the guests. Super job.

- Jason

Also...

I'm told you can watch Law and Order and almost any TV show on www.surfthechannel.com or Hulu.com for free.

** But it looks to me like you can only see this through Itunes, I don't see the complete episode on NBC.com. ** Sucks...but I hope you can see it.

Also, Notice that often the actors get distracted by their inner imagery and imaginary memories while talking or listening to other characters -- like when Brenda Blethyn is explaining what happened 30 years before to her. You have to have processes for creating these images and imagined memories.

Brenda's great. And notice that earlier in the script, sometimes she is lying about certain things. Thus, two "rules" often taught about acting are not always true, 1) The rule that your attention should ALWAYS be on your partner isn't true and 2) Acting is not being "truthful" all the time. It is not "living truthfully" all the time. It is better to say Acting is living FULLY.

- Jason

Its hard to comment on this without seeing the episode. I like SUV more or less. Catch it whenever I happen to be watching TV at that time.

I do like ho you stated that you have to be a little more than "simple and truthful" however. While that is a very valid acting approach, it always seemed a little narrow to me. And that so many very schooled actors get really obsessed with whatever technique they are learning...and forget that sometimes you just gotta go with the flow, or be funny or whatever.

I remeber reading an interview once with Udo Kier (one of my favorite actors). He is an actor very typecast as playing vampires. Anyway, one of the first ones he did, he thought to himself, "How can you sense memory someone 900 years old and with no soul?" He decided it was impossible, and decided to do the exact opposite of anything his emotions would tell him to do. It worked quite splendidly...and now its illegal to make movies about vampires without putting him in it

--John

John, Thanks for your response. If you can get Itunes, this episode is definitely worth the $2.99 to watch. I'd love to hear what you and others have to say about it after watching it.

I generally dislike these franchise, formula shows (Law and Order, CSI, etc.) unless really great actors are guesting on them -- because they show how amazing you can be if you have more than run-of-the-mill training via "workshops" and "business training" -- the kind of average, crap training I was referring to in my post. "Just keep it simple and be yourself, everything else will just happen if you play your objective..." - NONSENSE. And more than being nonsense, that kind of "teaching" would offend any really great actor.

Being highly imaginative and dimensional as an actor does not result from "realistic, natural, truthful, simple" choices and thinking. And it doesn't result from simple intellectual script analysis or thinking about acting.

- Jason

Claps

I decided to watch this episode after reading raves about it... and my opinion?

GREAT!

I didn't expect to like this episode so much! I also tend to not like those "formulaic" shows, but this episode showed the tools well-trained actors use to make a dynamic and unpredictable performance (large thanks to Brenda Blethyn).

You could see Brenda's fully developed character (Lynnie) in the beginning as she's trembling while mixing the batter, trying to talk with Detective Olivia. One of my favorite scenes is when Lynnie is in the holding room confessing to Olivia about how she shot her old boyfriend. Nostalgia, anger, fear, desperation, all are intertwined as Lynnie recounts her story. It wasn't just a vague and uninteresting choice like "My goal is to tell my story, and my obstacle is the pain it causes me." no no NO! There was so much more...

Archetypes. My god there were so many! So much so that one of the scenes in this episode clearly illustrated the clash of archetypes. When Prosecutor Donnelly (Judith Light) is cross-examining Lynnie (Blethyn), Lynnie says "You were so strong, so self-confident. I was ashamed of my weakness. I couldn't tell you. How can a woman like you ever understand a woman like me?" The opposites of strong/weak, confident/ashamed - these are the recipes for great performances.

So much color, emotions, so much more than objective and goals. The fully developed characters, their life-experiences, their emotions, their jealousies, reservations, ambitions, all at war together in the courtroom.

I second Jason's recommendation to WATCH this episode. What a star cast of Blethyn, Light, Hargitay...

Cool, good for you for following up...yep.. - Jason

Incredible. Unlike so many episodes of L&O I've seen in the past. Each moment is a struggle for the characters, like they're really working through something - "figuring it out" - considering the hugely emotional opposite to every moment. And in doing so asking us, the audience,to grapple with big questions.

For instance, in the courtroom scene the D.A, the Detective, and Jonah are all considering both that she may be lying or that she might be telling the truth in every frame.

One of Jason's things to look for was how deeply involved each character was with their inner imagery. Boy Brenda really loses herself in the images she's created, and she does an amazing job of really activating the memories so that she is living out the struggle sensorially right there in front of you on the screen. Also re: imagery - what story is lying behind the eyes of Detective Olivia the entire episode? Something for sure, as you see it drives her almost desperate need to put away another invincible domestic abuser.

And there is nothing "real" about this episode, its fantastical in its scope. The quasi-melodramatic impersonal coldness of the D.A., with her curt alto voice and staccato blankness brings to mind images of Inspector Javert in Les Mis. If we were to see someone acting like this in real life, we might find it quite ridiculous. But on screen, it works.

The layered performances, the story each actor tells with their voice and body extend the entire collective consciousness of the piece to tackle the larger questions about domestic abuse, guilt, and retribution. The artists are doing there job here effectively: forcing you to examine conflicting points of view on a sensitive and controversial topic - and examining in all of us the ability to be the attacker or the attackee.

Good recommendation Jason

And one more thing, in regards to the actor's accessing emotional places on cue - I felt Clea Duvall as Mia sort of failed at doing this in a few very important moments.

The rest of the cast does it repeatedly. The scene that begins with a close up on Mariska after Mia's death - visibly shaken and vulnerable; she's in that energy from the second the camera rolls, and she's still making sense of the murder she had just witnessed, still grappling with something.

Watching it now, for free. Here's the link:

http://www.casttv.com/shows/law-order-svu/persona/auruii

Excellent observations from all. One thing is I should warn that there is extreme violence in this episode, so be prepared. But the violence tells the story, and I don't think we should be protected from truth like this. Violence happens, and shielding ourselves from it makes the world MORE violent. Exposing ourselves to it makes us more likely to take action and favor policies that will stop it.

I was re-watching parts. Notice that the actors find activities to do while they are acting, that further the story. Often, these activities are not built in to scripts, and actors find "independent activities" that tell the story of who their characters are and what they are going through.

For example, Brenda Blethyn in the kitchen mashing potatoes...

There are also many scenes where the actors aren't actually seeing what they are showing they are seeing. For example, in the scene where the bruises are revealed, the three actors are "looking in the mirror." Except...there is no mirror there on set. This requires concentration and imagination and a well developed sensory process. You gotta learn the PROCESS for all this in a great acting class.

- Jason

That was an incredible episode. I am still surprised that that could be done in the frenzy of a week of doing the episode.

Brenda did an unbelieve job! She knocked it out of the park. The struggle she went through was obvious, but not indicated, super emotional without being "over-dramatic".

This was definitely a tough episode to watch, and incredibly tough to do, I would imagine.

I would credit the writing and acting in this, but I didn't know what to believe through out most of it. The way it jumped back and forth was great.

And, another acting lesson I caught was that they were under extreme circumstances however they never gave up. Meaning the action of the story kept going because the human spirit kept going.

I'm so happy you enjoyed it. It's good to take advantage of free actor training, right?

Well, you know me Jason. Always trying to get free acting training. Haha.

Well...I was killing some time and realized I had the time to check this out!

And yes, it was great. At first I didn't quite get why you pointed us in this direction. it seemed like a slightly above average episode of Law & Order. Not bad at all, but it seems like this show isn't your thing, so I was wondering what about this one that struck you so much.

Then the big twist about midway through happened. From a writting standpoint...I thought it was great. I really didn't see that one coming. Suddenly there's a major reason to why she doesn't want the cops around....

The last half is amazing. Makes you want to re-watch the first half knowing what she is hiding. And then her convincing last arguemnt...that catches Judith Light off guard...is very masterfully driven.

I might watch this again if I have the time. I honestly think...now that so many tv shows and whatnot are availble for free on the internet...this really is a great tool. Find some great performances from RECENT tv and showcase them here, then discuss...

I'm going to go to that site and see if I can find a link to a performance that this reminded me of. A much different genre, but a similar theme of a long kept secret.

Oh...the husbands outrage at the end was a heart breaker!

Yes, and Mike Farrell brought exactly the energies in at exactly the right moments to tell an incredibly powerful moment-to-moment story.

I LOVED that moment where the Killer took him over when he said, "Everything you have told me is a lie." And then right back to huge vulnerability, "I wanted kids...and a family." And then back to Killer..."But I'll have none of it."

He was masterful. NOW...I DO NOT THINK ACTORS ARE THINKING ABOUT ARCHETYPES MUCH AS THEY ARE ACTING.

These energies need to simply be available to you effortlessly and instantly. And for most young actors, THEY ARE NOT. So, the work in training is to get you more in touch with these energies...once this is accomplished...along with script analysis and lots of other stuff...then, they come out like you see with Mike in this scene. It's a great example...

And I doubt it was just an improv. Almost never is...He either mapped it out in his head, or had a few different possibilities of how it would go. Maybe they shot it multiple times. Who knows?

But what I'm confident about is that two very often taught rules don't suffice here: "Just go after your objective..." Bullcrap... or ... "Just be yourself and let it happen!" Oh, please...

quote:

Makes you want to re-watch the first half knowing what she is hiding.

Great example of how "Acting is living truthfully" is a rather crazy teaching. Acting is living FULLY, says Jason B.

quote:

that catches Judith Light off guard

It you watch that scene closely, you will see how much ACTING Judith is doing. It isn't real at all, very carefully crafted. AND I LOVE IT. Watch it again with the volume turned down and see how much Judith choreographed those discoveries. I have a feeling she wasn't even listening to Brenda, I have a feeling it was shot out of sequence...

GOOD FOR YOU HARLEM AND OTHERS FOR ACTUALLY DOING SOME WORK INSTEAD OF ALL THESE SHALLOW GOSSIPY FANS (NOT ACTORS) ON THIS SITE WASTING TIME TALKING LIKE FANS ABOUT CELEBRITIES.

- Jason

"I need it, I need it. I can't have his baby!!"

"Then you shouldn't have let him get into your pants!"

Am I the only one that found how the pharmacist said that hilarious? She was real bitchy about that.

I am starting my first acting class in a couple of weeks so I can't really comment on the techniques and methods since all I have been doing is a bunch of reading. But this was a great episode. I did read all of the previous comments you guys posted so now I can rewatch it and take notes.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr Cool Calm and Collected:
I am starting my first acting class in a couple of weeks so I can't really comment on the techniques and methods since all I have been doing is a bunch of reading. But this was a great episode.

You don't have to be a seasoned actor to appreciate great acting when you see it.

I agree with JB. The Law & Order franchise has continually had actors and scripts so powerful as to elevate television to a whole new level.

I love the shows and am always blown away by the consistently high level of acting performances they have managed to produce, week after week, year after year. An amazing body of work.

And the only thing better than watching the show is working on one!

www.robertkim.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0453647/

I agree! SVU is my favorite show ever.

Some of the child actors on the episodes are amazing! Robert, in your episode, the girl that played Katie, for example. You did very well, too!

I LOVED that little girl!

She was just as interesting out of character as she was in. A remarkable young actor. What was even more memorable was getting to meet one of my favorites on the set, Aidan Quinn. Another underrated actor, in my opinion.

I was a little disappointed that the majority of my scene with Chris Meloni was cut, however. But thems the breaks.

Did you catch me as the judge in "Grow"? Every time I see myself in those black robes I laugh out loud.

www.robertkim.com