SECTION 2: Introduction to Week 01
2.3 Viola Davis - The Actors Academy | Reflection
VIDEO > The Actors Academy. “Viola Davis Acting Advice.” YouTube, 11 May 2019.
Let's think about acting and listen to some advice from Viola Davis; watch the video and consider the following questions:
Does what you hear resonate with you?
What Davis talks about definitely resonates with me. The video opens with her talking about wanting to be great and wanting to perfect her craft. Whatever she was told to do, she did, and then when she got out of school, she needed to work. It’s the drive to create, to refine the craft that is so important - and it’s not always something I’ve done myself with my own creative endeavours.
With the current actors and writers strikes going on, Davis’s note about how less than 1% of actors make more than $50,000 a year resonated deeply with me, as this statement is likely true across many creative ventures, from fine arts to music, and more. That many barely make enough to pay for health insurance each year is even more concerning, as she notes monthly health coverage works out to about $11,000 a year. But she says if you really enjoy it, and keep working at it relentlessly, success usually comes as “…you become the artist and the person you always wanted to be, when you find a voice that separates you from the rest.”
What does she talk about that you've tried as an actor?
In terms of creativity, her discussion of creating a thorough backstory for her character is something I’ve done when I approach creating an artwork, or writing creatively. Researching an issue or a concept behind a project helps ground the creative process in reality. But then she also discusses the importance of letting go of sticking hard to this, which opens up room for new possibilities, experimentation and play, which is also an important part of the process of creation. In art history this is sometimes represented by a process of deskilling, where an artist has mastered the formal aspects of their craft and can now let go, and let be, when creating with a beginner’s mind. Specifically she describes, “There’s something to said for leaving yourself alone, and being surprised.” It’s akin to the attitudinal foundations of mindfulness, which is something I already try to embrace when I create, but it’s not something I’m always successful with.
What does she talk about that you would like to try?
Davis says something that’s very important to remember as not only an actor, but as a writer, and even as a filmmaker, painter, photographer, or even as a sculptor, and that is how, “You can’t judge a character…”
Jon Kabat-Zinn marks non-judging as an important part of mindfulness, which he defines as “…the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” Kabat-Zinn describes how we always judge things, and it becomes a steady stream of judging, and it’s important to be aware of that, with discernment, to better understand the interconnections between things.
Davis continues, stating that “…you can critique the behaviour, but not the motivating factors behind the behaviour. And now that I’m older I understand human behaviour more, so I’m like, ‘I wonder where that’s coming from.’ There’s a reason for that, so I don’t judge as much. At all. I just don’t.” It plays back on the idea of maintaining a beginners mind, which I touched on above. Ultimately, Davis’s discussion about understanding human behaviour is important. To understand where emotions and actions come from, is important as it allows a creative individual to more deeply relate to what people go through on a day to day basis.
VIDEO > Minds Unlimited / Mindfulnessgruppen. “Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness 9 Attitudes - non-judging.” YouTube, 26 Jun 2013.
What does she talk about that excites you?
I was excited by how Davis discussed the idea of feeling less alone, as this has been an idea that’s been central to my own on-going reflective writing and photography project wherein I’ve tried to subvert the ideas behind a selfie. Specifically, Davis describes how, “Arthur Miller, the great playwright, said he became a writer because he wanted people to feel less alone. Acting is about exposing, it’s about taking the mask off.” She relates this back to how many people post to social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram, among others - by carefully curating what happens in their lives and how it is presented to the world. To this end, Davis relates how so many of us, keep “…the mask on. That’s what we do as people. (Social Media) is big with that. Everyone’s a great mother, everyone’s a great wife. I see posts with people and I’m like, ‘I know your child is in social services right now.’ Or, ‘I know you’re a drug addict.’ Or, ‘I know you’re agoraphobic.’ Or ‘I know you have all kinds of things going on, but according to your posts you’re Martha Stewart.’ Our refusal to expose, to vomit that mess, that’s what (actors) do for you.”