The Actor Simplifies: The Minimal Effort Approach

Combining a Minimal Effort Approach with Effective Practice Exercises to make the most of your time and energy.

Hi Actor,

I keep coming across a problem. I’m sure you do too. I go to work to earn the money I need to put back into an acting career and when I come home I don’t have the energy to practice. It's just easier to sit in front of the tv & watch a comfort show, play video games or any other number of things that allow me to switch off and recharge. Rest and recuperation is important. After all I don’t want to burn out. I need to get my energy back and the idea of diving into hours of study for upcoming classes, plays or auditions just seems like the wrong move, if not, a direct speedway to destination "burn out". Despite me knowing that rest is important, guilt sets in and I can't even enjoy my own recharge time. Sound familiar?

Can I suggest that perhaps we might be looking at practice in the wrong way.

It can be smaller. It can be simplified. Easy even. Perhaps we can potentially make our creative work the thing we do to wind down after a big day.

Have you heard of the 'Pareto Principle'? It's also widely know as the 80/20 rule. I won't be going into the ins and outs of the principle itself here so If you aren't familiar and want to know more, go read about it and come back.

Basically, in this blog we are asking the question of "What is the minimum amount of effort required for the maximum amount of return?". We are going to be looking at applying ourselves in an effective and energy conserving way, allowing us to make the most of our time whilst saving ourselves from the despair of exhaustion.

Here is where I think we get the most return for our time: Repeatability. To most effectively work we need to find something that we can repeat daily. Even on the days we don't have much to give. Something that is easy enough to do and yet challenging enough to spark our curiosity, fire up our intellect & ignite our imagination.

To start to understand the process of applying minimal effort for quality results I'm going to use my own suggested exercises to demonstrate but you can apply the concept of 'Low Effort' to your own practice too.

Setting & Internal Exposition

Part of of the Excavation Work required to play a part (more on this later)

Setting

Fist thing, find a dedicated space at home that stays clear, and is only for your "current" acting work. Make sure the space is somewhere in your room, or in an alternate area of relaxation. It needs to be somewhere you are frequently passing and have vision of regularly. Ideally it's private too. This will be your Setting.

We are often working on multiple jobs at once so print out all the scenes you're currently working on. Place them in this designated spot. Staple and colour code your projects if you like. If you are working on more than one project at a time, maybe keep them separate and try not to pile up different ones together. Keep them facing up, next to each other, neat and uncluttered.

By printing out the allocated scenes straight away (as soon as you receive them) and setting them out in a designated space, you are removing an "effort draining obstacle". We are making it easy to practice. The paper is right there. No need to put practice off to another time. This is a good start.

Each day when you wake up, your scenes are there to run though. Give them 1, 2 or 3 reads each morning.. When you come home from work, school or uni, give them another couple of reads. 1 read is more than fine but 3 is better.

Find yourself thinking about the scene while relaxing? Walk over and give it another read. Put it back and continue with your wind down.

Spend time throughout the day thinking on these scenes too. All this work is fantastic 'Priming' for class, auditions, rehearsal, stage or on set. For example, if you work 5 days a week you've just set up a minimal effort approach of practice (10 - 30 reps pw). As you'll see, the small steps you make each day add up.

Internal Exposition

Close your eyes and take it slowly

This is a medium - low effort exercise that you can do as regularly as you like.

Pick up the scene. Read the scene slowly and picture all the details within it. Imagine the scene's immediate setting. Picture the People, the Places, the Events and your character's Relationship to them all. Mime your actions. Notice any emotion that comes up. Don't rush ahead and don't hold onto the feelings either. Just notice them come and go. Feel free to stop and close your eyes intermittently throughout this first read to get clearer on your work. When doing this imagination exercise discover the texture of objects, the smell, the temperature. Get specific.

Once you’ve done one slow run through of the scene, close your eyes and see if you can work through the entire scene from top to bottom without the assist of the script. Take your time again and immerse yourself in the process of being in the scene's situation.

From start to finish. Work Slowly, and specifically. Think of this like you're engraving the scenes situation into your mind. We're priming & etching a clear neural pathway for your brain to follow on "show day".

Also be open to altering your expectations dependant on your energy. Again, don't over do it. If today's 100% looks like a 5% on your best day, thats okay!

Once you have the scene committed to memory, you don't need to confine your practice to where your script is. You're no longer reliant on the piece of paper. You can be rehearsing, while closing your eyes at home, or with your eyes open in public. Practice on the bus home; or any time you're waiting around for someone or something. Whether you are waiting for your next coffee from the cafe down the road or driving from place to place, you can do the exercise as you please (definitely don't drive with your eyes closed though).

Note: You don't need to say your lines to work through them. The choice is yours here, you could mouth the words silently or whisper them. Even total silence with no movement of the mouth works. The focus of this exercise is primarily on the Mind's Eye.

The reason I mention this exercise here is because you can work on your scene on the go. You don't need to carve out time in your day to work on your upcoming plays or films. By the time you get home from a days worth of work, uni or school you've likely had multiple opportunities to run your scene. Now you can choose to put the time you have in the evenings towards relaxing. This time without the guilt.

About to Sleep? Play the Movie

Before you shutdown for the day, play the scene once in your mind. Think of it like a little cinematic experience. Let your subconscious do the rest and go to sleep.

One Piece instead of the whole

Another way to look at prep is - instead of working on the full scene, the full play, the entire puzzle. Look at one aspect of a scene. A detail - lets say for example your character is a lawyer working at a firm in New York . Grab a notebook and pen; Set a 10+ minute timer and spend that time priming your brain to cultivate that specific detail. This might look like researching the job requirements and responsibilities of lawyers; reading up on law; watching lawyers in a popular tv series; or putting your time into understanding the work culture of a law firm in New York. Just pick one today though and keep it simple.

Choosing to observe behaviour from your favourite shows or films is a great way to enjoy the process too. It helps you stay motivated and assists with recharging that battery. Another option is to look at the specific genre of the film you're auditioning for and find samples of behaviour that way.

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Whether it's through the techniques I've listed above or your own. Find the work that you can do even on the days where you don't have much energy to practice. Be really flexible with what prep & practice looks like for you on any given day.

Know what prep looks like on days where you have 100% to give and conversely 2%. It'll save you a lot of grief and guilt. If one run of a scene is all you have to give, thats more than fine. If it's working on just one line, thats okay to.

The final thing i'll mention here is: sometimes you just need a break. Take it. Don't deny yourself of the basic human necessity of rest.

A nap. A holiday. The company of friends and family. A hobby that has nothing to do with acting. Anything you need to do to reset. Do it. Please listen to your own gut when it comes to the energy you output. Too many people work till they crumble. It's harder to rebuild down the track, than it is to simply maintain right now. More to come on the benefits of "Stopping" later.

Let me know in the comments, what do you get up to when you hit "low battery"? What do you do to recharge? Are there ways you manage to prep when you're feeling low? Do you struggle with putting down boundaries regarding your own energy output when working? Feel free to contact me directly too. I'd love to hear from you. Talk soon.

Talk soon,

Lachy

Lachlan is an Australian Actor who has been working within the industry nearing a decade. He’s worked in Film & Theatre.

© Lachlan Stuart 2024