The Actor Takes Action: An Introduction To Practice

A brief look at Practice

Hi Actor,

For me, an acting career can be simplified into two overarching actions. Both of them are of equal importance. The First we’ve looked at. 'Priming'. The Second is 'Practice'. The Second is what we will be looking at today.

So what is Practice?

• It's directly related to skill - practice is the action of performing a skill.

• If you are intentionally "doing", you are practicing.

• Whatever you're working on, practice begins a soon as it is no longer an intellectual idea.

• It is a skill in motion.

I see the word Practice for actors much like how we associate it with a Doctor’s “Practice” or a "Practicing" Lawyer. It is their actual work. It is how we as artists serve others. It's how we show up for our profession daily.

Some examples of Practice:

• What we do between "Action!" & "Cut!"

• A full run of a show from start to finish

• Taping a self tape

• Auditioning

• Working out

• Accent Work

• The skill of having quality rest and the intentional skill of "switching off" (severely underrated as a skill)

• The professional or social skill of talking, storytelling and connecting with others

• Memorisation (although in the run up to a play this could also be considered priming)

• Performing a monologue to an audience

• Rehearsals (although they could also be seen as priming for the approaching "show day")

• Live performance

• Comedy

• Drama

• Improvisation

• Communication

In short, practice it is the action of skill development. The full list of skills we could practice is endless. With this knowledge you can have total autonomy over the actor you want to become based entirely on the skills you practice every day. Be guided by what you value in other actors and then chase those skills. Daily.

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A note on priming and practice: The Distinction

Priming generally comes before practice to assist with its effectiveness. Sometimes your practice involves priming and sometimes your priming involves practice. The distinction here is dependant on the goal. At this stage, don't get caught up in which is what, just make sure you're doing both in some capacity. One way to look at this distinction is - Priming generally is the use of the "Mind's Eye" whereas Practice is the act of "doing".

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Reframing everything we do in our career as "skills" means we have the ability to improve upon each facet of our career. What you practice steers you towards the career you'll have.

This way of framing my work is inspired by The Talent Code and The Little Book Of Talent by Daniel Coyle. Go grab yourself a copy of these two books if you're interested in learning more.

Have a think about what your professional practice looks like. Do you have a practice? If you can't clearly articulate what is is, start by looking at all the things you do for your acting. Break them down into their parts & reframe them as skills.

If you have any questions or thoughts on 'Practice' feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email. 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