I was flipping through the channels this morning and saw david duchovny in a movie. i was admiring how natural, in his “look at me. i don’t look like i’m acting, doesn’t it?” kinda way. and wished that’s what i like to see, the acting part – very human that doesn’t look like they even care to be in a movie/stage cuz they’re just THERE. i guess that’s why i love watching one of my best friends on stage acting. i first noticed it when he auditioned for a role with a theater company in sacramento, and when he read, this was cold reading, it just came out naturally for him. like a character, who’s a real person, stumbled onto that stage and became, not became, but is that person/character. i’m doing such a lousy job of explaining this… but that’s what i look for in actors, can this actor transcend the stage into being a person i can relate to. and i think that this can only be seen in the minute details, especially on screen. the details of an actors action is what makes a character human. and that’s what i look for in a writing a good character which in turn translates to a story i’d love to watch, and write, and hopefully an audience will love as well.
so after this long introduction on david duchovny’s acting style, this is my list of things I love in Drama (and that’s the general term for anything that’s on stage or screen since i’ve stopped discrimating against that medium – i’ve grown.) this is an ongoing list, but hopefully when i’m stuck on saying, “this scene just doesn’t float my boat,” I can refer to this list and say, cool. this is what i love to see and this is the stories I want to write. WRITE!
– i LOVE characters that are 3-dimensional, in other words, human. if they are evil, what about them not only makes them evil, but about them reveals that there is some humanity left? compassion… or humor… but of course they are evil because of the dramatic action that drives them to their evil doing ways. and of course, this includes “good” characters too. if they were too cutesy-tootsey then they would make me throw up. their flaws greatly interest me, and maybe these said flaws would best be done with action instead of words!
– family and home. i love stories having to do with families. maybe it’s because, not in spite of, i’m filipino. and i’m speaking of the family in the, i wouldn’t say in the broad sense, but in the close sense of what a family is. in my case, i have a really small family – me, mom, and sister. but in a bigger role, i TRULY consider my best friends my brothers and sisters – not by birth, but meaning, i would do ANYTHING for any of them. it’s that sense of belonging. that “i’m not alone, nor will i ever be again” family feeling that i want to bring out in my plays.
– sharp and quick hitting humorous wit. durang and sorkin are currently my favorites. a nod would go to simon, but i’d need to read more recent stuff of his work. but with durang, i’m absolutely ROFL! another great comedian that comes to mind is Craig Furgeson. Recently on a blog by BAMBOO NATION, Prince wrote a post about this guy, and there’s a clip on it as well. i remember hearing about it on ET when Britney shaved her head and all the hosts of late night tv were bagging on her, but Craig said he wouldn’t do that. i can’t put into words, as well as Prince does, but this monologue had me uncontrollably cracking up one second and at the next beat, made me care about this person. i admire him for not this monologue… but for this wonderful work of art in weaving his personal demons, suicide attempt, urine (not sure if it’s indeed his), and Britney Spears. genius for the construction of this piece, and also human because of the content.
