Tell me what you do and I will tell you who you are. If you are searching for a new identity or seeking a return to innocence, sharpen all five of your senses and search within your own life experiences. Know thyself and become an actor of your highest ego.

In the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, “If you work with your hands, you are a laborer. If you work with your hands and your mind, you are a craftsman. If you work with your hands, mind and heart, you are an artist.”Acting is a form of art and it is nourishment for the human spirit. There is much to be learned by studying the art of acting. Fine acting is about telling the truth, it’s not about pretending. Through an approach of acting, we can eliminate a mundane trait of programmed behavior. Sometimes expressions, comments, statements, announcements and responses are sincere and sometimes not, but it’s always relatively routine. Prevent anticipation, as to avoid mechanical actions. Overcome the notion to be regular, it leads to mediocrity.

Everywhere you go, you will be on a stage for your life’s performance. The physical nature of that place is only the beginning. The most important element is how you feel about the place. Be in touch with that and do your best to bring forth that which will benefit your performance the most. This takes a total awareness – It’s hard to bring vitality and life to routine, but they are difficult to escape when you have the excitement of discoveries. Every discovery is of utmost importance, so let your imagination be as creative as possible. Events and importance go hand in hand, depending on the importance you place on each event or life scene. However you label the event, don’t be half-hearted about your performance. Develop disciplined rather than slothful habits and be fully committed to them.

Acting is supremely a task of communication. Communication is a circle, not a one way street.  The sender must make sure his message is clear and has been received.  The receiver must acknowledge the message has been heard and that he is able to duplicate it. The goal of communication is duplication. The receiver then has a responsibility to let the sender know he has received the message. Communication is much more than just an exchange of words. Leonardo DaVinci said that “the arch is nothing other than a strength caused by two weaknesses. “ Let’s represent that statement with a form of misunderstanding or disagreement.  He goes on to say that, “for the arch is made up in two segments of a circle and each of these segments being in itself very weak, desires to fall, and as one withstands the downfall of the other, the two weaknesses are converted into a single strength. “ Let’s represent that statement with a resolution or understanding. Find the courage to ask the questions you want the answers to and proceed with strong communication in all your endeavors. The first key to wisdom is assiduous and frequent questioning-for by doubting we come to inquiry and by inquiry we arrive at truth.

In acting as in life, we are always partaking in an act that is beginning in the middle of some foregone event or situation that has a bearing on how we approach things. It’s not enough to think about what the moment before was or should be; one has to suffocate oneself in it and be overcome by it. You want to be propelled by your feelings, not delicately led by your mind. You want to be in touch with your feelings, but you want to have control over your emotions, which will leave you in control over your behavior. Emotional images reach way beyond logic. No matter how many times something has happened in the past, there is something new about this experience, this moment.  Endow the given circumstances, regardless of what condition the present moment leaves you in and practice treating all your moments as enchanted ones. No condition or sensation is static or remains with you to the same degree of intensity. It varies, depending on the nature of the action. It may even be momentarily forgotten until another action reminds you of it again. Negative self judgment and regret are damaging and can be avoided by unleashing your best each and every moment.

Opposites attract and with that, they exist so strongly in every human being that they are difficult to ignore or avoid. Understand and accept the facets of ourselves which we don’t wish to recognize. Every human quality exists inside of us whether we acknowledge and cultivate them or not.  Empathy and understanding will both become heightened if we allow ourselves to look closely at all character traits. Through practice, we develop confidence in our ability to utilize the talent that is there. If we practice our ability to accept all parts of us and others, we will grow in our daily performances. Talent is not enough. Believe that you may understand.

Your own image of yourself provides both limitations and prejudices, which hamper both freedom and expanded expression. You victimize yourself by not knowing what these are, so confront your idiosyncrasies and conquer them. Your own self image should have no relation to what other’s opinions or actions are. If a situation arises that becomes challenging, understand that we are trained to avoid conflict and run from confrontations, but the process of dealing with these builds our character and our ability to produce resolutions. Always speak in the direction of truth and love and you will find yourself embracing what was once a daunting reality. The more we are able to detach our immediate egotistical reactions from everyday emotional events and interactions, the greater our faculty of humor. Being able to see things in a humorous light allows us to leave personal things behind.

If you practice some basic principles of acting lessons from specific coaching and training, you can discover a greater potential inside yourself to not only believe in your dreams, but to create and accomplish them in style. To create, one has to take known elements and make something new of them. With the New Year upon us and armed with the tradition of stating intentions, the curtain will go up at the stroke of midnight Sunday morning. Be prepared to be captivating, entertaining, believable and inspiring. The illustration of a character’s behavior at the cost of removing one’s own psyche no matter how brilliant the performance that results, creates alienation between the audience and the actor. A fine actor forgets what’s coming, be engrossed in each act and in each scene and when the curtain goes down on 2012, you can celebrate a performance of a lifetime. Not only words, but each sound of human speech can have a driving force. For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. Happy New Year!