We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Cancellieri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.
Hi Sean, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
How does one learn to become an actor? “All the world is a stage and the men and women are merely players. They have their exits and entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.” We all know this quote by Shakespeare, artist and non-artists alike. We are all actors. We act differently when we see a friend as opposed to a stranger. We act differently in front of our parents as opposed to our significant others family. A first date vs. introducing yourself to someone at a work function. We all slip into a character multiple times a day, without even recognizing it. Acting is engrained in us from a young age and is a part of our humanity. As children especially, our imagination is an F1 race car. At some point during our adolescence, we lose that color, freedom and playfulness of our youth. We’re forced to grow up. “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one”, Stella Adler. To me, actors refuse to let that childlike wonder, innocence and playfulness melt away. However, learning to act truthfully under imaginary circumstances in front of an audience, or camera, is entirely different.
Acting techniques provide the actor tools to achieve this. The two basic foundations of an actors training are the voice and body. As actors, we are the instrument that is being trained. We are the canvas, paint, brush and painter. Arguably, all an actor has at their disposal to portray a character is their body and voice. Techniques range from ethereal, abstract, direct, indirect, intellectual and physical. I would suggest to any young actor to read and study all of them, as much as you can. You should become familiar with how you work when crafting a character. Are you physical (Chekov), are you intellectual (Stanislavski), are you imaginative (Bogart, Spolin), are you an auditory learner (Meisner), do you prefer a streamlined no-nonsense simplified approach (Practical Aesthetics)? Do you work better from the inside out, or outside in? Meaning do you need to think about your character deeply, from their behavior, destinations, mannerisms, clothing, where they are physically and emotionally in every scene they appear? Or are you outside in, meaning trying different physical or imaginative exercises to find the character though a more hands on experience? Actors are detectives, we have to look at all the evidence before we can come to a conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore we must know what works best for us to interpret all that information and how to utilize it. The voice is equally important to develop as an actor. Diction, resonance, posture, breath, tone, structure, use of the diaphragm, language, accents, diphthongs, conjugation, playable consonants, vowel elongation and awareness of your particular instrument and using it properly. In a theatre setting, we must project 8 shows a week, for hours and hours, without straining our vocal cords or throat. We have to chew the language of classical works and old English. We must be able to articulate prose, verse, and dialects with ease. On camera, it is much more nuanced and subtle, but the training will serve you well. Theatre training is just modulated down a few notches to achieve on-camera performances. Author Lessac, Cicely Berry, Patsy Rodenburg and Kristen Linklater are the standard in most university training programs, even if you’re not currently in a collegiate BFA or MFA program, their works are readily available.
For young actors out there think of yourselves as Olympic athletes. You must train, you must sacrifice, you must learn. If you want to be an actor, you must dedicate yourself to the work. Conversely, just as important as discovering various techniques, read, watch and see any and all kinds of performances. Watch films, television and theatre. Read plays, screenplays, biographies, textbooks, histories, anything and everything that has to do with the artform of acting, theatre or film. I’ve run into “actors” who haven’t seen many films, shows or know any screenwriters or playwrights. If this was any other discipline, or vocation, they would be rightfully ridiculed. An equally important aspect of your acting training is to live your life. If an actor’s job is to replicate the human experience, then the more well rounded you are as a person, the more dynamic your art will become. Again, we are the instrument. Protect your artistry, nurture it, savor it, love it. The first rule of Improv is “Say yes”. Acting training has no choice but to imprint itself on our daily lives and vice versa. Say yes.
This last step is vital, critical to your success being an actor, do not overthink it. I suffered at times from what I called paralysis by analysis. Learn, study, but don’t lose your instincts. Let your knowledge, technique and overall development as an artist be a toolkit you can use to achieve truthful and nuanced performances. Telegraphing technique, or unpreparedness is bad acting. Don’t build fences around your creativity but rather expand your awareness and ability through technique. The audience is on your team, the casting directors want you to do well, everyone is rooting for you! Trust your instincts.
Sean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My tagline on my website is “Actor, Improv’er and Unapologetically Animated.” That’s me. I’m an artsy goofball who strives to make people laugh any way I can. Acting is a wonky thing, and oddly enough the times where I feel most alive, embodying my truest self, is when I’m uttering a writers words, through a character, on a stage, in front of strangers. It is an absurd dichotomy, but that’s how the arts have always made me feel. That polarity makes me feel vibrant and free. As actors we cant judge our characters, we just have to find the truth and portray that as efficiently and specifically as we can. In those moments of the ultimate presence on the stage, if front of an audience, it is a Zen-like feeling that I have yet to duplicate or replicate in any other way.
After completing my BA in Theatre Studies in my hometown of Las Vegas, I knew I needed more training as an artist. I was only comfortable playing wacky characters and harnessing my physical comedy gifts. I yearned for more development and knowledge before I moved to Los Angeles. So, I auditioned for grad schools to earn my MFA. I didn’t make it, so I kept working and developing my craft in Vegas doing local plays and continuing to perform at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The next year, I auditioned again, and as luck would have it I earned one of six spots at my number one school of choice, The University of Florida. There I was hurled into the deep end of the artistic pool, a rigorous training program as well as teaching the undergraduate students. It was at UF that I was truly able to develop my creativity. The days were long, fourteen hours a day. Hundreds of plays, books, critiques, essays, and textbooks. I performed in seventeen total shows in 3 years. It was militant, rigorous. “A guy who came to Fight Club for the first time, his ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, he was carved out of wood.” That was me after 3 years, I had transformed. I felt prepared and armed to go to LA and make my dream happen.
I graduated in 2015 and moved to LA a few months later. In these 9 years, I’ve accomplished quite a bit, even though that nasty voice inside my head will tell me otherwise most of the time. I have to reflect on occasion and look back at the road traveled, my 10 year old self would have said “You made it! I’m so proud of you!” I’m not satisfied, I have a long way to go, but at least now I can look forward to the climb as opposed to being afraid of it.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The entire film industry is a story of resilience. Every year millions of people move to New York or Los Angeles in their pursuit of an acting career. Get comfortable being told “no.” For every 100 doors I’ve knocked on, 99 of them didn’t open. After attending undergrad and grad school, I knew the odds. I knew this would happen, so I was prepared not to let it phase me as much as it affected my peers.
Harrison Ford was asked in an interview, “How did you become this icon, how does one become Harrison Ford?!” His answer, “I stayed.” All his friends left LA, and he stayed. He was working as a carpenter at the time when George Lucas asked him to read for Han Solo. You’ll never know how its going to happen for you, which doors will open and when. Open the door in your mind, so when it opens in life, all you have to do is walk through it.
I’ve been in LA now for 9 years. There have obviously been challenging times, and I’m still working to achieve my ultimate goal of being a full-time actor. I haven’t found instant success, and honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Find yourself a community of artists, take classes, seminars, join groups on social media. You will meet people that will become friends, and ultimately colleagues. When it gets difficult, be Harrison Ford, stay. Fight. Become the hero in your own story, be the personification of resilience. When you do hear that “YES”, there is no better feeling because you’ve given it your all. You learn nothing from success, nothing. We learn from failure, so when you inevitably do falter, and your emotions run amuck, remember, that is the growth that is necessary to propel you forward.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
When I was teaching Improv at the University of Florida to the undergraduate students, I suddenly got it. I was teaching 18–22-year-olds who didn’t major in the arts. They were studying to become scientists, doctors, lawyers, philosophers, writers, English professors, criminal psychologists, all walks of life. These young people were terrified of getting up in front of the class and making fools of themselves. It’s almost as if I was teaching people how to use their imaginations for the first time. It was a slow process, bogged down by their fear of embarrassment, but to finally see them let go and be free as creative kindred spirits towards the end of the semester; I’ll never forget that feeling.
I felt like I had become one of my favorite movies in real time, Dead Poets Society. “We don’t read and write poetry because it is cute. We read and write poetry because we are all members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for… That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” I could babble on and on about this, but I don’t think I could make it any clearer than John Keating (Robin Williams) did in that film. The arts hold humanity together. The arts are a gift, explore your own artistry regardless of your discipline or passion.
My discipline is Improvisation. The theatre introduces and embodies many themes. They can be life changing when developed, honed and practiced. For example, I believe everyone should take a theatre class or Improv class simply because it builds your humanity. Listening, unselfishness, group dynamics, intuition and spontaneity are the essences of Improv. Allow me to get on my soap box for a moment; Theatre has the rare ability to effect the human experience on all four quadrants, physical, mental, spiritual and emotional/intuitive/imaginary. Everyone can act. Everyone can improvise. Everyone can play, but first we must be free in order to do so. Freedom of the mind, soul, and body. We are all born with a sense of play, we’re losing it. It is a gift. Children “play” they are free, innocent and more alive. Life is an Improv. I believe that Improvisation is the purest form of theatre simply because of its spontaneity. In the moments of spontaneity, we are most alive. We are not our avatar, we are not judgmental of ourselves or others. We are not projecting a sense of self that we’ve deemed safe to display in front of others. We are not editing ourselves. We are free. Spontaneity frees us from the handed-down frames of reference, old facts and undigested theories and techniques of other people’s findings. We are not searching for a despite sense of approval. It will make you invisible. If you’re thinking, I have no talent, I couldn’t do Improv! Let me tell you, talent has little to do with it. Viola Spolin articulates that “Talent is just a greater capacity for experiencing.” Reconnect with your intuition. Spolin goes on to say, “The average person has been known to transcend into the world of the unknown and courageously walk into the world of the unknown and release a moment genius within.”
Hopefully this doesn’t come off as artsy mumbo-jumbo psychobabble. But imagine if all walks of life thought and felt this way about themselves and others? “Life beats down and crushes the soul, and art reminds you that you have one.”, Stella Adler brilliantly encourages. I implore you to reconnect with your artistic self. Explore, create, inspire, overcome, be present, illuminate and believe. Imagine the possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://seancan5678.wixsite.com/seancancellieri
- Instagram: @seancancellieri
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-cancellieri-7b751a217
Image Credits
Sean Kara
Olive Banerjee