Page 13 - Reader's House Magazine Issue 52

available for kids, tweens, and teens. Much of the existing material was mean-spirited, snarky, and sarcastic. I felt our younger actors deserved much better than that. I started writing two-character dialogues for my classes––and decided to embed positive messages, optimistic ideas, and philosophi- cal life lessons into the scenes as subtext.
While testing these teenage scenes in class, I also started writing scenes for younger actors, aged six to twelve. Those dialogues eventually became my second book, “Acting Scenes for Kids and Tweens.” We all need positive messages these days, and young actors probably need them most of all. The sensitivity and emotional vulnerability that makes someone (of any age) a good actor often makes it difficult to navigate the harsh realities of the enter- tainment industry––the competitiveness, uncertain- ty, and frequent rejection.
Can you describe your creative process when developing monologues for kids and tweens?
I like to look at our world––and especially at situations I’m dealing with as an adult––and try
to imagine those exact same scenarios through
the eyes of a much younger person who hasn’t yet developed the maturity, social skills, and real-life experience to handle them. Then I like to write scenes and monologues about our adult world from the point of view of that younger person. For ex- ample, a few years back, a man ran out of his house and started screaming at me because I parked (in a legal parking spot) in front of his house. He was an
Mike Kimmel is a brilliant educator and storyteller, whose dedication to nurturing young talent transforms the landscape of performing arts.
elderly man and I was pretty shocked at his childish behavior.
Instead of becoming angry, though, I asked my- self, “How can I use this?” This is a question I also ask myself as an actor. (It’s a wonderful technique, in fact, for handling many challenging situations
in our daily lives.) I was writing my fourth book, “Monologues for Kids and Tweens” at the time, and decided to use this screaming man as the subject
of a monologue for younger kids. Imagine being
an eight year old living across the street from this angry man and watching him go berserk on anyone who dared park in front of his house. Imagine
being a kid whose parents tell him to respect his elders––and then seeing this rude, angry man across the street behave so badly again and again. If this incident was awkward for me, I thought, imagine how uncomfortable it would be for an eight year old child. That incident became one of my favorite monologues in the book––and grew out of asking myself the question, “How can I use this?”
What challenges did you face while writing “Six Critical Essays on Film,” and how did you overcome them?
Writing “Six Critical Essays on Film” present- ed a unique challenge for me––which I eagerly
embraced. This book was a complete departure from the type of books (and scripts) I usually write, which are primarily dialogue-driven. For years, I pursued a dual career in Education and the Perform- ing Arts. As an educator, I taught classes in Acting, Film and Television History, and Public Speaking
in Colleges and Adult Schools. Many of my college students would enroll in a History of Film course to fulfill distribution requirements for graduation. They were looking for a course in the Arts that would be interesting to them and, in most cases, not terribly difficult or demanding. Their reasoning was sound. Everybody likes movies, right? Unfortunately, many students––particularly those with backgrounds in engineering and the hard sciences––had difficulty writing essays about movies. Although they knew what they liked, it was difficult for them to explain why they liked it in an essay.
I wrote this book to help college students break films down into their component parts and evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses. In this book, I suggested six different areas through which films can be critiqued: storyline and script, directing and editing, acting, lighting and movement, and overall theme, message or ideology.
ing on stage teaches actors stagecraft, voice control and modulation, comedic timing, and how to think quickly on their feet. Theatre actors learn to figure out what to do when props aren’t working or a cast member misses an important cue. They learn how to make adjustments––and get the storyline back on track–– when a fellow actor skips a line of dialogue. They learn not to get rattled when the audience doesn’t respond as expected.
There will always be advancements in technol- ogy. That has been true ever since the early days of silent film. No matter what the future brings, however, I believe that actors with solid theatre experience in front of live audiences will always be at a significant advantage over their non-theatre trained colleagues.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to create impactful educational resources in the performing arts?
Remember not to talk down to our young people––and to adult actors who are new to the business. Just because someone is new to the enter- tainment industry doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer. I love working with talented young people. I get inspired and motivated by their energy and enthusiasm. Every actor has talent that can be devel- oped, and every writer has a story to share with the world. Experienced actors and writers need to build up the next generation of performing artists in our industry––or we’ll have no industry fifty years from now. It ends with us.
I also think everyone has a book inside them
that is literally screaming for an opportunity to be revealed and “birthed out” into the world. Not every writer can become a number one bestselling author, of course, but everyone has a unique point of view and a significant set of skills to share. There are no boring people out there––only people who have not yet found their niche and their unique, authentic voice (or are purposely hiding their true talents
and desires from themselves and the world). If you ever find yourself bored or simply disinterested when talking with someone, it’s because you’re not digging deep enough. Everyone has a story to share; some people just need a little extra help finding it.
The best way to find your authentic voice is to diligently sit down at your writing table every day and get to work. Sweat it out. Put it all down on paper. Some of it may not be any good, but through the process of writing the bad work you will ulti- mately find the good work. Writing every day will help you figure out what you believe in––and who you really are as an artist.
I once told a writer friend who was struggling
in this area: “You don’t have the right to keep
your gifts and talents from the world.” That’s now become a favorite catchphrase between me and my closest friends. We may envy the skill set of a col- league from time to time, but always remember that someone in this world needs what you have to offer. We don’t gain much in life from holding back, and the world gains nothing when we keep our gifts and talents hidden––and our best stories locked away in a bottom desk drawer.
I also suggested creative thinking strategies to get the attention of their college professors. Imagine alternate endings for the films we study in class. Imagine actors from another generation playing the leads in our favorite films. Imagine Scarlett Johans- son going back in time to 1946 and playing Rita Hayworth’s role in “Gilda.” Imagine Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable leaping forward in time
to play the George Clooney and Brad Pitt roles in “Oceans Eleven.” These are outside-the-box ideas that can really capture a professor’s attention.
In your opinion, what are the most important skills a young actor should develop?
they’re playing. One way to develop this skill is to ask yourself: “What was I doing right before the action in the scene I’m playing interrupted me?” For example, if you have a tiny role in a play or a movie and you’re just walking onto an elevator and saying “Good morning” to the lead actor, your character still has a history, an outside life, and a unique viewpoint about the world. Your character didn’t just pop into existence at the precise moment you walked into the elevator. Something was happening in that character’s life. Something was going on before that elevator door opened. If you can figure out how to convey that character’s inner life––with- in the context of the script and without distracting attention from the lead players––you will connect very well with audiences. Audiences will always pick up on that authenticity.
How do you see the role of theatre and performance evolving in today’s digital age?
Nothing beats the thrill of performing in live theatre and I believe there is no better training ground for actors. Performing on stage helps actors learn the value of teamwork and understand how the individual efforts of each actor contribute to the overall success of the play. These are skills that translate beautifully into television and film. Work-
Young actors need to learn to make strong choices with scripts––and use their imaginations to create rich, full back-stories to the characters
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