by Nathan Stout
Here is a little poem I wrote just for you:
Acting is for fools.
The actor often drools.
Thinking they know more than you,
and elected officials too.
Ok, so it’s not that great but its true (well, maybe not the drooling bit). Today I wanted to talk a little bit about acting. I hate it but at the same time I like it. This ambivalence comes from the fact that I have always HAD to act. In public access you don’t have the luxury of having a full cast and crew so you wind up doing a lot on your own. I think this is one of the reasons our creative pal Miguel has basically stopped being creative (with us on the show). He hates acting too. He would rather be behind the scenes (and camera). I am not sure what I would like to do (if I could just do one job and not have to act as well).
I distinctly remember the first time I had to act (for public access). Miguel and Chris came over to my place (circa 1999) and we were shooting a sketch for Sniffles (sniff!). It was a sketch where one of us (I think it was Miguel or me) snuck off to the bathroom and was secretly playing Dungeons and Dragons but the other thought (and it was portrayed as) the person was jerking off in there. All I can tell you is that I could not stop giggling. I was having a real hard time keeping a straight face. I can’t tell you what the deal was. I think everyone has this happen because I remember my roommate Tuyen laughing uncontrollably when he was first being filmed for a sketch. Anyway I didn’t like it (contrary to all the laughing). I can never remember my lines and I never feel I am delivering the line in a natural way. When I am not in front of the camera I often think how I can pull off certain emotions while acting but I can never seem to channel those skills when I need them.
I will continue to do my best. I feel a bit like Harry Rheems (the crew member turned porn actor in Deep Throat) in the fact that I have been forced in front of the camera when all I was supposed to do was some other off-screen job.
Chris and I hope that one day we can get others involved and it sure would be nice to have a full crew and cast when we are shooting something. Maybe one day…