Giles Terera: Master class
Gile: advice.
* -Be honest with yourself about what you want.
* -Once you are clear, work very hard and be concentrated. It’s okay to move in another direction as long as you can come back to what as you doing before.
* -What we do in the theatre is the same as what we do in the real world. But you have to be focused and keep driving at it. * -Use your skills to your advantage. ( acting is reacting).
* -It’s going to draw everything that you’ve got.
* -In drama school your doing a million things at once but when you come out and your only doing one.
* -You have to know what you want to do. ( a characters journey is more important than thinking whether your gonna get another job and again).
* -We are suppose to reflect the human experience. And everything in between.
* -Try to be very singular, and focus on that.
How he grow up:
* -not going to the theatre
* -Being funny in school
* -Being bad in school
* -Getting told to stop distracting the class
* -Sometimes when to the movies.
* -He failed his GCSEs
During the break he went back to retake, however he thought it was wrong so he walked out.
He decided to do a btec at a college his friend suggested, so he started the course ( it was a 2 year course) first year he messed about. At the end of the first year you got a mock grade. He got mostly passes and merits, however he friend which was like him got higher. ( he realised that he need to get his stuff together). However he didn’t know how it was going to go. But that was a life changing moment for him. He still have a frame of reference.
Then he decided to go to drama school he went to audition at “mount view” he kept quiet because he didn’t know what he was talking about. Everyone told him the audition was very hard. Everyone’s else’s parents helped them. So he got more focused.
He didn’t know he had to do Shakespeare: he did ‘Hook’ ( Peter Pan). Then he threw the chair and it hit the judges table. But he went for it and he got in. Unlike his friends that recommended it to him.
Word of advice: do what ever you can to get the job if your truly passionate about it.
When he went to mount view (drama school). He began to put the pieces together. When he realised you could do this as a job the penny dropped.
When playing Aaron from Hamilton:
* -everything that he did in the play was from the script then made it his own
* -He took information from Aaron and used that to help him play him as Aaron is very intelligent and that he was posh, in the terms of the way they speak and rap is very different.
* -He felt like the script was telling him to be very strict with him, as his character is very actual.
* -He started to draw a picture of someone that is very straight forward.
* -He believes that he character ( Aaron) was very controlled.
Shakespeare writes in a very pure way as Shakespeare changes a character by the words that Shakespeare chooses to use for a certain character.
Being an actor is about curiosity and experience. You need to exercise your curiosity. And you need to work on your listening.
By watching others you can learn so you need to remember to watch and listen to other people.
When it comes to singing, you are using three parts of your voice because 1. Is using a high pitch singing voice 2. When the character begins to rap. 3. Then using a gentle singing voice. The hardest part of this was switching between using three different muscles in your voice.
Who you talk to:
There was a song called “wait for it” when Aaron ( the character from Hamilton) was alone with his ‘bestfriend’ the audience. A important thing is that you need to know who you are talking to, because if you don’t know or understand what you’re saying or talking to the audience won’t know either.
Everything situation and every reaction from your character comes from something that another character as said or done. What is in the other persons mind is what you are responding to.
What he learnt from Hamilton is that he didn’t know nothing but he tried to take in any knowledge that was given. This helped him play Aaron Burr as he needed to learn everything about his character.
Trying to find the little glitch in the character to find out the characters private person compared to the characters public person.
He process of writing scripts:
* -starts with a lot of research
* -Then when writing about the character if something clicks and he can’t get it out of his mind he will keep working on it until he can prefect it.
What’s the difference between actor and agent:
He’s had two agent one was from mount view and she was very good and came to one of his third year production. She said “ if she could wave a magic one and you started a job tomorrow what would it be?” His response: “ something to do with Shakespeare or a musical”
She was really good but however with some agents it’s like the actor is working for the agent but isn’t shouldn’t be like that.
But getting given an audition opportunity you needed to know what you could bring to it and the agent should be able to help with that. This is why his agent was good. You need to have a good relationship with your agent and shouldn’t do anything just because your agent wants you to.
The difference between Tv productions and theatre productions:
Tv productions and tv auditions is that there is always less time to do stuff, however with theatre there is more as there are recalls and many auditions that you have go through, with theatre it’s more rigorous. But with tv there is just less time than the other.
On tv there is more stress as when you go on set you have everything watching you, you don’t have time to rehearse and you have to do the take and everything is waiting on you, time is money and all of that. But with theatre your in a rehearsal room with your peers and you have time to mess up and get comfortable with your character. Tv is just a bit more intense.
Best piece of direction he’s ever received:
It was Peter brook.
The situation is that your a young boy telling this story you are living your village to go to the big city, your describing his journey. At one point he describes looking over the boat and describing a fish.
Peter said: “play around a bit. When you get to the bit don’t tell us that you see the fish just see the fish, what is it doing is it low under the surface was it scaly. If you see it we will see it”
His strongest tool is the audience.
His theory:
If he asks you to remember a play you saw and then you go on YouTube and watch it, it’s always different. As when your watching it in person there is something going into your head at the same time. Your imagination is your strongest tool. But we can all imagine. You have to be rigorous with yourself.
It’s not about making him making you understand what he’s saying it’s about me helping you use your imagination.
How to deal with rejection:
You have to make friends with rejection and that’s tricky when your working with your emotions but you still have to try. You have to deal with the idea of rejection on anything. You need to remember that you as an actor isn’t based on what someone else thinks on you.
Allow yourself to be upset as, you will get over it quicker than you can go try something else.
What motivates Gile:
Partly the fact that he felt like he was catching up and he didn’t know anything but he was learning and wanting to please your family and know what your family has sacrificed for you. The curiosity of wanted to do something and wondering if you could do it. Also want to contribute something good down to young actors. He wants to believe that he’s part of something much bigger.
Lowest and higher point:
Lowest point: was often to what’s happening personally. He lost someone very close to him because he affects your work.
Highest point: the show he just done Hamilton. It’s really cool to have the opportunity to use everything you’ve learnt all at once.
Student acting:
You need to make brave and making big choices, however you need to be simple and you need to be “brave enough to jump of the cliff”( metaphor). As you need to be brave enough to try new things or you’ll be limited to only one thing.
How to approach a character you find challenging:
You just need to be brave enough to do it. Then hopefully after a while you’ll begin to be comfortable with this character. If you really go there the treasure you’ll fine would be really worth it.
Do you think every actor should train at drama school:
Personally he doesn’t believe so but for him he needed to as he didn’t know anything about it. But some brilliant actors didn’t go to drama school. But it depends where your at.
* -Be honest with yourself about what you want.
* -Once you are clear, work very hard and be concentrated. It’s okay to move in another direction as long as you can come back to what as you doing before.
* -What we do in the theatre is the same as what we do in the real world. But you have to be focused and keep driving at it. * -Use your skills to your advantage. ( acting is reacting).
* -It’s going to draw everything that you’ve got.
* -In drama school your doing a million things at once but when you come out and your only doing one.
* -You have to know what you want to do. ( a characters journey is more important than thinking whether your gonna get another job and again).
* -We are suppose to reflect the human experience. And everything in between.
* -Try to be very singular, and focus on that.
How he grow up:
* -not going to the theatre
* -Being funny in school
* -Being bad in school
* -Getting told to stop distracting the class
* -Sometimes when to the movies.
* -He failed his GCSEs
During the break he went back to retake, however he thought it was wrong so he walked out.
He decided to do a btec at a college his friend suggested, so he started the course ( it was a 2 year course) first year he messed about. At the end of the first year you got a mock grade. He got mostly passes and merits, however he friend which was like him got higher. ( he realised that he need to get his stuff together). However he didn’t know how it was going to go. But that was a life changing moment for him. He still have a frame of reference.
Then he decided to go to drama school he went to audition at “mount view” he kept quiet because he didn’t know what he was talking about. Everyone told him the audition was very hard. Everyone’s else’s parents helped them. So he got more focused.
He didn’t know he had to do Shakespeare: he did ‘Hook’ ( Peter Pan). Then he threw the chair and it hit the judges table. But he went for it and he got in. Unlike his friends that recommended it to him.
Word of advice: do what ever you can to get the job if your truly passionate about it.
When he went to mount view (drama school). He began to put the pieces together. When he realised you could do this as a job the penny dropped.
When playing Aaron from Hamilton:
* -everything that he did in the play was from the script then made it his own
* -He took information from Aaron and used that to help him play him as Aaron is very intelligent and that he was posh, in the terms of the way they speak and rap is very different.
* -He felt like the script was telling him to be very strict with him, as his character is very actual.
* -He started to draw a picture of someone that is very straight forward.
* -He believes that he character ( Aaron) was very controlled.
Shakespeare writes in a very pure way as Shakespeare changes a character by the words that Shakespeare chooses to use for a certain character.
Being an actor is about curiosity and experience. You need to exercise your curiosity. And you need to work on your listening.
By watching others you can learn so you need to remember to watch and listen to other people.
When it comes to singing, you are using three parts of your voice because 1. Is using a high pitch singing voice 2. When the character begins to rap. 3. Then using a gentle singing voice. The hardest part of this was switching between using three different muscles in your voice.
Who you talk to:
There was a song called “wait for it” when Aaron ( the character from Hamilton) was alone with his ‘bestfriend’ the audience. A important thing is that you need to know who you are talking to, because if you don’t know or understand what you’re saying or talking to the audience won’t know either.
Everything situation and every reaction from your character comes from something that another character as said or done. What is in the other persons mind is what you are responding to.
What he learnt from Hamilton is that he didn’t know nothing but he tried to take in any knowledge that was given. This helped him play Aaron Burr as he needed to learn everything about his character.
Trying to find the little glitch in the character to find out the characters private person compared to the characters public person.
He process of writing scripts:
* -starts with a lot of research
* -Then when writing about the character if something clicks and he can’t get it out of his mind he will keep working on it until he can prefect it.
What’s the difference between actor and agent:
He’s had two agent one was from mount view and she was very good and came to one of his third year production. She said “ if she could wave a magic one and you started a job tomorrow what would it be?” His response: “ something to do with Shakespeare or a musical”
She was really good but however with some agents it’s like the actor is working for the agent but isn’t shouldn’t be like that.
But getting given an audition opportunity you needed to know what you could bring to it and the agent should be able to help with that. This is why his agent was good. You need to have a good relationship with your agent and shouldn’t do anything just because your agent wants you to.
The difference between Tv productions and theatre productions:
Tv productions and tv auditions is that there is always less time to do stuff, however with theatre there is more as there are recalls and many auditions that you have go through, with theatre it’s more rigorous. But with tv there is just less time than the other.
On tv there is more stress as when you go on set you have everything watching you, you don’t have time to rehearse and you have to do the take and everything is waiting on you, time is money and all of that. But with theatre your in a rehearsal room with your peers and you have time to mess up and get comfortable with your character. Tv is just a bit more intense.
Best piece of direction he’s ever received:
It was Peter brook.
The situation is that your a young boy telling this story you are living your village to go to the big city, your describing his journey. At one point he describes looking over the boat and describing a fish.
Peter said: “play around a bit. When you get to the bit don’t tell us that you see the fish just see the fish, what is it doing is it low under the surface was it scaly. If you see it we will see it”
His strongest tool is the audience.
His theory:
If he asks you to remember a play you saw and then you go on YouTube and watch it, it’s always different. As when your watching it in person there is something going into your head at the same time. Your imagination is your strongest tool. But we can all imagine. You have to be rigorous with yourself.
It’s not about making him making you understand what he’s saying it’s about me helping you use your imagination.
How to deal with rejection:
You have to make friends with rejection and that’s tricky when your working with your emotions but you still have to try. You have to deal with the idea of rejection on anything. You need to remember that you as an actor isn’t based on what someone else thinks on you.
Allow yourself to be upset as, you will get over it quicker than you can go try something else.
What motivates Gile:
Partly the fact that he felt like he was catching up and he didn’t know anything but he was learning and wanting to please your family and know what your family has sacrificed for you. The curiosity of wanted to do something and wondering if you could do it. Also want to contribute something good down to young actors. He wants to believe that he’s part of something much bigger.
Lowest and higher point:
Lowest point: was often to what’s happening personally. He lost someone very close to him because he affects your work.
Highest point: the show he just done Hamilton. It’s really cool to have the opportunity to use everything you’ve learnt all at once.
Student acting:
You need to make brave and making big choices, however you need to be simple and you need to be “brave enough to jump of the cliff”( metaphor). As you need to be brave enough to try new things or you’ll be limited to only one thing.
How to approach a character you find challenging:
You just need to be brave enough to do it. Then hopefully after a while you’ll begin to be comfortable with this character. If you really go there the treasure you’ll fine would be really worth it.
Do you think every actor should train at drama school:
Personally he doesn’t believe so but for him he needed to as he didn’t know anything about it. But some brilliant actors didn’t go to drama school. But it depends where your at.
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