I have mad skills!

One of the delights of being an actor is that you get to play. Pretending like you did as a young child is an actors lot in life. But along with that sense of play needs to come another child-like quality, learning.

A good actor is an actor who never stops learning. Not just acting classes, although those are great, not just new shows, parts and directors, those are awesome as well. But the pursuit of new skills, interests and hobbies all make for a better person and a better actor.

I like to play with weapons.

Swords, knives, axes, quarterstaffs, and guns. Just on stage mind you, I don't carry real weapons around. But my training with various weapons has served me well over the years, it gets me cast in shows that need some swordplay, and also gets me hired to choreograph stage combat. More recently, I have been studying Spanish. I am far from expert, but I do have enough to get me cast recently for some voice over work in Spanish. (It also helps when I travel to Guatemala to volunteer, which I do a few times a year).

We have all read about actors who, when cast in a role, learn a new skill. Michelle Pfeiffer, when cast as Batwoman, was taught to use a whip by Anthony DeLongis (one of my own teachers, who also taught Harrison Ford in the most recent Indiana Jones movie). She does a great job in the scene where she whips the heads off dummies in a department store. Boxing, accents, playing chess, juggling, and dancing are a few skills that come to mind for various films and stars. Now a film star has the luxury of hiring a trainer and working intensively on a new skill. But even a casual, community theater actor can and should learn new skills. Not only may it come in handy in being cast in a show or film, but just the act of learning new things will keep you fresh.

Learning needs to be a lifelong endeavor. Studying and applying new thoughts and skills will make you a better actor, by being a better person. Learn to play poker, play chess, dance, take singing lessons, try fishing, a new language, study a topic, become an expert in tea, take up an instument, pursuit a passion. Acting is the ideal excuse to embrace new things.

What would you like to learn?

J.T. Turner
The Actor's Sensei