Acteur.Studio · Drama
What is the ego? Why the actor must let go of it
The actor’s ego: Philiboss introduces the drama course devoted to the ego.
Excerpt: the full lesson is in the masterclass.
Everyone talks about the ego, yet no one really stops to look at it. But as soon as you step on stage, it’s there: our ambitions, our wish to be seen, to please, to succeed.
Yet the character you are going to play has almost none of those ambitions. He wants something else. And what he wants isn’t what you want in your everyday life.
An actor who is concerned with himself
That is the starting point of this course: what occupies the actor while he plays isn’t necessarily what should occupy his character. Between the two there is a gap, and a large part of the quality of a performance is played out in that gap.
In this introduction, I simply set the scene: why the ego matters to the actor, and why it’s impossible to ignore it. The rest happens in the lesson.
The questions that will be debated in the lesson
- Why should the actor concern himself with his own ego before embodying someone else?
- How can you recognize what, in our acting, comes from us and not from the character?
- What is a character’s motive, and how does it differ from ours?
- What changes, concretely, on stage when you let go of your own ambitions?
What the full lesson brings you
- The whole course, in dialogue form.
- Reference points from the great names of drama.
- Exercises to practice.
- The key points to remember.
- A space to leave your reflections: the Rehearsal Room.
Go further: the full lesson in the masterclass
The lesson is free.