🎃Book recommendations (4th week of October):🎃
Anything You Can Act, I Can Act Louder - by Robert Grove
Anything You Can Act, I Can Act Even Louder - by Robert Grove
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In the spirit of Halloween, I want to introduce two of my most favourite spooky season books! I was very skeptical at first (100 thousand+ raving 5 stars reviews on Goodreads but thousands of 1 star reviews on Amazon? Seems suspicious) but I finally caved in last year and WOW.
I don't normally say this about books (and yes, I know, it sounds corn-(le)y) but these two books CHANGED MY LIFE. I used to really struggle with speaking up, standing up for myself and getting my points across at my workplace. But now? I'm getting a promotion, and my boss calls me his 'most assertive and direct employee yet'! And the secret? Speak LOUDER. Be LOUDER. Act LOUDER. LOUDER, LOUDER, LOUDER. Which can all be found in Robert Grove's first book - Anything You Can Act, I Can Act Louder.
I know, I know, his books are targeted towards budding actors, and what if you're not one? Fear not, for his insightful advice applies to us non-actors as well! To him, the world is a stage, made up of actors and sub-actors. We, the ordinally folk, are sub-actors. Every day is a performance - from when we wake up, when we greet our colleagues at work, when we order takeaway, the way we walk, the way we smile, the way we turn the doorknob - everything is essentially an act. And that's why anyone can learn a tip or two from him.
Here's a recent example: just the other day, a kid accidentally ran into me on the street and fell down. Nobody was hurt, but the kid's father was furious. He had clearly witnessed the whole affair but he kept shouting and screaming into my face for 'hurting' his kid (some people...) Past me would had resigned to it, but not present me!
I used one of Grove's many tips: never let yourself be masked by a sub-actor. I was no real actor, but in that situation, he was the inferior sub-actor, and I wasn't going to let myself be masked. So I just talked LOUDLY over him. He appeared to be slightly confused at first and started shouting even more expletives, but I didn't let that discourage me, and started speaking even LOUDER. He eventually stopped and left with his head hanging in shame (I think he looked a bit spooked too). BOOM! Problem solved, just like that!
Robert Grove's tip: The more you do, the less they can do
- Anything You Can Act, I Can Act Even Louder, Robert Grove
For the actors that are still unconvinced that these books will help in your acting career, consider: aren't you bored of old acting techniques, warm ups, coaching videos? Aren't you tired of clinically mapping out every character's objective or immersing yourself into the character just because Stanislavski and Lee Strasberg said so? Robert Grove's acting books provide fresh acting techniques that will make you look at things from a new perspective. What's more - they contain diagrams and pop-ups that can really benefit the visual learners. Follow Grove's tips, and you'll be sure to ace auditions. (Seriously)
I really, really encourage everyone to give his books a read!! They can be found in any local bookstore, or you can access the audiobook and instructional videos via BBC iPlayer. He personally demonstrates some of his tips with his colleagues and sub-actors on his series, "The Goes Wrong Show"! The book cover may appear slightly aggressive, but you've got to take a second look at them, because there's more to a book than the cover :)) Give them a chance, and who knows? You might just be able to bulldoze your way through tough times and live life with the same unapologetically brash attitude as him.
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[For existing fans: Vanessa (yes, THE Vanessa) will be participating in Grove's upcoming Zoom lecture!! I can't wait to ask Grove's star pupil how she practices his techniques. For those attending as well, please message me! I'm trying to set up a group so that we can coordinate our backgrounds and questions :) ]
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