The notion of the actor as an individual creative artist, is a notion I often advocate on this blog. That is; the actor taking responsibility for his work, defining an aesthetic, not “standing around in the dark, hoping to be picked”. The benefits of such an approach are myriad, not least among them is that the actor can build the body of work he wants, work with people he likes and who share his concerns, and also, the actor can maintain self-respect by being self-reliant and rewarding himself for his efforts. In short: the actor-auteur.
It's difficult to find a better exemplar for this approach than the great Steven Berkoff, who went and wrote and staged his own plays, and the plays of others, back when nobody was striking out on their own. Berkoff's aesthetics are his own, strikingly individualistic. And so it is then, I have decided to publish some take-aways, from Berkoff's recent five minute interview with the BBC, in order to further the conversation on this matter.
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Berkoff says that theatre matters, that it's the last form of communication between people, where you can express the most fundamental thoughts, ideas, and emotions, and do so instantaneously.
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Althought Berkoff writes and directs, he's says he is first and foremost an actor, because acting is something he can do immediately, and because he can also dip into other writers. If he was only a playwright, then he couldn't express himself in Shakespeare, Wilde, Sheridan etc.
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He says that acting, writing and directing are all part of the same tree.
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Says all actors should, at one time, be writers and directors – Shakespeare was an actor and a writer. He says it makes a richer compost if people are expressing the three elements together.
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Says that when you're directing yourself you're not actually directing yourself, but that the audience response, ie – their attitudes, their silence, their laughter, will tell you and teach you.
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Says he did one man plays because he didn't want to wait until he gathered a whole group of actors together, with attendent costs and logistics, casting, agents, and dealing with the temperaments of 8 or 10 actors. He says a one-man show is a unique communication – it gives the actor greater scope because he doesn't have to deal with other actors.
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Says his own plays are poetic and expressionistic, not naturalistic.
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Says “Total Theatre” is use of the imagination. Modern theatre has returned to Victorian theatre with huge sets and flying people. Says that Total Theatre is the ability of the actor to express the genius of the body, express the story without set.
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Says you need to be a good actor to play a villain. Says the best actors play villains.
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