Michael Tabb

I am doing some directing now already, so I will say acting. I have a love of performance as any great writer/director does (or we wouldn't be doing what we do). Acting is so personal, yet so analytical. It engages both sides of the brain. Finding the real mood altering beats and cues in the scene - moving seamless from one emotion to the other in verbal and visual sparring... Portraying organic conflict, listening in the moment, free to explode when needed or come crashing down emotionally... And when the director calls, "Cut!", whatever I did, as long as it was honest and authentic... It's all good, no matter how the actor behaves. In fact, we get rewarded with applause most when we act the way no person should in public. I can behave like a real jerk, a child, a hero or a thug, and there are no repercussions outside of sheer gratitude when I do it right. It's free license to let it all hang out... It's playing with controlled chaos. Yes, you have to hit the beats, move the plot forward, stay true to the character... And then lose yourself in it so completely that everything you do is natural, real and deliberate... But on fire. After all, people don't watch TV or film to be bored. A lot of what we do as artists is "sacred play". Acting is the truest personification of this, and I feel knowing this makes me the director I am....