For an acting class assignment, we have to write an opinion paper for each chapter of the book, Acting: The First Six Lessons by Richard Boleslawski. These are my thoughts after reading the chapter.
“Talent needs cultivation and only through cultivation can one discover the presence of talent.”
I believe in this statement and it holds very true. I began my foray into theatre and dance at a tender age of 12 years old, and over the years I had seen the rise and fall of artists. Some lasted, some disappeared from the limelight, some faded away as their sins took over once fame came.
It is extremely difficult to last for a long time in theatre, dance or any artistic endeavour. The drop out rates are high. After losing a dance competition, for example, I had seen some dancers drop the dance completely. After failures, I had seen them disappear from their otherwise magnificent futures as uprising artists.
I believe those who stay on, preserver and keep true to their art will eventually become legends in their own right. They are our artistic heroes and deities that mere mortals look up to them for constant inspiration. I believe celebrities are forged out of the fire and had been through countless of setbacks in order to reach the top and it is not by luck or chance where they are today.
It is solely by the cultivation of their talents by pursuing their craft by constant practice, instruction and broadening of their repetition by undertaking different classes by different instructors over the years of dedication as a professional artist.
An example of this Hugh Jackman who has performed in musicals in Broadway and movies. He has consistently been able to deliver breathtaking performances in every role he enacted through his acting, dancing and singing. He amazes me as an artist who had cultivated himself for the craft and unleashed his talents in different productions.
“It enriches his life by full and extensive consumption of everything in outward life.”
I had over the years been writing in different cafes, even when writing this essay I am in a new cafe that just opened recently on the street that I found quite by accident. I regard myself as a cafe and coffee lover and I tend to be drawn to hidden secret finds in little alleyways that most people don’t know about their existence – this is a personality of mine that I kept after my stay in Melbourne where I developed my love of coffee culture.
To the people of Melbourne, coffee making is an art form that is relished and celebrated. I had not found any other place in the world that cherishes coffee the way Melbournians do. The best cups of coffee that sent me up to seven heavens were on those cold cloudy days in one of those secluded alley ways around Flinders station.
During my stay in Melbourne, I developed a habit of writing poetry in cafes in little notebooks that I would buy at flea markets. I wrote poetry purely for pleasure while sipping a cup of coffee in a moment of solitude. But those pieces of poetry were in fact inspired by the presence of people around me. I was observing others as an outsider, as a student, as a writer. I was observing their mannerisms, speech and dressing. I guessed if they just met or they are casually dating. I would count how many cups of coffee the cafe served per hour and how much revenue they were making, and this is a habit I still keep to today to estimate if a retail business is making profit or loss.
I cultivated my skill of observing others by writing down my thoughts and them in turn, inspired my art. Most of my best poetry is written during my stint in Melbourne. In a strange new environment where I was completely alone, I had to survive by blending in. On the sixth month, no one could distinguish if I was a foreigner. I had learnt their social codes to become part of their society.
Nevertheless, I do see the importance of how observation can release the artistic heights of an artist by expanding their horizons and vantage points.
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AVERRAL writes under pen name Scarlet Risqué. She stars in Scarlet Queen YouTube with over a million views. She holds a degree in business. The RED HOURGLASS is ranked Top 50 Espionage Thriller on Amazon. She is currently writing the sequels to the Hourglass Series. Grab a free copy of her novel now RED HOURGLASS on Amazon |
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