Last night our neighborhood was thick with kids dressed as gumball machines, jellyfish, mermaids, crayons, and super heroes… there was even a spider queen; parents too went all out. One mother completely rocked it as the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland (no it wasn’t me in case you’re wondering)!

But this morning,except for loads of store-bought spider webs covering bushes, there were few signs left that Halloween had once again come and gone. The one night of the year that most of us accept it’s okay to put on a costume and see what it feels like to be someone or something other than ourselves.

As the creator of “The Act As If Technique” and lover of Halloween :), this sparked a question in my mind:

WHAT’S REAL AND WHAT’S FAKE?

When actors play a part, they absolutely, positively must BE the character otherwise we don’t believe them. That means (if they’re doing their job well) the entire time they’re “in character,” that world, that situation is what’s real.

I remember a story Tom Hanks told about making the film, “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007). During that time, the Academy Award winning actor was driven to work every morning – he’d have his coffee, review lines etc.. One morning as he arrived, a beat-up sedan drove onto the studio lot. The driver parked and got out of the rusted four-door. He wore a rumpled suit and had a used newspaper stuffed under his arm. Hanks wondered who the man was,then suddenly realized it was his co-star, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman had arrived to the set “in character,” which in fact is something the late, great actor was known for doing all the time.

The actor’s believability is highly important, because if we don’t believe the actor, we’re definitely NOT going to believe the story. This is absolutely 100% true for Acting As If as well.

The truth…

EVERYTHING IS AS REAL AS YOU MAKE IT.

And all that is beautiful and good to YOU is permanent.

What’s fake?

Whatever you don’t believe.

It’s up to you.

As Marlon Brando said, “We are all actors and we’re acting all the time.” (TWEET IT!)

Bottom line: If you believe and you behave, you will become whoever you want to be… not just on Halloween!

Thanks in advance for leaving a comment!

And remember… you deserve to have a life you love!! Oh, yes you do! 🙂

Until next time…

xo Linda