Judith Weston, Coach, Teacher and Author: If you say Well, I’m going to take this role because I can be really great in it and I’m going to do it better than anybody else, that’s something you really have no control over whether that’s going to happen or not. But you do have more control over whether you are going to learn something.
Film Courage: Why is acting an exercise in empathy?
Judith: It has a lot to do with the judgment issue, with feeling that every character is doing what they think is right, what they think is best. They have a reason, everybody has a reason for everything that they do. I once read a short story (unfortunately, I don’t remember the author) but it was a wonderful short story. It had this line There’s a reason for everything and sometimes two. I’ve just always clasped that to my heart as something very essential about acting, about script analysis, about directors, understanding actors and understanding characters. Everybody has a reason for what they are doing. It might be a reason that the rest of us would look at from the outside and say That’s a crappy reason. That’s a stupid reason. That’s a wrong reason…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Judith Weston has, for 35 years, brought tools and confidence to filmmakers and actors, with books, workshops, and one-on-one consultations. In 2015, after 30 years of teaching in-person workshops and classes to thousands of film and television directors, screenwriters, writer-directors, and actors around the world, Judith closed her studio space and shifted her focus to one-on-one consultations with directors and writer-directors of film and television as they prepare to bring their projects to life. She can be available for Zoom Q&As and workshops with schools, festivals, and organizations. Judith Weston has been a teacher of directors, actors, and writers since 1985. She has written two books, DIRECTING ACTORS: 25th Anniversary Edition: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television and THE FILM DIRECTOR’S INTUITION: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques (via Michael Wiese Productions).
CONNECT WITH JUDITH WESTON
BUY THE BOOK – DIRECTING ACTORS: 25th Anniversary Edition: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television
BUY THE BOOK – THE FILM DIRECTOR’S INTUITION: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
More affiliates:
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Writers, try Final Draft free for 30-days – https://ow.ly/Gz4w30rDSKt
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
