In his own words

by David Mamet
a collection of short, pithy sayings
 from "True And False (Heresy and common sense for the actor)"

(cautionary disclaimer: David Mamet has some strong viewpoints, most of which are 180^o from the mainstream: be prepared to think bad thoughts.  However, some of his ideas are intriguing, and only through exposure to other ideas can we hope to grow, right?)

    Your life in the theatre, like mine, will pass before you are aware of it.  And you will realize why the old folks reminisce - it is not that they are nostalgic; they are stunned. It went so quickly.
    We all would like to be part of, to create, that theatre which we could participate in with pride. On which we could reflect with pride.  To do so, one has to buy a ticket.  The price of admission is choice - the choice to participate in the low, the uncertain, the unproved, the unheralded, to bring the truth of yourself to the stage.

    The actor is onstage to communicate the play to the audience.  That is the beginning and the end of his and her job.  to do so the actor needs a strong voice, superb diction, a supple, well-proportioned body, and a rudimentary understanding of the play.
    The actor does not need to "become" the character.  The phrase, in fact, has no meaning.  There is  no character.  There are only lines upon a page.  They are lines of dialogue meant to be said by the actor.  When he or she says them simply, in an attempt to achieve an object more or less like that suggested by the author, the audience sees and illusion of a character upon the stage.

    My philosophical bent and thirty years experience informs me that nothing in the world is less interesting than an actor on the stage involved in his or her own emotions.  The very act of striving to create an emotional state in oneself takes one out of the play.  It is the ultimate self-consciousness, and though it may be self-consciousness in the service of an ideal, it is no less boring for that.
    Our emotional-psychological makeup is such that our only response to an order to think or feel anything is rebellion.  Think of the times someone suggested that you "cheer up", or a directory who suggested you "relax."  The response to an emotional demand is antagonism and rebellion.  There is no exception.

    Here is the taint of scholarship in the theatre:  a preoccupation with effect.  That is the misjudgment of the Method: the notion that one can determine the effect one wants to have upon an audience, and then study and supply said effect.
    Preoccupation with effect is preoccupation with the self, and only is it joyless, it's a waste of time.  Our effect is not for us to know.  It is not in our control.  Only our intention is under our control.  As we strive to make our intentions pure, devoid of the desire to manipulate, and clear, directed to a concrete, easily stated end, our performances become pure and clear.

    Acting, which takes place for an audience, is not as the academic model would have us believe.  it is not a test.  it is an art, and it requires not tidiness, not paint-by-numbers intellectuality, but immediacy and courage.
    We are of course trained in our culture to hold our tongue and control our emotions and to behave in a reasonable manner.  so, to act one has to unlearn these habits, to train oneself to speak out, to respond quickly, to act forcefully, irrespective of what one feels and in so doing to create the habit, not of "understanding," not of 'attributing," the moment, but of giving up control and, in so doing, giving oneself up to the play.

    Nobody with a happy childhood ever went into show business.    

    The beginning of wisdom is the phrase "I don't understand."  Fine.  You are faced with a part, a play, a scene.  Begin with the useful phrase "I don't understand."  "I don't understand how I am to proceed."  Perhaps you feel better already.
    Let's revert to some very simple first principles: Your job is to communicate the play to the audience, by doing something like that which the playwright has shown the character to be doing. So, logically, a first step must be to observe what the character is doing.

    Acting has nothing to do with the ability to concentrate.  It has to do with the ability to imagine. For concentration, like emotion, like belief, cannot be forced. It cannot be controlled. 
    Try this exercise: concentrate on your wristwatch, pen or other item.
    How did you do?  Your ability to force your concentration lasted the briefest fraction for a second, after which you thought, "How long can I keep this up?"
    Interest or investment in one's own powers of concentration is, finally, just another rendition of self-absorption and, as such, is a complete bore.  The more you are concerned with yourself, the less you are worthy of note.
    The more a person's concentration is outward, the more naturally interesting that person becomes.  As Brecht said: Nothing in life is as interesting as a man trying to get a knot out of his shoelace.

    Work on your voice so that you may speak clearly...work on your body to make it strong and supple...learn to read a script to ferret out the action - to read it not as the audience does, or as an English professor does, but as one whose job its to bring it to the audience.  (It's not your job to explain it but to perform it.)  learn to ask: What does the character in the script want? What does he or she do to get it? What is that like in my experience?

    On developing habits:  Show up fifteen minutes early. Know your lines cold. choose a good, fun, physical objective. Bring to rehearsal and to performance those things you will need and leave the rest behind. Leave the concerns of the street on the street. And when you leave the theatre, leave that performance behind you.  It's over - if there is something you want to do differently next time, do it. Put things in their proper place.  Be generous to others. Cultivate the habit of pride in your accomplishments, large and small. Cultivate a love of skill. Cultivate the habit of humility, which means peace. Cultivate the habit of mutuality. Create with your peers, and you are building a true theatre. Cultivate the habit of truth in yourself. Be your own best friend.
    That is not a character on stage. It is you onstage.