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Sam Christensen
BackstageWest Interview
www.backstagewest.com
| May 6, 1999
The
Actors Way
by Karen Kondazian
Public Image Limited?
Image consultant Sam Christensen explains the first step to acceptance in
the industry is accepting yourself.
Sam Christensen, one of LAs best known image consultants for actors,
could be the poster child for teaching by example. He is the embodiment
of the charismatic confidence he tries to infuse in actors as they work
in his classes to clarify their identities and bridge their exterior and
interior selves.
Christensens expertise is culled from a varied career, which has included
concert promoting, theatre production, managing actors, and casting on the
series Rhoda and, for eight years, M*A*S*H. Each step in his career has
brought him closer to his dream of working directly with actors who, as
a group, both intrigue and inspire him.
His classes, in which his passion for communication is exceeded only by
his love for the work, include a unique approach to image as well as acting
and cold-reading. The aim of these classes, called the Image Design Process,
is to "isolate and define the individualism that each of us has been
given by God," said Christensen. Through his training program, Christensen
tries to funnel actors individualism, teaching them to translate their
uniqueness into characters created by others. The ability to do this is
at the center of all the teachings of the masters, from Harold Clurman to
Stella Adler, said Christensen.
Back Stage West: What is "image" and why should an actor
care about it?
Sam Christensen: I know that the moment the work "image"
comes up, people have notions about "spin." The reality is that
an image is not any kind of illusion or any kind of thing we do to convince
people in order to manipulate their minds. An image is the public reflection
of who we privately are. Its what everybody knows about us anyway.
So what an image becomes is the proclamation, "I know what it is that
Ive created, now let me let you know that I know. Let me let you see
that I have accepted myself, that I understand who I am. Furthermore, who
I am becomes the vehicle for me to reach out to you. I use pieces of me,
whether I like them or not, to touch."
When somebody says, "I know what you see. I know what my flaws are,
what my strengths are, what attracts you, what repels you, I know what amuses
you, I know these things and I will share them with you. Ill use my
gifts to reach in where you are," thats incredibly powerful.
BSW: Doesnt charisma play a large part in how powerful your
public image is?
Christensen: When youre able to say, "Heres who
I am," and you display public self-acceptance thats my
definition of charisma. When someone demonstrates public self-acceptance,
when they create that charismatic aura because they accept themselves in
front of other people, it does two things. First, it makes communication
possible. Second, it says, "If I accept myself, you can accept yourself
as well."
Thats why were so compelled by stars. Meryl Streep makes me
feel like its OK to be me because she makes it so OK to be her. Her
self-acceptance helps me. As flawed and wacky as Jack Nicholson is, he makes
you celebrate that youre a human being. Thats what actors do.
They enlarge the human experience and make you want to live your life more.
BSW: But a lot of actors dont know who they are.
Christensen: Were all involved in the search for "who
am I?" Figuring that out is a lifelong thing. And a lot of us have
12-step programs, and therapists and gurus to help us with it. But when
were actors, who we are is not the same thing as finding yourself
in life. The problem is simple. Its technical. Youre inside,
everyone else is outside. It creates different perceptions. Theres
a lot of what other people perceive about you that you already know and
it makes perfect sense to you. But there are other things that you may not
know. Successful acting is about finding ways to describe yourself that
are accurate from either perspective.
Lets say that people call you "cool and distant" and youre
surprised, because you see yourself as shy. I guarantee that somewhere in
the English language, there is a word that captures their feeling of coolness
and your perception of shyness. It is that word, along with others, which
combine the inside and outside and allow you "public self-awareness."
And those are the words you can use to guide your photographer, your coach,
or anyone else who needs to understand who you are as an actor.
BSW: Its so interesting that you talk about bringing that integration
to photographers. Its a really good marketing tool.
Christensen: When you go in to a photographer without the integrated
descriptions of yourself, its like a director who doesnt give
you direction, who just says "show me things." When that happens
to an actor, they automatically go for whats worked for you before
formula. But if the director spells out the themes of the character,
you can bring your interpretation of those qualities. Same with a photographer.
If you dont give them themes, they go to their formula and you end
up with a nice picture; it just isnt really a picture of you. You
end up without the you of you. And thats simply because the photographers
dont have the guidance.
The same applies to coaches, video editors, and all those who help the actor
translate the uniqueness of themselves to our industry. I try to give the
individual actor the same thematic ability that the golden era studios used
so well to define stars. Today, the actor is their own studio and has the
option to create an image based on the reality of how theyre perceived
and how they perceive themselves.
BSW: Is there anything youve always wanted to say to the actors
out there?
Christensen: Yes, actually. Actors need to know that what they do
is really necessary in this world. As an art form its always been
interesting, but in todays world its more necessary than it
has ever been. Theres so much going on in the world. Were confronted
with so much and actors humanize all the experiences were having.
They allow us to be in touch with emotional ranges that were just
too busy for or that were in denial about. Theres so much that
everybody has to deal with that I think the ability to go into a theatre
or watch television and to see life and experience and go, "Oh, its
OK to feel what I feel" is essential.
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