Acting: Walking the Tightrope of an Illusion: Zen Lessons for Actors in Life and Onstage

by Michael Beckett

What distinguishes a truly great actor from a merely good one?
As any actor who is sincerely committed to the craft will confirm, technique is essential, but it is not enough. The tools developed by the great acting teachers of the past and present must be learned and absorbed, yes. But they must also be transcended if the actor wants to be able to bring a character to life, to portray and inhabit the full humanity of that character in all its depth and breadth.
To bring an audience to tears, to inspire them, to bring light to the darker recesses of the human spirit ― effortlessly, without manipulation and with no desire for results―each actor must find his or her own unique and individual path to the ineffable mix of in-the-moment awareness and totality that is described in these pages as "walking the tightrope of an illusion."
Walking the Tightrope of an Illusion gives readers a front-row seat in an advanced, experimental workshop that takes place each Sunday morning in New York City's legendary HB Studio. The classroom setting, with its lively exchanges between mentor and students, many of whom are working professionals, brings the material to life in a way that delves into the deeper mysteries of acting.
The book is complementary to the Uta Hagen classics, Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor, in the sense that while both authors have their roots in the unique environment and philosophy of HB Studio. Walking the Tightrope of an Illusion goes beyond the technique per se, in order to explore the deeper realms of the human psyche and consciousness. It is not just a book about acting; it is a book about life.

200 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2022

About the author

Michael Beckett earned his credentials not in the halls of academia but in the streets of Brooklyn and New York City, where he has lived all his life. The rough-and-tumble neighborhoods of his childhood nurtured in him a talent for keen observation of human motivation and behavior. Each time he moved into a new neighborhood, there was the opportunity to hone his skills in responding creatively to whatever "theatre of the streets" he was required to act within.

Michael began his study of acting at the age of 17, he says, because "I wanted to play around and get an allowance." It was under the tutelage of the legendary Herbert Berghof at New York's HB Studio that he began to understand acting as a noble art form. And it was with the support of his mentor and friend William Hickey that he was invited to begin teaching classes there at the age of 24. He also worked with actors/singers at the Singers Forum, and has taught classes in "The Actors Craft" and "Directing the Actor" at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Kanbar Institute of Film and TV.

Michael's teaching approach is to guide each student in discovering and developing his or her instrument according to their unique individual talents and understanding. He focuses not just on technique, but on moving into the deeper and more mysterious realm that lies at the core of art itself. Once a week he conducts an advanced invitational class where, in addition to their ongoing scene study and monologue work, students can bring original creative projects for development and critique. It is from transcripts of this advanced invitational class that this book has been created.