You may see me on your favorite shows here and there. Recently, however, I begun pursuing principal roles. This discipline is no exception to what I have taught myself, but really, I find acting is an intuitive and organic art amid all the technique and calculation. Don’t worry too much about it–people like Jennifer Lawrence are self-taught, too.
Here is the short film “The Last House I Ever Robbed”, where I play as “Ryan”. Directed by Shutong Fan and Will Tao.
Here is my current reel, which consists of moments from drama monologues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fypbgIREbOw
Here are the full monologues I used for this reel:
For my fourth performance I’ll be playing as Saul in the monologue “End of Discussion” written by Joseph Arnone. Here, Saul tells his daughter that he doesn’t want her dating a boy she introduced him to. In the author’s words:
“In this monologue, SAUL tells his daughter he doesn’t want her dating a young man she’s introduced him to.”
Here I channel my inner “old man”. In this scenario, I envision a very excitable, young teenager and an overwhelmed but in-control dad, who breaks the news to her with tough love and momentarily questions his judgement as she storms out. As always, I deviate from the script significantly, but the bones are there. In any case, this is much more casual than the other performances. If you like deep, heavy subject matter, then do watch the other three.
Here I play as Tom, a veteran recounting some of his experiences from having served in Iraq, in the monologue, “Fighting In Iraq”, written by Joseph Arnone. In the author’s words:
“In this monologue, Tom talks to a few friends at a bar about his experiences fighting in Iraq.” Note I use many ad-libs in this one and some improv to promote my immersion in the character– does not line up with script in some parts.
Tom is a seasoned combatant and comes across as someone who is emotionally able to tell the tale rather than someone who, for example, actively suffers from the symptoms of PTSD. So, I portrayed him as someone who is able to deal with the memory of his experience as he relives it for a moment for his friends. They are in a bar, after all. Tone is important.
Here I perform as John in the monologue “Man Called John”, written by Joseph Arnone. John suffers from a physical deformity and talks about his recent experience with a fly with his psychiatrist.
In the author’s words: ” John has been seeing a psychiatrist to help him cope with his physical deformity. He shares a recent experience of becoming friends with a fly.”
Note my ad-libs deviate slightly from the original passage for the purpose of being natural.
My portrayal of John was informed by the nature of isolation and the fact that he was seeing a psychiatrist. He had a preexisting physical deformity – not a mental illness – but I felt he would have emotional / mental obstacles as well.
In this 4-minute performance I play as Jordan confronting a loved one in the monologue “It Could Have Been So Much Better”, written by Joseph Arnone. In his words:
“In this monologue, JORDON gives his final goodbye to his father after deciding he no longer wishes to talk to him ever again.”
To clarify, my personal family relationships are fine and I am only fortunate to have such a tremendous support system throughout my life. For a moment I connect with “Jordan” to feel his pain, and perhaps that of others as well.
I ad-lib a bit from the original passage for the purpose of being as natural and authentic as possible. My interpretation was that despite Jordan’s vulnerability, he is still a grown man who could deliver such a verdict while maintaining some degree of composure and stability.
