Janelle Pelzel, Staff Reporter
janelle_pelzel@csumb.edu
Feb.16, 2008
Melissa Leo star of “Frozen River”, which was the 2008 Sundance Grand Prize Winner visited CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) on Feb. 14.
Leo came to CSUMB to show a private screening of the film “The House is Burning”, which she appeared in. It is the third showing of the film, written and directed by German filmmaker, Holger Ernst, in the U.S. The screening was proceeded by a discussion about directing actors. Leo was invited to screen the film by Teledramatic Arts and Technology (TAT) professor JP Allen and his wife, Director/ Actor Janis DeLucia Allen.
When asked why Mr. Allen invited Leo to speak he said “[it is] vital for new directors to be exposed to professional actors and learn from their hands on experience, feedback and stories [to] prepare for their careers…[it] takes students from academic to professional studies”.
According to Mr. Allen there are four basic acting concepts: objective, action, obstacle and adjustment. Objective is the desired outcome, action is the act of getting the desired outcome, obstacles are things that can get in the way and adjustments are what need to be done to get the objective. Mrs. Allen illustrated these concepts during an acting exercise, while Mr. Allen and Leo demonstrated good and bad directing skills.
Leo stressed that a director, whether newcomer or veteran, “has the responsibility of the ship. We can have a mutiny or raise the sails… it [film making] is a collaborative art”. Leo also stated that as a director one needs to understand how to respond to different actors. She said the best way to learn communication is through working at different types of customer service jobs.
When asked about the difficulties of switching between getting direction as an actor and giving it as a director Mrs. Allen said “its exciting…directing is hard work [collaborating while setting up shots], when acting all you have to think about is acting…it is exciting because you get to go between different hats”. Janice said working with someone like Leo makes her job as a director all the more exhilarating.
Leo said it was essential for her to come and speak for two reasons. First is to screen the film “The House is Burning”. Secondly it is because acting is both her “profession and religion, [which she] takes seriously”. She wants to keep her art pure and gets very excited by the thrill that newcomers have for film.
