They Once Walked Among Us, Eleven O'Clock Always Comes, Meritocracy

This has been a wonderful read but I am glad it's over. Mamet wraps up his book by telling us that the greats that once walked among us were just like you and me. The final chapter then is about learning from the audience. When going straight into film you miss the interaction from the audience. If it is funny the audience will laugh, moving then they will sigh, etc. "A standing ovation can be extorted from the audience. A gasp cannot." I really liked this. I think it is true. A gasp from an audience means you have awaken something in them. Standing ovations can feel necessary rather than earned.

The Villain and the Hero, Acting "As if"

Humans are susceptible to suggestions. We will readily believe things we are told. There for the audience does not need characterization because it will be provided in the script by the author. Okay yes this I understand and I can agree with for the most part.
Acting "As If" did not feel like any new information. Mamet says to use your insecurities on stage. Don't use technique. As an actor you don't need faith. Mamet also talks about actors feelings of being a fraud. I enjoyed and understand the ideas of acting out fantasies for a one person audience. It's true this is easy. You don't need to prep yourself to act out your fantasy. But I feel the difference is that your fantasy is tailored to you. You are not granted this luxury with a play.

The Designated Hitter, Performance and Character

Most of these chapters feel as though Mamet is just writing and you need to shift through for the important information. From this chapter I basically got that the Good Actor is usually not good. We call him good because of our own need. The Good Actor is just a place holder. I don't get this and there for I don't agree or disagree...I don't know.
In Performance and Character I take away that you need to look outward and not inward. Again be brave be honest. Being brave seems to be one of the big messages through the whole book. It is a message I agree with and understand. Than Mamet goes on about how teachers are charlatans. Yes Mamet doesn't like school or teachers again we get it. He does make a good point about questioning what is told to you in an acting school. It's true if a teacher can not explain or demonstrate something for you it is likely he or she is lost as well.

Talent and Habit

Talent is like luck and it favors the prepared. So Mamet tells us to learn the skills of voice, dance and how to read the script like an actor. This to me means schooling which is not what Mamet would suggest. I don't get it. How do you become a competent actor if you can't go to school and there fore don't have the skills to get work and there for can't learn from the stage as Mamet says it should be done. I do however agree that talent like luck will come from determination and dedication.
I enjoyed Habit. The chapter felt like all of the basics. Things like leaving your problems on the street and being totally there in rehearsal and ready to get work done. Be an overachiever rising above the ranks rather than with them. Constantly improve your skills. However my favorite parts of this chapter were about how actors try with everything they have. They constantly hand themselves up for inspection by others. It is you on stage and you can hide nothing. It's a very reveling choice to put yourself on a stage.

Guilt and Concentration

Okay so David Mamet has now given us "actable objectives", "punch-lines" and "As ifs". He does not however believe in a method or schooling.......*pulls at hair* This book is now just making me angry. He most certainly is giving his own method and it is simply not the same as that of others before him. He talks about scholarship and staying in school and how they are bad things. He however is a teacher and has with this book made himself and his METHOD better than that of others. Anyway getting back to the chapter as ifs serve as reminders. Guilt from unattainable request causes actors to feel that they would have succeeded if they had only believed more. I agree. Walking like the color blue or unzipping and stepping out of my shell has never quite worked for me.
So concentration can not be forced suggesting then that it is a subconscious action. Okay I can jump on board here although I'm not sure I agree as countless students forced concentration in classrooms on a daily bases. So assuming that concentration flows to what is most interesting it would make sense to do as Mamet suggests and pick the most interesting play and the most interesting and fun action in the play. Concentration then will not be an issue. The problem here is that the actor does not get to pick the play and does not get to cut this play. That job is given to the director, the dramatrug etc. Mamet seems to have a habit of talking about things that are lovely in theory but not practical in the real world.

Emotions and Action

The chapter Emotions seemed to be a kind of repeat of other chapters. False emotions are a bad thing. We don't like it in our day to day lives when people smile to big or over express their sadness (although many are guilty of this on a daily bases) nor do we like to see it one stage. Then Mamet again calls emotion memory and sense memory paint by numbers. Then again he goes on about how you don't need school and it will not teach you these things. You must learn from the stage. Yes we got this in previous chapters I think we get it.
Now I may be interpreting this wrong but the idea of a "punch line" sounds a awful lot like a through-line as I believe it was called. I am again experiencing flashbacks. It does however kind of work if you think of a "punch line" scene by scene rather than a "punch line" for the whole play. To be honest I am really confused.

The Rehearsal Process,The Play and The Scene

So in rehearsal the play should be blocked and the actors should become accustom to the actions they are going to perform. Yes. I do however hate how cut, dry and impersonal this feels. This could be that I have only experienced rehearsal through a college and high school atmosphere but I love discovering a play along with my other actors. Things that you should just know or that should be taken care of before rehearsal are things I enjoy experiencing as a group. Then Mamet starts ranting about "actable objectives" and I start flashing back to Units and Objectives, making Mamet seem a little hypocritical. Yes you must have an actable objective and this according to Mamet this requires commitment but I also believe it requires preparation if not on paper than in your mind.
Focus your efforts scene by scene and not on the play. Yes.