| This interview originally appeared on Casting Connection on July 2002.
Actors on Acting
By Leon Acord
A five-part series exploring the techniques and experiences of local San Francisco actors.
David Tenenbaum
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| Photo: Lisa Keating |
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If I gave up acting, I’d get into casting. I always enjoy working with actors who have that indefinable “something.” One actor who, in my opinion, has “it” is David Tenenbaum.
Educated at Vassar, David has also studied extensively in the Bay Area. He’s performed at Exit Theatre, Actor’s Theatre of SF, and with the SF Opera in Dead Man Walking. He also works in indie films and industrials, and is represented by Stars, the Agency.
I first worked with David in Rough Theatre’s “Play-in-a-Day Marathon” at last year’s Fringe Festival, and during breaks he would pick my brains on tools of the trade. When casting Carved in Stone, the play I’m co-producing and co-starring in as Quentin Crisp, we called David in to read for the “male ingénue” role. While several actors demonstrated more-than-sufficient skill, David had really done his homework, and claimed the part as his. Carved in Stone, directed by John Fisher, opens at the Eureka Theatre on August 9th.
Between rehearsals, David and I sat down for a chat.
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LEON ACORD: Do you always prepare so thoroughly for an audition?
DAVID TENENBAUM: No. (Laughs) It depends on how much I want the part, how much time I’ve had the script. You guys luckily got me the play, which was great. I had time to memorize the scenes. I made the time. If you want to go after it, and can memorize it, memorize it!
LA: What does memorization do for you?
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DT: It gives me confidence. People in the room can tell I’ve done the work. I don’t have to worry about looking at the script. I can interact with the people and let stuff happen. They see your face. I’ve had casting directors say, “Fifty people read for this, and I’m going to keep the five you had it memorized.” And why wouldn’t they?
LA: When approaching a character, what’s your first step?
DT: I look for points I can relate to. I try to see dynamics, or the physics, of the character. The major conflicts I can relate to.
LA: What about parts not like you?
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| David Tenenbaum |
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DT: I find the thing I care about first. Then the other stuff comes. The rest makes sense, and becomes evident in relationships with the other characters, to the situation. You have to find the love, even for the villain. That thing inside of them you understand, why they perceive the world the way they do. Everybody’s got a reason.
LA: Is it easier to play characters closer to yourself?
DT: Yeah. It’s not always the most illuminating or satisfying, but when I read a character and his conflict is something I’ve experienced, that’s fascinating to me.
LA: Do things you’re working on tend to reflect things in your life?
DT: Absolutely. You bring whatever’s going on with you to the character. The medium we create and devise is us, and we’re the sieve. It’s going to influence.
LA: Are you cognizant of sacrifices you’ve had to make in your life?
DT: You can’t be half-assed about it; you have to be 100 percent. I spent a while not committing fully. I’d try to not make it a priority in my life, and it’d become a priority anyway. I couldn’t ignore it. It’s what I’m here to do. But you have to make sacrifices to make headway.
LA: What character are you dying to play?
DT: That’s a tough one. I’d love to play “Hamlet.” It would be fascinating to play a major, dramatic villain. I usually get cast as a good guy.
LA: Instead of your best experience, tell me about your worst. What’s your actor’s nightmare?
DT: I went to Vassar, and was in Oscar Wilde’s Salome. And I was a wreck, physically, mentally. I didn’t spend a lot of time with the script or developing the character. A lot of nights, I wondered what the hell I was doing. It was a terrible feeling, because it was obvious to me.
LA: What did you learn from it?
DT: You have to work with the script, in creating the character. You can’t expect it to happen magically. There’s a lot we can do to make a character live. Also, you have to take care of yourself physically and mentally. I hadn’t been. I suffered because of that.
LA: You were an understudy in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Shelton Theatre, and performed four times – what was that like?
DT: I found out early on, so I went to every single performance for about a month. I took notes, watched the blocking. They had already worked out a dynamic, a way to get from the beginning to middle to end. I had to get into this ride that was already rolling. That was educational. I had been taking moments the first night, and Chris Phillips, who played George, told me “This play is three hours long. You’re going to have to sacrifice some of those moments for the momentum of the play.” That opened my eyes.
LA: How do you know when you’ve reached something true, and to stop there?
DT: When you know why you’re doing what you’re doing in any given moment. You understand why you’re saying what you’re saying. For me, there’s a point where the character just starts to exist. He’ll start showing up. I can just tap into him. There he’ll be. Then I let the world happen to him and let him respond. It’s when I feel comfortable walking on stage and the character is there and ready for me.
LA: Is film different?
DT: A bit, because film is so random. “We’re going to do this scene from the end now, then drive to Oakland and you’re going to be the brother.”
LA: Doesn’t it feel, in film, that sometimes all your previous work is irrelevant?
DT: Exactly! It’s crucial to be tight about where you are in the script, even more so than on stage, because you have to go from “Z” to “C.”
LA: In theatre, do you do a lot of warm-up?
DT: Yes. I just did the play Smoke. I played a boxer named Charlie. And Charlie started probably at least two hours before the show. He cooked dinner here, then he’d listen to music, then he’d warm up, do shadow boxing here in the apartment. Then he’d put on his clothes, and take BART down and walk to the Exit Theatre. It’s great to be the character in the world.
LA: Do you prefer film or theatre?
DT: I love stage, but my love affair with film is growing deeper. I’ve always been fascinated watching film. As I learn more about film technique, I’m drawn in more and more.
LA: You are a Method actor. How do you stay in character with all the technical stuff?
DT: I memorize blocking like I do the words. With Virginia Woolf, I was in my friend’s apartment, and we made a mock set with a chair and couch, and I went thought the play with him on book, just moving where I was supposed to be. The blocking isn’t separate. There should be a reason why you’re going someplace.
LA: What has kept you from Los Angeles? Didn’t you ever think, “I just want to be a star!”?
DT: Hell, yes! I wanted to be a star. That’s all I wanted for a while. I waited for it to come, and it didn’t. Then I had to take a look at things, and understand you have to work. I wasn’t. I didn’t want to start at the beginning. I wanted it all now, and it just doesn’t work that way. So about three years ago, I sat down and made a list of priorities, steps I needed to take and follow.
LA: Do you have trouble watching yourself on screen?
DT: Less and less. I did in the beginning, especially when I didn’t know what I was doing. I remember Beau Bonneau’s workshop. We did a commercial reading, and watched it in class. I looked like there was a gun to my head. But you have to go through watching yourself suck. I just took a class at Full Circle, and they film everything! You take it home and watch it. The more you watch yourself, the easier it gets.
LA: When can you say, “I’m a successful actor”?
DT: When it’s my life, my career. When I’m not working at a hotel to put food on the table, but acting in productions I’m excited to be a part of. That will be success. When I’m progressing steadily, both my skills and my career.
LA: Where will you be in ten years?
DT: I’d love to be in New York, Los Angeles, wherever there’s work. I’d love to have a steady career doing film, and also be involved in a theatre company that’s exciting.
LA: What advice would you give people just starting out?
DT: Start at the beginning, and make a realistic assessment of your skills and where you are in terms of getting what you want. You need to be prepared. The worst thing is when opportunity comes and you’re not prepared!
Next month: Actress, singer, writer and critic Jean Mazzei and I talk about the importance of diversity in one’s career.
Leon Acord has appeared in over 20 films and 15 plays. He plays “Quentin Crisp” in the play Carved in Stone, making its world debut at the Eureka Theatre in SF this August. Leon may be contacted via email at Leon@LeonAcord.com.
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UPDATE: David moved to Los Angeles in 2005, where continues to pursue his love of acting. He recently married his long-time girl friend Lindsay in Malibu in 2008. Learn more at his website: www.davidtenenbaum.com.
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