“Derailed”
by Lena
This is something I spontaneously created a few days ago.
Critique, comments and thoughts are all greatly appreciated.
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Actor, Cinematographer & Editor – Elena Levon.
Music by Philip Glass.
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Both scenes were unscripted and shot in one take.
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The woman behind Acting, Cinematography & Editing…
The Artiste
The Author
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Totally and utterly believable. You had me reaching for the Kleenex too. Wow.
I want to send you a teddy bear.
I am a writer. My comment was not meant seriously either. It’s the best compliment for a fiction writer if readers believe my sentences to form a true story.
So we can both be proud of our talent, but the child in Africa remains teddy-less.
i asked readers to submit the thoughts on the work i created and the CHARACTER i played.. It’s should have been “teddy bear for the CHARACTER you played” that would make sense. “You” as in me, Elena, doesn’t…
ps – if you scroll down you’ll see a comment by a true WRITER … Martin Shone.. now that’s the kind of talent one should be proud of.. your teddy bear comment doesn’t do anything to me as an actor or someone who loves reading work of truly talented writers. btw i’m not proud of my talent , simply because i will never stop being a student.. and never will be completely satisfied with the work i do..
Wow! I sat wondering, is she acting, or is she in such deep pain? I am glad to know it was the former, not the latter…..
I am heartbroken……
Brava!
Excellent…you have portrayed such strong emotions.
Suffocating tears
search in the dark for moments
Life begets shadows
and so a creation begins …
Superb ‘acting’… You keep the audience spellbound!
Unbelievable, how much you love your father, how much you miss him! It seems you compare all of the men around you and there is no winner among them. You have only one Star forever!
??!! don’t understand …what on earth are you talking about? this is a dramatic ACTING demo reel / short film / monologue…. I am an actor…. i needed a recent drama piece for castings, so i created one.. but i guess since so many think it’s for real, it means I’ve nailed it. Seeing that people think this is for real, is the best compliment an actor can have )
I am glad I am wrong.
Alexander: Fail, bro.
For me as I was watching it I was thinking she’s the type of girl I’d like to wake up next to and bang.
Elena, this was believable. No, that’s not the right word, it was captivating, riveting, powerful… It brought to light a woman lost on a dark spiral, who had done something terribly wrong, by which act she awakens to a reality she has already lost. The fear, the surrender… the awakening…
There is something more than acting in here, you bring up your ‘scribbling’ and for someone who had followed your blog, I know that part to be you! 🙂
Wonderful work. Keep going.
Thank you so much! haha! yes, you’re right! The “scribbles” really is me … since this was unscripted, some of the words I normally use in real life, have surfaced )
Lovely portrayal of a lost soul Lena! You nailed the animal fear, the utter demise of self…you are a truly gifted lady!
Hi Lena,
I’ll have to remember in reverse order. The ending was really a blend of the emotions in the whole piece. I really liked it. “My crazy ways are to much for you, for anyone really. I’m better off …here” with the sad despair and then the smile mixed with slow motion made the moment linger and allowed for some reflection and absorbing of the whole thing while sitting here looking at your face.
I liked quite a bit of the monologue like “these walls take the good out of me.” and “To live a life with no regret you have to know something about regret”. As the piece started of course I listen and around 2.5 minutes I was just wanting to know, “what is the subject matter, what’s she talking about? I was getting antsy and almost checked out but I didn’t. Okay, let me just see I thought and I hung out and watched. It got a better sense on what the scenes were about . You were quite expressive. I enjoyed the up close and natural presentation. That’s brave I think.
Thank you. I think it’s about a woman who “lost it” at some point.. due to alcohol, drugs or personality disorder.. and in that moment when she “snapped” she hurt her family, both, physically and emotionally. Tried to create a sense that she’s somewhere in some “rehabilitation center” ..although it was hard, since I filmed it at home…. actually video of me filming it would have been pretty hilarious .. since i have a small studio apartment, i had to be a ninja .. literally )) in order to get camera in focus i was extending my leg to where my face would be and then i had to quickly sit down compose myself and shoot really fast, before my refrigerator made noise or my dog made noise with clamping of her paws on hardwood floors )))
Fantastic. I absolutely got that this lady had done something drastic, something of “the last straw” in nature and had been been put or put herself in a place for mental help. Ninja is one of my favorite analogies for mastering strength, dexterity, stealthiness, skills of all sorts etc. Sounds fun and it worked!
I saw you said to someone else that this was all acting, but that is hard to believe! The apparent depths of emotion must surely come from somewhere deep within you? That was riveting to watch, heartbreaking and joyous at the same time. And you have a stunningly beautiful smile!
Thank you. Well, I am a professional actor, this is what I do.. and yes, you can’t learn that at an acting class…
yes, this character is all imaginary.. i don’t have kids and a husband and I usually swear like a sailor at emotional moments such as these in real life.. ))
Every actor uses his own life as “paint” in order to create masterpieces on blank canvases .. if you haven’t lived, loved and lost (my 3 favorite L’s) .. Actor’s canvas will be pretty boring.
All I can say is: Congratulations on a superb performance!
thank you!
Unfortunately, there was a playback issue near the 6th minute. I’ll try again later. But what I saw so far…well, I am anxious to get to the “reasons” for your situation. It is tough to sustain contact with a talking face for more than a few minutes–Bergman was a master at close-up raw emotions (Persona, Scenes from a Marriage, etc.) and you put me there for a time. The sirens in the background were excellent–balanced the visual with the audio. In our social media society we demand info quickly and that taxes creativity. I look forward the the conclusion, if there is one.
I don’t know you at all, but I would completely believe this dialogue was an intimate portrait of someone in an intense struggle. I admire a good actors ability to “become” their subject. What I enjoyed about it most is that it was not exaggerated for drama; your emotions conveyed a sad surrendering rather than a helpless revolt; emotions, I assume, would be very accurate to someone in that position. Well done. Beautiful.
This is great work Elena very emotional, gripping & there is depth to what is happening in the scene. I applaud you, you must have dug very deep into your feelings in order to commit so deeply to your dialogue that you were able to produce tears. I can see you playing a dramatic role in the future and doing a great job at it. Have a good day my friend.
Hugs your way. I have enjoyed your adventures and tight hold on the joys of life. I hope you can draw on that during these down times. I don’t know the back story but it certainly is emotional and intense. Take care.
thank you.. but this monologue is all acting.. it’s not real.
So in ‘real life’ how do we know when an actor is being sincere when they can be so convincing?
you don’t .. that’s why actors for the most part are very difficult people and at times, a real nightmare to live with … but a person who knows the real “YOU” , will know when you’re not being sincere…
and besides, best actors never LIE.. they bring you only the truth .. actors wear a lot of masks, but it’s important to take them off when you come home.. some can’t..
the most difficult lesson to learn for an actor, is to stop “acting” and just breathe through his character’s life..
This is very good, Lena. I shall pass it on to an actor I know.
So…poignant.
Riveting, captivating. 💗
Lena…you were amazing…the emotions you conveyed felt very much real and my heart cried by the power in those words…take care..
Incredibly truthful and powerful
Lovely!
Powerful stuff