ACTOR INTERVIEW: “…never stop working on your instrument.” YvesRose Saturne
I am Yves Saturne, and acting has been a passion of mine since I was 9 years old but growing up in a strict Christian household by a single mother from Port-Au-Prince Haiti, anything that was not of the bible or in the bible was out of the question. So, I started acting in my Childhood Church plays (Highland Church) in Jamaica Queen, NY and it was there at the age of 9 years old that I realized Acting was my passion and how I got people to take notice and pay attention. I loved to tell stories and found that through acting I was able to draw people in, even at a young age. When I turned 21 I started to really pursue acting and was able to do some extra work in commercials and music videos.
Did you study acting?
I first started taking classes through Church and when I went off to College I continued to study the craft. I first attended LaGuardia Community College and took acting classes there and attended a number of Broadway and off Broadway plays to see if I could understand the process and had to write a lot of terms papers and finals based on Broadway Plays such as Death and the Maiden and Mama I wanna sing. I then went on to attend Delaware State College; now University, and there I studied television Production. It was then that I came to realize that acting was going to require work, and training and discipline in order to perfect my craft.
What acting technique do you use?
I recently started training with Marishka S. Phillips of the Marishka S Phillips Theatrical Preparatory, MPTP in New York, NY and it is through her that I am learning how to completely give myself permission to tap into my awareness and my truth because it is only then will I be able to give that character what it needs to come alive. For a while I thought my talent was enough, quickly realized that as in anything you must continue to work on your craft and continue to strengthen your tool. Since working with Marishka Phillips and MPTP I have come to really feel comfortable within myself and my craft, still nervous and still a work in progress but taping into my freedom as
an actor; it’s amazing!
Describe wrong impressions actors hold about acting
I know for me the biggest misconception after college was that I had enough training and didn’t need anymore. Acting is a craft and it needs to remain sharp at all times. I quickly learned that when I started working with Marishka Phillips and Marishka S Phillips Theatrical Preparatory. My confidence and my approach going into an audition today as opposed to two years ago are completely different. I put in the work, I study my Character, I give my character life and then go in and deliver whereas before I thought I had it already and needed no extra work. I am still very much nervous going into an audition but what I have now that I didn’t have before is the tools needed to go in and tap into what it is I need for that character. Today, I know that I will be working until my dying day on my craft. Acting is not a spectator sport, it requires work!.
Do you take courses to improve your craft?
Marishka S Phillips Theatrical Preparatory offers so many different workshops and I try my best to take most of them; from Improv, Gym, Scene Study and the sensual actor. There are still some I have not yet touched upon but plan to.
What acting books do you read?
I recently started reading Truth by Susan Batson and as a Beginner Actor it is essential to my story telling and learning how to bring life to a Character. Excellent read!
How do you keep fit as an actor: mentally, physically?
I recently spent two full twelve hour days on set and though I was in my element and loving every minute of it I quickly realized how tired my body got once I hit that 9th and 10th hour mark so I make it a priority to work out for 60 minutes of cardio five days a week and mentally I recently started meditating and prayer has always been an essential part of my life since I was a little girl. I also study different monologues, and do character bios and record myself and watch it and that I do at least three to four times a week.
When you are offered a role, what do you do next?
Once offered a role, I spend as much time as I need perfecting my lines and I will go over the script over and over again until I have fully memorized it. I will rehearse at home on my personal camera and even on set I am still rehearsing. It never stops.
How do you take a character in a script to an honest, believable and breathing person?
I ask myself what is my characters super objective? What does my character want, need? What does my character need to do to get what she wants? Then I go for it!
How do you stay fresh on a production set?
As I stated earlier, I am still very much a beginner and still learning. On my most recent job in between takes I would continue to read the script, continue to remind myself what the objective was and in that I was able to remain in character.
MPTP Fall2014 http://t.co/Xb8VVit2ao
— Marishka Phillips (@MarishkaPhillip) August 28, 2014
Explain one creative choice you took on set?
In one scene my character was ill and I had to tell that story and tell that story non verbally… understanding what the director wanted and needed from me at that moment was crucial and I was able to tap into that pain and deliver and tell that story pulling from within and showing what she was feeling without having said a word.
Describe a memorable character you played?
I think my character of “Victoria” will always be my baby because it would be my first on screen work, my first principal role for the Animal Planet Channel. I will always remember that phone call giving me that “yes” that I worked for and dreamed about for so many years.
What do you want most from a director?
From being on my very first Television set recently I quickly learned that all I needed was for the director to be clear on what it is they were looking for and I can deliver it from there. Fortunately for me my first time on set and working with Directors Nigel Bellis and Kyle McCabe I got just that! The direction was clear and in that we didn’t have too many takes.
What actor do you long to work with
I met Jada Pinkett Smith in 1994 at the Black Expo in New York City and followed her career ever since. I love Ms. Jada and would love to work with her one day.
Why this actor
For me in all her work, she delivers! She transforms and makes me believe. That’s big for me when watching a movie or show, and she never fails to make that happen.
What advice would you give actors around the world?
As my Acting Coach tells us all the time; the work works! Put in the work, perfect your craft never stop working on your instrument.
Briefly write about your career
I started this journey so many years ago and I have had discouragements, and there were times when I said “Yves Saturne give it up” but that burning desire, that fire that sits deep in the pit of my belly would always creep back up. That love for the craft would never die and I may have been able to put it to the side for a moment but it always surfaced back up. I wake up and acting was on my mind, I went throughout the day and acting was on my mind, I went to sleep and my dreams were of acting, I LOVE the craft and many would ask if it hasn’t happened for you in all these years why still pursue it. I am a firm believer in that I had a journey to take and my life had a course and I had many things to learn, see, and go through and all that would prepare me for my today! I have been through so much that I have so much to tap into! Everything has a season and it is now my season! EVERYTHING that has happened in my life has helped me to go on set of “Monsters Inside me” and deliver, to go to an audition for “Law and Order” and deliver to walk into my weekly acting class with my family at MPTP and share my truth and lay it all out, things that I would not have been able to do years ago. It has taken a lot for me to share my dream with others because I LOVE my craft so much that not talking about it was my way of protecting it but being able to share this and talk about my acting with others is HUGE for me. Exposing me on my website yvesrose.webs.com allows people to get to know me a bit more and I am learning not to be so guarded. I am a work in progress and God is guiding me every step of the way. I am allowing myself to walk through those doors with the confidence that I am putting in the work and with the work plus my faith…I will get there! Yves Saturne is coming into her own it took me a while to get here but I’m here and I’m taking it all the way.
