Blah blah, blah blah
Be specific. Be in the moment. Be truthful. Be changeable. Be affected... Ya-di-ya-da. Blah, blah...
Various directors and instructors drill these things into the actor's head. I've worked with the concepts for several years, and have been fairly happy with the results.
Yesterday I was rehearsing with my Meisner scene partner, in a conference room at the Redmond Library of all places. Not the best place, but very handy in a pinch, and the staff was very accommodating. We did three or four runs of our scene, one using subtext. Before the last run we discussed whether the juice got watered down too much when running the scene over and over again in the same session. I really wanted to run it again, and I suggested we prep again, working on another aspect from our homework (daydreaming, text/character analysis, etc.) before running the scene a last time.
The final run was much different for me. I felt I was coming from a different place and something really clicked for me. Later, I was in that half-asleep state before nodding off. It hit me that my understanding of being specific had altered as a result of that last run and thinking about it before going to sleep. I'd experienced a feeling of specific intent at a visceral level. I have no new and illuminating descriptions. I just experienced it in a deeply personal and real way.
I'm reminded of a similar experience last quarter where I felt totally in the moment. And like that experience it had the feel of how life is really lived off the stage. Logically I have understood the concepts, and working on the exercises and prep work over and over and over does get one closer. Finally, there is a letting go that happens, and it feels like it is not just internal. There is a feeling of something outside of yourself is letting go as well, and you just happen to be open to the gift at that moment.
It is an exciting experience for me. It isn't a magical change that immediately changes me as an actor. It is more of a glimpse, showing what you have been striving for, giving you a personalized comprehension of the goal which was missing theretofore. That in itself makes the goal attainable. Okay, so it is a rush when it happens. Something akin to that first intimacy with another person. For me it can actually be more satisfying and intoxicating than anything else I've experienced. Maybe it is because I find the experience to be more satisfying, less fleeting, and undiminished when I am there again.
The more you learn, the less you know. The adage is so true for me in the artistic realm. It creates a deep hunger to learn and know even less.
In the immediate future I hunger for this new step for our class performance next week...
Various directors and instructors drill these things into the actor's head. I've worked with the concepts for several years, and have been fairly happy with the results.
Yesterday I was rehearsing with my Meisner scene partner, in a conference room at the Redmond Library of all places. Not the best place, but very handy in a pinch, and the staff was very accommodating. We did three or four runs of our scene, one using subtext. Before the last run we discussed whether the juice got watered down too much when running the scene over and over again in the same session. I really wanted to run it again, and I suggested we prep again, working on another aspect from our homework (daydreaming, text/character analysis, etc.) before running the scene a last time.
The final run was much different for me. I felt I was coming from a different place and something really clicked for me. Later, I was in that half-asleep state before nodding off. It hit me that my understanding of being specific had altered as a result of that last run and thinking about it before going to sleep. I'd experienced a feeling of specific intent at a visceral level. I have no new and illuminating descriptions. I just experienced it in a deeply personal and real way.
I'm reminded of a similar experience last quarter where I felt totally in the moment. And like that experience it had the feel of how life is really lived off the stage. Logically I have understood the concepts, and working on the exercises and prep work over and over and over does get one closer. Finally, there is a letting go that happens, and it feels like it is not just internal. There is a feeling of something outside of yourself is letting go as well, and you just happen to be open to the gift at that moment.
It is an exciting experience for me. It isn't a magical change that immediately changes me as an actor. It is more of a glimpse, showing what you have been striving for, giving you a personalized comprehension of the goal which was missing theretofore. That in itself makes the goal attainable. Okay, so it is a rush when it happens. Something akin to that first intimacy with another person. For me it can actually be more satisfying and intoxicating than anything else I've experienced. Maybe it is because I find the experience to be more satisfying, less fleeting, and undiminished when I am there again.
The more you learn, the less you know. The adage is so true for me in the artistic realm. It creates a deep hunger to learn and know even less.
In the immediate future I hunger for this new step for our class performance next week...
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home