Friday, July 29, 2005
Gimme Gimme Something to Work With
The key to a successful rehearsal process is unfettered exploration. This is most true in the earliest stages of the process. Whether it is at read through or during the tedium of blocking, an actor has the chance to test a posture, turn a phrase or otherwise plumb the depths of potential. Unfortunately, this freedom is often ignored or discarded for the first conclusions reached by the actor. These conclusions lead to subdued and monotonous repetitions rather than passionate variety. Subtlety is to be learned and honed by peeling away the excess of each choice and sharpening the result to the finest of points. Not by settling and becoming comfortable.
If an actor is unwilling or unable to aim for the stars and instead locks in on an idea without the benefit of discovery, then often he or she is short changing hermself (thank you Sarah Kane) and the production. An actor must push internally and externally in order to ensure that a dynamic and compelling moment is delivered to the audience by all participants. That means an actor can't settle for the same choice and the same posture and the same delivery as have been done each and every time. Instead, she or he needs to go large and go small. They must shout and whisper; crawl and leap. They must test the boundaries, break through and reach something more than they had before.
The collaboration between the actor and the director is an agreement to find the truth and power of a performance. A director can cajole and push, but in the end they rely on the actor to grasp the stars and them refine in from there. You can't sculpt air or make a mountain out of a mole hill, but if you're given a mountain you can carve out single beautiful clear grain.
From the moment an actor is cast he or she has been given the keys to the kingdom. So explore it!
If an actor is unwilling or unable to aim for the stars and instead locks in on an idea without the benefit of discovery, then often he or she is short changing hermself (thank you Sarah Kane) and the production. An actor must push internally and externally in order to ensure that a dynamic and compelling moment is delivered to the audience by all participants. That means an actor can't settle for the same choice and the same posture and the same delivery as have been done each and every time. Instead, she or he needs to go large and go small. They must shout and whisper; crawl and leap. They must test the boundaries, break through and reach something more than they had before.
The collaboration between the actor and the director is an agreement to find the truth and power of a performance. A director can cajole and push, but in the end they rely on the actor to grasp the stars and them refine in from there. You can't sculpt air or make a mountain out of a mole hill, but if you're given a mountain you can carve out single beautiful clear grain.
From the moment an actor is cast he or she has been given the keys to the kingdom. So explore it!
