That Moment
It is quite clear to me that acting is about doing what is required. We don’t have to think about who our character is – as David Mamet says, “there is no character. There are just lines on a page”. Why get all muddled and mixed up about stuff like emotional memory or sense memory? It’s just bulls#*t. When we let go and just do the stuff we’re required to do, it really is bloody easy.
I was in an improvised scene recently and a moment came, and it really proves the point exactly. Being impro, there was no script, just a scenario wherein I was to go with whatever came up.
Because I know what I’m doing, I was at ease with the situation and, feeling free and loose, it was no problem when something surprising came up.
This sounds vague, and I apologise because I cannot go into what I was doing, or what the job was and who was conducting it – confidential and all that.
But what I can say was that something happened in the scene, and I didn’t think “what would my character do?”, I just did the right thing.
It’s a great feeling because I know I did it exactly, minutely, specifically, clearly. This was instant. I didn’t think, I just was.
There are those who would totally disagree with me on my thinking about acting – all I can say to them is “put it on your blog”.
As we strive to make our intentions pure, devoid of the desire to manipulate, and clear, directed to a concrete, easily stated end, our performances become pure and clear. – David Mamet from his book True and False
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