Tag: acting

My acting class has ended. One of the most thought-provoking and uncomfortable experiences of my life has concluded.

The class had inspired some great posts, dealing with my thoughts on quitting, my flabby imagination, and other ideas.  Just sitting with this new idea and having to deal with it 2 times a week forced me to deal with some things. There are three big ideas that I found that sum up how I felt about the class, and why it was important to me and my growth.

• Commitment – The most important leap you can make in any scene is a leap of commitment. “Doing the doing!”It is commitment that creates the potential of the scene. My belief before the class lead me to believe that commitment was an on/off switch. I didn’t know that there are several layers to it. The work before a scene matters and things such as memorizing lines, developing a point of view,and gathering the act of doing will all add layers to that commitment. Commitment isn’t the end all be all, and I still have a fear of commitment, since I love guarantees,but understanding more of the work  that it will be good, only that the potential is there. The first step of conquering a fear is understanding, and this class really helped with that.  I love the other applications as well. For example, project management. The idea is making sure that you add in a “pre-work” time to all projects. Figure out what needs doing , find out how you feel about it and where it fits in the plan, and learn what you will be doing. It sounds like commonsense however it is remarkable how many times I have gone somewhere and found that no one has done any commitment work, expecting it.
• Active Listening – Listening is a skill. We have trained ourselves through life to hear, but rarely to listen. Listening is hard work. In acting, listening is the difference between a scene that is brilliant and thought-provoking versus a scene that puts you to sleep. I learned that I am a really bad listener, and through working through the class, realized that I am only a bad listener now. When it’s done well, it creates connection. When actively listening, it is very hard to ignore what you are getting, it is as if I get an insight to anguish. I think of it like a highway. When I drive, I like the highway with as many lanes as possible. It gives me options. I get to switch lanes, stay in a lane, go fast, go slow, or keep switching. The difference between hearing and listening is the same as a one lane and a six lane highway. It’s that big of a leap.   I will look to improving this skill because it is paramount in communication and I want on that highway as much as possible
• “Uncomfortability” – Being uncomfortable leads to growth. I haven’t been that uncomfortable in that long of a period for a long time. I grappled with expectations, I didn’t want to look bad, I wanted to fit in. All these things sunk me to the point of wanting to escape. Even as I type this, there is a fear I dance with of being honest.  The resistance was strong. I found myself dancing with depression. When dealing with this I wasn’t the most pleasant person. In comedy, the ability to flip your uncomfortable feelings into something mean or biting is fun. We  laugh off mean things to each other. When we do that in ‘real life’ people get away from us. There is an understanding. For a lot of us, we put the muzzle on willingly knowing our nature. It is my regret that I did this and there is still a part of me that feels like that’s a cop-out, and maybe it is. Whatever it is, this did give me some insight into who I am, and where my brain goes wrong.

There is something about this art that interests me now. There is a huge world out there. There are a lot of books, videos, and classes on the subject. This was a great introduction. I got to get to deal with myself and learn some applicable things that will serve me well, regardless if I get the opportunity to pursue this further. Thinking back on it, it was one of the best investments I have made, and I recommend it to anybody fully.