Max and Emily had been working on the emotional life of their characters from a scene in “What Dreams May Come” for the past three weeks and were going to perform it in their scene study class at the acting school they both attended.
The first time their teacher, Mr. B had watched the scene, he determined that the emotional life they had so diligently worked on, came from over- analyzing the scene and not discovering a real connection to the characters. In other words, he told them, “Analyze until an emotional spark occurs, then pursue that fully. It’s your talent that you must pay attention to—your instincts, your heart, your creative impulses that lead you on your journey of finding the character, the story, and your voice in all of that.”
After seeing the scene this time, Mr. B said “The experience was completely different. It was an emotional ride that captured the viewer and didn’t let go until it was over.” How did that occur?
It was because they began to pay attention to each little reaction they personally had as they read the script and said the lines out loud. By starting with the tiniest drop of feeling, it can lead you to finding more and more emotion if you pay attention to what’s happening inside you as you ride your own wave and find your voice as the character.
Each impulse is your talent trying to make its way into your work. If you don’t listen and encourage all of those feelings and see where they lead you, you’ll miss what you would bring to the piece that makes it distinctly yours. It’s your talent. Pay attention to it.
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