The Power of Stillness

In a previous post, it struck me that we get the opportunities we need (that is, whatever I'm doing now: this particular role, that particular theatre/venue, the quality of the production, everything -- that's exactly what I need to be doing . . . in order to go where I need to go).

Lately, in class (Word Of Mouth Studios), Deborah's been cracking the whip to keep me still during monologues and scene work. Why? Because I've got all this energy, but -- it's unfocused. Worse, the deepest part of myself is not fully "acting," rather, when I move around, use my hands, move my head, it's those parts of me, and my voice, that's doing a lot of the acting (by "voice," I don't mean the necessary vocal and breathe support that a particular text requires -- what I mean is I start to use my voice to "indicate" what the character is doing, what the character wants instead of letting all that come from my center).

"Deepest part of myself?" "my center?" Confused?

Yeah, it's hard to explain, but while "characters" certainty do move, in scenes, during monologues, there is an economy of movement, though how much will vary from character/text to character/text. The point of Deborah's extreme constrain on movement is as an exercise: all you have is your mind (i.e., the character's thoughts, point of view, awareness of the given circumstances), the text, and your breathe and voice.

The character I play in Other People, Brother Daniel, is a calm, self-assured and reassuring presence, so he's by his own nature quite centered, emotionally and physically. So, it's been a great opportunity to move as little as possible during rehearsal except when the blocking requires that I need to be somewhere specific. The director, Ted Mornel (one of the pioneers of the NYC off-off Broadway movement), has encourage this in the cast and especially for me: you're stronger when you're still; actors like to pace because they unconsciously want to avoid getting hit by the rotten tomatoes.

All true. If you're still not convinced that acting can be not only powerful but -- especially powerful, while being (almost) completely still, check out David Gwillim's portrayal of Henry V in this BBC Shakespeare production of The Life of Henry the Fifth:

Next time you do a monologue, or you're doing scene work, try moving as little as possible, and you'll open the door -- to go deep. This is my continual goal in rehearsal and performance.