Prague Playhouse

Risk, Passion and Imagination

March 30th, 2010 at 01:11am brian

Today’s discussion in both the day class as well as the evening class centered around the concepts of Risk, Passion and Imagination. The three ideas came up in the context of doing Meisner exercises and how they relate to actual work. Lately in the class, people have been feeling like the exercises are pretty divorced from the work. The main thing to remember is that these exercises are kind of like finger exercises on a piano: they form the backbone of any more complex work; they are the framework that holds the artistry together.

While I wouldn’t necessarily apply a Meisner exercise directly to a problem in working with a text (although it’s perfectly legitimate to do so, even with early work like repetition and activities), the underlying concepts that those exercises are training — listening and attention for repetition, the reality of doing for activities — are directly applicable to working with a text in the “real world”.

The idea of Risk, Passion and Imagination also plays a part in the training.

Risk, or the willingness to try and fail, is absolutely essential in art — or any worthwhile endeavor, for that matter. Too often I see exercises where the students, for fear of looking stupid, not knowing for sure that something is going to work, or the fear of going into the unknown or scary place inside themselves, limit themselves in their experience. The desire to stay in a safe place, a known place is death to an artist. By using the activities and repetition with a thought towards risking (risking being vulnerable to the other person, risking showing weakness, risking bringing something really meaningful or on the edge of what you’d think is safe), students can start to gain the habits that will serve them very well in front of a camera or on the stage, where people pay good money to take these “risks”. By practicing risking in a safe environment, both in class and in rehearsals for class, students can learn that only through risk can they really achieve greatness.

Passion is another way of saying bringing meaning to the work. Lately, especially now towards the end of the school year, I see that passion for the work has waned. The thing that really differentiates actors from each other, aside from physical type, is the passioned opinion. To an actor, who is going to face a mountain of rejection, cultivating a sense of passion and purpose is a huge benefit. I would much rather work with a mediocre actor who attacks the work with a passion than an extremely gifted and indifferent actor. So much of our work is perseverance and survival. It is our passion that will sustain us through the hard times. It is our passion that will wow audiences and move them to tears or anger. The worst thing an actor can be is indifferent or apathetic. The process of doing the beginning work can be used to instill a passion in us: a passion for the other person, a passion for what we are doing in the moment. With that passion, what happens in the moment is never boring. Without it, I’d just as soon go home.

The last concept we discussed today was Imagination. It seems silly to say that imagination is needed in our work. It seems obvious. Yet we are so obsessed with the Truth or “what I would really do in that situation” that we lose sight of the imaginary situation that could move us. Working on your imagination and especially imaginary circumstances is something that can be really fun. Look around you the next time you go out. Who doesn’t have fantasies about the people that are around? Indulge those fantasies. See how they develop and how they affect you. Is the guy standing next to you a millionaire? What if he was? What if he just offered you a ton of money to do something you always wanted to do? It is so easy to deny that we could ever believe in such a thing, but that is what we are called on to do every time we work! These early exercises are an invitation to say “Yes!” Try out what it would be like to believe in something outrageous. Work on strengthening that imaginative muscle. It will pay big dividends down the road when you have to imagine an entire set while you’re working on a green screen.

Acting,Classes