2+2=Zebra

I believe common sense and I believe in pragmatism. But I recognise that in the arts quite often 2+2 equals zebra.

What I mean is that nothing is as simple as a mathematical equation when it comes to acting. In acting like in life there are endless contradictions. Good acting practice or good acting coaching is not about removing these contradictions but about becoming comfortable with them.

Let me give you an example:

I might say to a student the most important thing right now is to go after your task then within a few breaths, I might suggest using a quote from Meisner that “that which hinders your task is your task”.

How do you know which is right? Is the coach contradicting himself? Very possibly, many acting teachers say a lot of things…

But these contradictions are not for you to resolve but for you to work with.

For instance, the contradiction within the task occurs because a human interaction is a two way street. While you must go after your task throughout the entire scene, if you do not deal with the truth of the moment, if we don’t acknowledge our scene partner’s behaviour, we cannot adjust our strategy and achieve the task.

The two way street requires different ways to practice. So As-Iffing practises one way and ADRA the other. Finding a solution to the contradiction is part of my job.

While it seems like a contradiction it’s actually common sense. It’s possible to have two goals and switch between them.

Just like in repetition, you want to be spontaneous and blurty, to subvert the intelligent reaction and go with the gut, but at the same time there are rules to play by.

And if these two ideas of total instinctiveness and playing by the rules seem like a contradiction, well they are, but we still need to solve that conundrum.

Our craft of acting has many contradictions, as you explore them they will test you but just because you are tested, doesn’t mean something is wrong.

Stick with it.