The Power of the Physical Cap

The Power of the Physical Cap

One of the most powerful weapon in the actor’s arsenal is the physical cap. The physical cap is a really simple little device that acts as a reference point in the scene for the actor. Any actor that has this tool in their kit has a phenomenal advantage.

Every actor wants to know what they are meant to DO in the scene. The right behaviour for the scene comes directly from the Physical Cap.

The physical cap is a symbol of the achievement of your task in the scene. It is something that the other person can do that signals the achievement of your task.

In a scene, your goal is not to act character. Your goal is to do something real, live truthfully, with a real world intention and make the lines of the script slave to this intention. The intention is derived from your understanding of the scene, and takes the onus off the individual intention of lines to the overall intention of the character in the scene, freeing the actor from the small concern of individual lines.

The physical cap is a symbol, a signal that you have achieved that task.

If your goal in the scene is to get someone to trust you, then your physical cap might be that they would let you hug them.  Now my focus in the scene is to behave in a way that engenders in the other person, enough trust to let me hug them.  To do this, I will have to behave in a certain way, a way that will promote trust and deter suspicion.

I will be cautious, I will be gentle, I will placate, I will calm, I will entreat, I will reassure. The Physical Cap tells me exactly what behaviour I should use. I don’t know to make a list of tactics/actions for the scene, I know how to behave if I want someone to trust me enough to let me hug them.

Create a Physical Cap, then live in the moment.