APPROACH THE SCENE AS IF IT WERE AN IMPROV

Improvisation

-The practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment.

You must approach your performance of a scene as if it were an improv.

This applies to comedy and drama.

With improv, an actor is given a situation, and then he plays within the world of those circumstances. He has no idea how the events of the scene will unfold. He is unaware of the final outcome or result of the scene.

Instead of being “result-oriented” his intention is simple:

“I’m looking forward to playing in the ‘circumstances’ of this scene.”

Performing an improv demands that an actor be totally and selfishly AWAKE to every impulse. The actor has no idea what will happen in each upcoming moment. He focuses only on the moment he is in.

He doesn’t have any idea of what exactly will happen in the scene.

…JUST LIKE LIFE.

This is exactly how a child approaches “play acting”.

The child picks a situation:

“I’m getting married to a prince”

or

“I must escape the evil scientist’s prison”,

…And then he joyfully does so.

He plays as though it were really happening.

However, As soon as some adult actors get a scene, they think it’s “something other” than real life. They don’t apply the rules and behaviors of real life because they see it as something “else”.

They see it as “ACTING A SCENE”, which in their minds is something else entirely (and far more difficult) than the “play acting” they did as a child.

When you are about to perform a scene, whether it is for an audition or on the job, you must approach it as you would an improv.

This brings the FUN back into your acting!

You’re not “doing a scene”; you’re doing an improv about the circumstances in that scene.

And the good news is that, in this improv, you have your lines! You don’t have to come up with what to say!

BUT you can have as many thoughts and impulses as you would like!

Many actors see a scene as a very narrow hallway they’re walking down. Sure, sometimes the hallway bends to the right and then to the left, but the actor is still constricted by the narrow hallway he feels forced to walk down.

I want you to break down those walls, and see the scene as a wide-open space. Limitless in every direction. You’re free to play within the scene as much as you would in an improv.

Not only should you approach the scene “in it’s entirety” as an improv, but you can also see each “moment” of a scene as a small improv.

Let me explain:

You are about to do a scene where the situation is-

“You have taken your girlfriend to a fancy restaurant, where you will propose marriage and be turned down.”

However, within the scene there is a moment where you ask your girlfriend to marry you with the line, “Will you marry me?”

That specific moment of proposal can be seen as a small improv about actually asking your girlfriend to marry you.

Suddenly you feel free to stammer and wipe your brow. You are PLAYING in the circumstance of actually saying the proposal, and feel completely free to try things, to take your time, to live in the thoughts of your character and not just on the words that are written.

Another example:

If, within a scene at a bar, a stage direction says-

“(He hands the sexy stranger his business card)”

-then you can approach that moment as a small improv about “handing a sexy stranger your business card”.

Suddenly you become aware of all the little impulses that can accompany that moment.

You might fill the moment out with things like:

-Wishing there was a way to stay in touch with the person. (“Hmm.”)

-Remembering you have business cards. (“Oh yeah!”)

-Feeling your pockets to locate where they are. (“Umm…”)

-Finding the cards. (“Ah ha!”)

-Checking that it has your current, up to date information. (“Good.”)

Most actors would just mechanically hand over the card. But you can really bring that moment to life, as long as you feel free to do so!

Often, when I work with actors who are coming from an improvisational background, they say to me, “I enjoy doing an improv scene. I have fun and feel free. However when I get a scripted scene I am plagued with self-doubts. I freeze up.”

That’s because they think “ACTING A SCENE” is something totally different than the fun they have doing an improv.

When they are given a scene, all typed out on a piece of paper, suddenly they put all these imaginary pressures on themselves. They feel unsure of themselves. They are afraid that they don’t know how the scene should be played, or that they’re not a good enough actor.

But once they realize that they can approach a scene as if it were an improv, they discover that acting can be as fun, easy and exciting as an improv.

If you have never done improvisation, then I highly suggest that you take a class, or simply gather some friends together and play improv games. It’s an incredibly valuable tool, and wonderfully freeing for actors!

Seeing a scene as an improv is a shortcut to a deeper understanding of the following chapters:

“Selfish Actor”

“Let the Universe Control”

“Stop “Acting””

“Magic Blank Spaces”

“Did you Have Fun?”

“The Reality of the Situation”

Seeing the scene as an improv:

- reminds you that it’s happening for the first time - that you don’t know what will happen, what the other characters will say, and what you will say in response.

- keeps you from planning ahead and thinking about what’s coming next.

- makes you relish each moment, because that’s all you have: THIS MOMENT.

- keeps you from watching yourself, and reminds you to focus solely on your selfish journey through the scene.

AND

- totally frees you up to add as many thoughts, impulses and “magic blank spaces” as your heart desires!

Your acting will feel more like “playing”.

Acting is FUN again!