The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.
-Albert Einstein
It’s only been a short and small step into this grand journey so far and I’ve already learned a lot. Or rather might say had a lot of things thrown at me; from different scene studies to different classes and theatrical forms. There has been a lot to take in and absorb. Through this process one typically comes to the realization of how much one does not know about their area of study. It can be very overwhelming, even disheartening.
However, for the passionate and the disciplined it becomes the lifeblood of the craft. Everything I have learned are tools and techniques but in it of themselves they are nothing. They must be practiced. They must become ingrained in the body. It was an opening to realize further what rehearsal truly is; it’s experimentation, fun, and play, to get at the truth.
The truth, my truth, is what I had left behind in acquiring all this new knowledge and technique. As such even though I was progressing in knowledge I was failing and struggling more and more with acting and just being. Because the truth, our truth, is the lifeblood of method acting, everything else only serves to enhance that or help find it and bring it out. Without ourselves in the work, there is no work. Everything simply becomes fancy speech and lifeless gestures. It has to start with you.
I had applied all my tools, games, and vocal practice to this one speech only to have it fail over and over again. Until I started with myself did something finally come through. It sounds so simple but I lost it along the way. It’s a breath of fresh air though, finding it again, and now my passion, drive, and discipline has been kick started into a new gear to take this speech and from myself add on all the techniques and tools to bring it to life in the given circumstances and play.
I will continue to learn new things and grow in knowledge and practice in the things I know. I also know there is so much more out there to learn and apply and it seems so overwhelming. Still, I must always remember to begin with myself and my truth. It’s the only way to breathe true life into a character.