I'm in my second semester at Art's Sake. This semester is all about scene study. Most of the older students refer to this semester as their favorite. We work on new scenes every week. This week I have two scenes, one from "The Butterfly Effect" and another from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," both pretty dramatic. My favorite part about scene work (as opposed to monologues), is that you really get to be surprised during the performance about what will come up emotionally. You do all the preparation homework for the scene, but you really don't want to make any decisions about how you will deliver any of the lines. This is because you want to be emotionally free during the scene to work off your partner and the offers they are giving you. Which brings me to an "aha" moment I had in class this week. Yvonne used the phrase "you define me" to explain working off our partners in the scene. Which I thought was such a perfect way to think about it.
Everything about how I am going to play my scene depends on the other person. And if it doesn't, then I'm not being "in the moment" with my scene partner. Because in acting (and life), we are completely different depending on who we are talking to. And I love how true this is in reality as well. None of us have a definitive truth. Depending on who you ask, I could be described as anything from smart to an air-head, friendly to stand-offish, introverted to extroverted. And they can all be true based on who I'm with. Because different people bring out different sides who we are. This is why, in acting it's important not to "play an emotion" but to focus on the other person. Because then we can allow ourselves to truly be affected by what they are saying, and the emotions can be real and honest.
Good luck to all my Art's Sake friends on their scenes next week. I can't wait to see the characters you bring to life.
-British
