TRUST YOURSELF

As an actor there is a sort of threshold we cross, as we approach the character. That being the moment we speak the words aloud – when we take them off the page. He quotes Glenn Close discussing her shyness when moving to this moment, she describes it as having a “shyness in relationship to the character”(P3) it can be like “breaking some sort of sound barrier” (P4)

Guskin says; if we can trust ourselves, and trust that whatever comes out of our mouth (& mind) will be useful & valuable – it will allow us to approach the character with a real creative freedom. To connect with the words from our instinct. He says, Approaching the text from an analytical point of view only unlocks the intellectual part of our exploration, which can be restrictive as it doesn’t allow you to be in the moment with the character and the words they are saying. By approaching the words without analysis or forethought means an actor can “begin his exploration from within the character” (P5)

Guskin suggests that ‘Taking it off the page’ is not to be used as a technique, as such – I take from his writing that it is bass line to work from rather than something to do letter-by-letter. Taking it off the page involves breathing is as you look at your line – take in as little or as much as you can (don’t worry about how much you can recall) look up as you breathe out and say the words straight away, while you’re still in the moment. This apparently enables us to by-pass our conscious mind, and speak the line/phrase/word  from our subconscious, from our instinctive reaction. This avoids the feeling that we have to say it how we believe it ‘should’ be said – which can create a falseness, that we are ‘showing’ how we feel… rather than actually feeling it. (In this, his view is similar to Meisner – in that if we feel it, it is right at that moment and we should not try to manipulate it to fit what ‘should be’. We should not try and ‘correct’ it, or at least that’s my understanding so far…)

He says that if the reaction does not feel right – trust that next time you come to it, your instinctive reaction will change. At this point, you are not looking for answers or absolutes, you are “…in a state of discovery triggered by the only thing we know for sure about the character – what the character says” (p9)

I can see that if you are trying to find the character solely through text analysis and research, the end result could easily be 2D – like a really good illustration of what they should be, rather than a well-rounded, ‘truthful’ character. By worrying about how words ‘should’ be said, you place a distance between the yourself and the character, especially in the explorative stages.

I’m just getting to the bit where he goes into suggestions for practice… Looking forward to reading more and having a go!