Acting Without the Drama

March 26, 2009.  So, I said I would do it, and here it is.

Basically, what I’ve observed is that whenever we have an artistic breakthrough, it is almost inevitably followed by a period of difficulty and self-doubt.  I’ve seen it happen in my own life and I’ve observed it in the process of colleagues and students both.

Whenever we start to feel that we’re starting to “get it,”  “it” kind of falls apart on us.  We have a wonderful class, a great scene, a beautiful moment onstage, and then the next time we get up to bat we can’t even see the ball.

I’ve thought about this a lot, and while that self-doubting period afterward seems like a step backward, I’m not positive that it really is.  Again, I think it may be a time of growth.

One thing that I’ve noticed about the artistic process is that the more positive you are that you really, REALLY know what you’re doing, the closer you are to becoming a joke.  Art is continual growth, a constant stretching.  Art usually isn’t comfy.

Breakthroughs are great, but they aren’t anything more than an accumulation of small, almost unnoticable triumphs.  If we just went from one breakthrough to the next without the awkward period in between, we might just get too cocky.  Rest on our laurels a bit too much.  Stop reaching for the uncomfortable place that takes us that one step further.

I’m not sure of any of this, by the way.  Matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that a good portion of it is horse pucky.  But that’s ok.  It was a series of thoughts that came to me that I wanted to share.  Maybe it will mean something to you, maybe it won’t.

Huh.

Sounds a bit like art.

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