Playing the Percentages: A Pedagogic Tool
2014; Routledge; Volume: 71; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2769-4046
Autores Tópico(s)Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies
ResumoMAXX CAME IN FOR HER SINGING LESSON both excited and nervous. A young high school student, she had just been cast as Peter Pan in the musical of the same name and was simultaneously thrilled about winning the starring role and concerned about handling such a major responsibility. First, congratulated her on getting the part; then, assured her that her concern was understandable and complimented her on being normal. She looked at me, puzzled. She, like many creative people, tended to think of herself not so much as normal but different. followed in that teachable moment was a golden opportunity to discuss one of the more important aspects of auditioning and performing-managing fear.My Oxford English Dictionary defines normal as conforming to a standard; usual, typical, and expected, so told Maxx that her response of both positive and negative excitement when she found out she won the role of Peter certainly fit that definition. She was glad she had the lead role and was also aware of the responsibilities that having the lead role incurred, which, in turn, led to her doubts: Am good enough to pull this off? Will disappoint myself and others in this part? What if screw it up? I want to be the star of the show but how will handle success?-questions and even more questions from someone who is normal.Congrats on being normal, said again. Fear can be a good thing. It's how species survive and how our ancestors survived for the past few million years. It's in our genes, our DNA to survive. Imagine how much trouble we could get into and how dangerous life would be if we had no fear. We have a built-in alert system when we perceive danger. It's called the 'flight or fight response,' and it immediately gets us ready to run away from or stand and fight the threat. Normal, at times, can be a very good thing.I have this conversation with all my students at some point. Some hear it sooner than later, but all hear it eventually. want them to understand about being human and affirm one of the things that helps protect and preserve us in stressful times, namely fear. Acting is about controlling that fear so it doesn't sabotage our auditions and performances. The pedagogic tool I'm fond of using to address this issue call, playing the percentages.The term acting has been defined in many ways. The most common one is attributed to theater teacher, Sanford Meisner: truthfully under imaginary circumstances. However, one of the most simple and elegant definitions comes out of my aforementioned OED: so as to appear to be.So, Maxx, how are you going to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances?Get into the character of Peter Pan, said Maxx.Right said I. You'll try to find Peter Pan qualities inside of you (playful, boyish boasting and bragging, courageous, nimble) based on your personal experiences and imagination, assign them to your character, edit out personal characteristics that don't fit the character, and begin to behave 'so as to appear to be' Peter Pan. After that it becomes a percentage thing: how much Maxx versus how much Peter Pan? had her undivided attention.Let's say you're totally in reality and living truthfully under REAL circumstances-100% Maxx and 0% Peter Pan. You're on stage with a whole lot of people looking at you, strangers even. Your DNA wants you to be cautious. Maybe those people are dangerous. More likely, you're worried about messing up, embarrassing yourself, failing. Your guard is up. You're defensive, nervous. Not a good thing for a performer. Maxx agreed.Now let the Peter Pan character you've created inside you start to intrude a bit to alter reality. Let's say it's now 80% Maxx and 20% Peter. Feel better, more in control?Better.How about we change the percentages even more in Peter's favor? How about 50% Maxx and 50% Peter? Maxx recognized those percentages as better still, but also saw it correctly as a potential tug-of-war of equals. …
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