Craft

In the movie Ferris Buellers Day Off, Ferris often breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the movie audience.  For this movie, this worked well for comedic effect.  It was an intended breaking of the rules - a blatant breach of the contract with the audience.

Anyway, it worked.

If you've been reading this blog for a while then you will realize that I am taking drama classes.  Supposedly, I am learning to act.  My current class pertains to improvisation.

This is not a "Whose line is it anyway?" class.  We are working on conflict resolution within a defined structure.  One of the purposes is to help us to be more truthful and more aware. 

I found the concept of the class a bit terrifying (I'm a structure junky) so, of course, I had to sign up.

I am enjoying myself immensely (but I am still terrified).

A concept I am beginning to wrap my head around is the difference between self-aware and self-conscious.  Some folks in the class are so self-conscious that it almost makes me cringe.  They are putting on a SHOW.  They lapse into storytelling.

It feels like....say....you are the parent of a pre-schooler and you go to visit the teacher and the teacher talks to you EXACTLY like she talks to the children.  It is a condescension that is not supposed to be mean but it is awfully annoying because it is so inappropriate.

Some folks in the class are in school productions.  I really respect their willingness to get up in front of the audience in their various roles.  I've yet to act in anything other than class.

But I noticed a very distinct division between the actors on stage.  With many, I had emotional investment in their characters.  I believed them.  But with others, even with a massive amount of apparent effort, I felt like they were telling me a story and they were trying to sell it to me with every device they could think of.  I felt like I was watching an actor and not something honest.

I'll likely be like the second group when I first get to the stage.  I'm just wondering what the epiphany is like when you can cross that dividing line.

(note that I am still terrified)

Maybe in a couple of months I will find out.