|
Preparation is what you do
creatively, imaginatively inside yourself to be in a place that will
carry you into the scene.
It's a process that causes you to
transform your inner life, so that you're not who you were five minutes ago.
Wishful thinking is part of it. So is
fantasy and day dreaming. In other words, you are not necessarily
confined to the reality of your life, or recalling a past event that actually
happened to you.
It can come from anywhere. Fantasy
or reality: either way you go, it's better to use what moves you -
affects you.
There are positive
and negative fantasies. Don't over complicate. Imagine winning
an Academy Award. Now imagine yourself homeless.
I'm pointing out a conscious way of
starting the process. It's really very simple.
Preparation is the most personal,
the most secret of acting values. It comes from your imagination and is
a product of your inventiveness. Be prepared to let your preparation
go astray. If you have it - great, if you don't - don't bother, just come in
truthfully with little fanfare.
You can't fake it, just like you can't
fake emotion; it just calls attention to the fact that you ain't got it. Prepare. It should be simple.
Preparation lasts only for the first moment of the scene - then you
never know what's going to happen.
"I've found the important thing is to
discover where my character is coming from. I don't mean in any deep psychological sense, just
where she was a few minutes ago. What's her mind on right now.
In life you don't have huge
psychological reasons for walking into a room, you just walk into a
room.
You come from somewhere. And
that place is either cold or it's hot or it's late or it's early, and you're
usually thinking about something before you enter.
And bring your day on stage with
you, which sounds simplistic, but it's actually very true. It opens you
up to the nuances that are always there, always changing."
-Glenn Close |
