Acting As If is when you take the action you have chosen for the scripted scene you are to perform, and use it in a fictional scenario you create from your own imagination – ‘It’s as if…’ . The object of this approach is to gain clarity on what the action means to you, and serve as a reminder. Create an As If fantasy that is personal and compelling to you, and incites you to act.

Acting As If can help you to connect with your action. How? By stepping away from the scripted scene and performing your action in an improvisation created out of your personal As If scenario. As the improvisation achieves momentum, you switch to the scripted dialogue. The momentum will drive the action from the improvisation through to the scripted dialogue and you will perform accordingly. It can also be useful when you have a scene without dialogue – only physicality. Again, build an improvisation out of your action and fantasy and then switch when the moment is right. You will take your action into the physical stuff and so your acting will be true.

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