The Great Acting Blog: “Don’t Bail On The Scene – The True Art Of The Actor”
“Oh I’m sorry my lines went” – and so the scene ends and we have to try it again.
The truth is though, your lines didn’t go, the truth is you got scared. Something in the scene created a movement within you, a movement that wasn’t part of your plan, and it frightened you. So you stopped the scene, you bailed in order to reclaim control of yourself and the moment.
But know that the unforeseen internal movement is the scene, that is the moment to act, that is the moment of truth. The fear means that you are crossing the threshold into true creativity, something has come alive within you and it must be acted upon. Whatever you do, do not back down, face up to this moment, go through it, do not back down, don’t bail, don’t shuffle on your feet, remain committed and go through the scene, responding to what happens. This commitment, this courage, leads to results which are provocative, personal, expressive, artistic and true – in short, great acting.
The true art of the actor is about facing up to the truth of the moment, even though we’d rather not, even though we feel frightened.
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