The Great Acting Blog: “Imagine What Comes First….”

The Great Acting Blog: “Imagine What Comes First….”

We return once more to our friend, Epictetus:

“When you are going to take in hand any act, remind yourself what kind of an act it is. If you are going to bathe, place before yourself what happens in the bath: some splashing the water, others pushing against one another, others abusing one another, and some stealing: and thus with more safety you will undertake the matter, if you say to yourself, I now intend to bathe, and to maintain my will in a manner conformable to nature. And so you will do in every act: for thus if any hindrance to bathing shall happen, let this thought be ready; it was not this only that I intended, but I intended also to maintain my will in a way conformable to nature, but I will not maintain it so, if I am vexed at what happens.”

And thus we should approach the actor’s life in the same way. If we intend to be an actor, then we must view what happens to us through that prism. We must, day by day, pre-empt the difficulties and obstacles that are part of being an actor, so that if they do happen we are prepared for them. Consequently, we will be in a stronger position to stop them from blowing us off course. We will accept them as a part of the actor’s life, and so avoid falling into despair or becoming destructive, remaining productive and focussed on our work instead.

Imagine what comes first, then proceed.

 

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