Shaking Hands with the TEXT

It is essential that you take a lot of time when first encountering a TEXT. Early on allow yourself to be available to the words and the material. (What do you know about this event or situation?)

a) Sit in a chair facing your partner. (Do not cross you legs or arms. Stay open to your impulses and those of your partner.) Look down at your script, take in a few lines of text off the page, then look up and say the lines to your partner as honestly as you can. Don't impose, interpret or try to manufacture any feelings. Don't go beyond your own sense of truth. It is important that your partner's head is out of his/her script - available to receive your line. This availability will give him the impulse to say his line. Bring yourself to the material. You know more than you know. It is easy to cheat. Don’t try and "feel". Don't force; however, if a feeling comes up - a response- it is important that you don't "check" the impulse. Find the impulse to speak to you partner. As you work this way, you will soon find the impulse to move. Take it. Talking and listening is the basis of all good acting.