Re: What is Effort, part 4

Re: What is Effort, part 4
Submitted by Barbara Adrian - September 22, 2000

Yes, you [Yoshiko Makita] have hit on it. I am going to speak to you about this from the actor's point of view. For actors it is always a combination of what they are trying to achieve working from the inside out and what the audience 'interprets' them to be doing. Ideally, as a performer I am most pleased when what I am choosing to do in regards to effort is also what the audience sees. However, it is sometimes necessary to play something that seems 'off' from my objective but somehow magically brings me closer to getting the response I want from the audience. More than one shouting match has taken place between actor and director. The actor insisting that they are "light" and the director saying no "too heavy". It is both the actor and director's job to try to close the gap. Perhaps the actor will try working with FLOW instead of Weight and then hear the director say "Great, now that is Light!" There is no point in arguing. Just keep trying things no matter the "name" until some says that is it. I believe what we "feel" we are doing is completely intwined with what the observer sees. Words are often inadequate however. So we must rely on the intangible the mysterious as well as the practical.