Don’t play the end of a scene at the beginning of the scene. Even though you know exactly how it is going to end, it is the actor’s job to look for ways to develop the scene so that it starts one place and moves somewhere else. That is interesting to play and interesting to watch.
Try to begin a scene in a way that is a polar opposite of where the scene ends. If it ends in an argument, start the scene by being as loving as possible. If you are going to end up sad, start the scene happy. This gives the character a journey and will provide you with many acting choices and possibilities.
In real life we don’t know where we are going. When we enter a room we don’t know what we will be confronted with, so we don’t enter filled with expectations. Our emotional journeys are not planned, they happen to us. So as an actor, even though you know how things will end, you need to work hard to make it seem that the character’s journeys, emotional and situational, are just happening and are not planned.
So play moment-to-moment, beat-to-beat. That will help you to keep from getting to the end until it is time. By not playing the last moment the first time you show up on stage or on camera, your work will be interesting for you and the audience.
Eric Barr. All rights reserved
