When you act, you must have a fire in your gut. It’s hidden. It’s far below the surface, but it is always there. A fire. You must sit with the burn. You must stand with the burn. You must speak with the burn. You must listen with the burn. Whether it is comedy or drama, you have a fire in your gut.
What is that fire?
The plot? The relationships? The fight that you know your character is going to have in the next scene? The moment before?
It’s none of these. The fire that is there in your gut is what pulls everything together for your character. That fire is what the audience follows when they watch your character. They can’t see it, they don’t know it’s there, but they follow it. If there is no fire, there is no centre to follow. If there’s no fire – if there is no centre – there’s only plot.
People don’t live plots.
For you the actor, it’s nothing but the fire. The plot that you go through acts as an interference or brings you closer to that which you seek.
Everything – everything, everything, everything – what you say, what you do, how you look, what you wear, when you turn, what you eat – everything is in relation to that fire.
The fire is the super task.
– Michelle Meyrink
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