I’ve been in quite a few acting / drama / theatre groups in my time (hopefully it isn’t too obvious) and I’ve learned something different from each one.
one of the earlier things I learned from one of the earlier groups was the fact that you gotta “milk it” as a performer. Once you / If you find something that the audience(s) like(s) you gotta double down on that thing and give them what they want (that thing). if you find something good then do that good thing. Moderation is good for diets and bad for theatre.
The leader of the group told me this lesson after I took part in a comedy scene that the audience ended up liking. There was one moment in particular that got them all laughing. Instead of sticking with it / holding that moment longer, I moved on: continued through the rest of the scene. The moment died too early.
When you hit gold, you gotta pause. Take it in. Take a breath. Do it again (we love repetition) and so on and so on. She stood there with me and practised it with me: Just standing, taking it in, letting it happen.
I’ve taken this mentality into everything else I do. I like to push things further than the audience thinks I will. I think it’s important to take things to not only their logical extremes but far beyond. I also think it’s important to use a big build up. The build up to a big moment should be big.
I think it takes a bit of boldness to really “go for it” with this approach. It takes courage to stand there silently on stage letting nothing happen. Going “big” can leave you vulnerable: What if it goes wrong? What if people don’t like it? but I think it’s much worse to hold something back and leave regrets on the table.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that you get a lot out of putting a lot in (obviously) no matter the setting / circumstances. If you put in courage, you’ll get some back. If you put in energy, you’ll get some back, and fortunately, “milking it” is all about all of that. It means taking it seriously.
Do the same for the small crowds as you do for the big: Milk the moment to an inch of its life. I guess we’re morphing into a different learning now, but sometimes I think back to that moment where that person taught me to milk the moment. For me, it represented the beginning of learning what it means to be present on stage / to have stage presence.
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