Good Acting is CONFLICT (Rehearsal dos and don'ts)

A lot of times actors rehearse horribly. They are trying to direct the other actor, so they may have a rehearsal that says "okay when i go to the door and i turn and look at you grab my arm and the other actor will say that's great and then you push me away. Yeah, that's not how acting works. Don't do that. If that is you in rehearsal stop it. First of all, you should never be in agreement with the other actor. Acting is conflict! Let me say that again - acting is conflict! It is drama, it is struggle, it is trying to go for something and there are obstacles standing in your way and you don't know if you're quite gonna get to it but you're trying to pursue it.

You as an actor have to keep your inner work private and what you're gonna go for with the other actor separate quiet it should be a surprise the actor should never know what you're going to do next bad acting is rigid boring and it looks like the actor is posing but good acting has tension building in it it has suspense and it has surprises and in great acting you never know what the actor is going to do from moment to moment because they just have you so engaged so involved that even though you think you know the script you don't you want to be the actor that comes to the rehearsals with all kinds of tricks in your bag because your stakes are so high there is conflict even if the other actor is smiling at you you should see that smile like what are they trying to get from me what do they want you should be like they're trying to do something that's not right i'm not gonna go for that and you shouldn't be focused on your lines or when your turn to speak is next no no no no no your job is to focus on the actor and what they're getting ready to do what they're saying not just with their words but with their body with their energy so that you then can deliver something back to them.

“Great acting is like a great tennis match”

Great acting is like a great tennis match the tennis player focuses on the other player at where the ball is going that's all they're focused on that's how you should be with acting. You should be focused on the other actor and what they're bringing at you so that you know how to toss it back to them, because if they do something different you want to be able to catch it you don't want to be caught off guard if you're focused, if you're paying attention, if you're listening. Listening is one of the most important skills that an actor needs because if the line is please give me the water but that actor says please give me the water that's a whole different way of communicating so how do you respond to that line reading or that delivery of the line as opposed to please give me the water each are different and you as the actor have to respond differently to what they just said to you great acting requires you to be on your p's and q's to listen and to throw the other actor off where they never know what you're gonna do next even if you're redoing a take or having to do a full-out performance the actors that you're working with should never be comfortable with anything you do because they know that you're always going to deliver something new doesn't have to be major but you're finding those little nuances to bring to the work every single time.

As an actor you have to follow blocking, but within that confine of your blocking find a new intention. Find a new thing that you can bring to the performance. Let me know what acting is to you in the comments below!