Play On!

Two of my dear friends, Nikhil (nana) and Kandy (kaka) are taking part in a play today. While reading something Seems told me, the thought about life being a play came to the mind. This is by no means a new thought (which thought is!?). Nonetheless, i'm gonna see where this leads...

let us assume that life is a play and everyone is acting out his/her part. Can this help me in leading a 'better' life? Let me explore and see if there are any similarities in acting on stage and acting in life.

A little background on acting helps me out here. In order to respond at the right moment and in a way that the playwright intends, the actor prepares. He reads the script to see how the character should be like - body and mind. What should the physical state of a character be at any moment? What should be the mental/emotional state? These questions may be answered with the help of the director. For some, rehearsals may prove to be an eye-opener to how the character should be. Memorizing the script is only a small part of the process. Indeed, The Method permits digressing from the script, if 'The truth of the moment' demands it.

So, we come to the actual play. In the play, the actor is no longer present! The _character_ is what audience sees. The actor has, in effect, acquired a new body/mind through which he responds to the various events happening around him/her. The responses should not come the actor using his memory. That will show that there is an actor! So where do the responses come from?

From practise :). The actor has practised the character so much that the responses seem to come from the character. Of course, there *is* no physical character. There is only an actor, physically. But he has to let the character take over his resources completely - else the act will not be good.

To Be Continued.... :)