I am most surprised to find that many actors who come to me have no repeatable system of work. I present a script and ask: "How do you work on this? What is your system?" Again and again I find that there is none. These actors are constantly working from their "feelings" of what the text may require and hope that their choices will please the casting directors. Most use random instincts as opposed to text analysis, believing that technique will trap them instead of freeing them to work on a spontaneous level. However, I believe freedom is the ultimate goal of technique. Random instincts produce random results which can not always be relied upon.

I find all other craftsmen, whether they be dancers, musicians or athletes depend solely on technique and leave the results alone. They are more interested in the process rather than the final outcome; recognizing that process ensures a successful result. When they put their attention to what must be done, rather than the way they are doing it, results happen. They begin to have consistency and confidence. They become less self-aware and more willing to explore and play. They take larger risks and challenge their own personal bests. They begin to have fun. I think actors should have these same privileges.

All the answers one needs are in the script. The character, how to use the environment, what objective to use and how to accomplish that objective behaviorally are all embedded in the text. So, the purpose of technique is to give you a systematic method for finding these clues and igniting the language. How do I go about actualizing and making the words come alive into dynamic behavior? How do I make a choice from text and translate it through my unique imagination?

I took acting classes to learn a way of work. I did not realize I was being 'directed' or 'given adjustments' by the teachers, which would make the scenes work, but leave me without a clue how to repeat what I did. I began to have a dependence on the teachers' opinion, rather than working by and for myself. And working for myself is what was required for an audition.

I had been told to 'just be myself' when acting. My response to that was, 'Which self?' We are all different people under different circumstances, so that premise is strange. Besides, children (the purest of actors) do not play to 'be themselves.' What would be the fun of that?

I wanted to be away from myself, in a joyful way, rather than to be trapped in myself. I wanted to learn how to discover rather than to know; to find and see rather than to show. To pay attention where I didn't have to concentrate. To be in a suspended state of imagination; not narcissism. I wanted to be unsafe and to be courageous and stand behind what I found the story to be from the author. To make a stand is the only thing that will give us confidence, and learning how to make choices from the written text strengthens that confidence so that the audition is yours, truly yours."