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Okay, so I know class ended about 5 minutes ago, but I was thinking about something all through class that might be interesting to think about. I really liked Jessey's not-performance, and the paradox of her needing something concrete in order to smash it, and become the best version of herself.

This reminded me a lot of a story I was told about an acting workshop in which a teacher broke the class up into groups so that they could improve using two items. One girl in the group asked the professor if they could use both items, or just one? The teacher replied, "Do you really want to ask me that?" She said "of course, I ask I want an answer," The Teacher said, "Consider it, really consider it. Do you want to ask this question?" The class tried to convince her not to, but she wouldn't listen. She needed to know the answer. So the teacher said, "well since you asked, you may only use one item."

The moral of the story as presented to me by a director, was that the best work is often possible when the rules are ambiguous enough to bend. Sometimes in order to create an interesting product, we need to leave some stones unturned. What stuck me today, was that our discussion seemed to be saying the exact opposite. It is by leaning on concrete surfaces that new forms are created. I think it puts an interesting turn on the story. Something to think about as summer fast approaches, and I will be directing myself. Choosing how hard to press against my actor in order to get the best show possible. I thank this class and the people in it for giving me some new ways of approaching my work.