Choices are Decisions
Conscious choice = Effective Creative Power
Actors use effective creative power.
What does that mean? It is having the ability to make excellent choices. To be an active participant in the creation of art or life requires the ability to make choices in advance rather than becoming a passive audience member watching life happen without you.
When I thought I was being ignored by the leading man in my story, I became conscious that I was collapsing into old feelings. The old feelings which surfaced did not belong to that day and place. It belonged to my childhood when I never felt like I mattered. It was triggered by the fear of being replaced. To re-establish my grown-up reality, I chose to see the present moment and the glory of that autumn day. I chose to see something beautiful in the moment rather than feel triggered by the past. That choice seemed to create beauty within me. This changed the flow of my reality. My future moments were affected by that one choice--including this book!
Actors consciously make choices that reveal character. They use their bodies and voices as tools of expression. “I am going to walk like this... I will wear those shoes because... I will use this tone of voice.” These choices telegraph certain cues to the audience: chewing gum, wearing polka dot socks or wiping their lips a certain way after eating-- character traits are communicated directly through physical appearance (body rhythms, clothing, and behavior) and manner of speech (accents, sloppy, brisk, etc).
When people go out to a fancy dinner, they don’t wear jeans and sneakers. They make an appropriate choice of clothing to wear. They use their conscious mind to make a choice. Jeans and sneakers are not appropriate for a lovely night out. The clothes people wear have an effect on themselves and others. Most everyone accepts this as within the realm of their personal control.
However, what happens when you get hurt by someone, or frightened by an upcoming event? Can you still maintain personal control, be fully present, filled with self awareness and make an appropriate conscious choice?
Your mind/body/spirit connection is the most powerful consciousness you have.
The way you stand, speak and behave are external keys into understanding who you are and what you believe. There is a reason why television shows on personal transformation (clothing, beauty, house design) and the well known play/film My Fair Lady are huge successes. We all have the ability to transform and create different personas. We can be deeply affected by our external choices of clothing, hygiene, and material goods around us.
However, the goal is not to pretend to be anyone else-- but instead to use these tools to expand your possibilities and improve your intimate mind/body connection. Using the actor’s perspective, your perspective of yourself will shift. You will feel empowered as you learn techniques presented in the Actors Toolkit and Writer’s basic Story Structure. This unique perspective will help you achieve a heightened awareness of your mind/body/spirit connection. And best of all, you will have fun at the same time.
Write a list of positive things about yourself and the dreams you have. Now sing them out to the universe. Claim them for yourself! Put on some music and dance while you clean the house; wiggle your butt and strut your stuff while you walk down the grocery aisle to shake up your day—or if that is too much just change your pattern a tiny bit. Go for a walk, smile in the mirror or stick out your tongue and make a face. Actors learn to be flexible physically, mentally and emotionally. Regardless of your choice, the key here is to change your old patterns and do something different. Be playful with your power and connect your brain to your body! And I will do the same; I am getting off my chair and having fun with the dog for a bit.