Lights, Camera, Action

My last blog is revealing to me. It identifies me as a person who lacks passion; who isn’t sold on the idea that what he is doing and what he is about is worth getting excited about. That just isn’t true but it would, I think, seem that way to anyone who was involved with me. I could take those things where I am involved with others and look at them objectively to see if any passion is evident but first I need to address the word, the concept of passion.

It is getting a little trite and it came out of an equally overused word, enthusiasm. For my purposes we need to forget that it is trite, forget that it is overused and not worry or concern myself with coming up with a euphemism or a replacement for the word. I am going to use the two words as if they represent new and unique concepts in my thinking; then if another word comes up that works, I will also use it.

I know from experience that the place where enthusiasm has to come is from within; one has to feel enthusiasm for that with which he is dealing, it cannot be faked. The lack thereof can be from fatigue, from bad experiences remembered, from something less than a favorable impression of the situation. The way around this is to remember that there is a way to jump start, or do a warm up exercise. A method to do this follows the 4th Way, and it is to say that there are within me certain other enthused personae who may be not be involved with the present situation that requires same and these can be called upon to work with the not enthused to get them going.

This hurdle is the most critical that must be overcome when dealing with a situation. It is a method used in acting as well. One substitutes the role playing situation with a real-life situation that required the same emotional involvement.

The transference takes place and the character takes on the emotion that the real-life situation evoked. This method can be used without fail in any situation that arises on stage or in real-life. When going into a situation that requires an emotional response, simply recall a similar situation from which a desirable outcome was obtained, find the feeling that you had at the time, feel it again and transfer that to this one.

This is easier said than done. It reminds me of the “holy grail of pool” where one makes the object ball and leaves the cue ball in the best position possible to make the next object ball. Or the “holy grail of golf” where on a par 4, one drives the ball 250 yards down the fairway, then hits his second shot to the green and putts the ball into the hole for a birdie. Both of these are easy to express, just as easy as the previous paragraph. But the skill required to make these happen can’t be underestimated. The same type of concentration, circumspection, and control required to call upon performing personae is required in interpersonal situations in life or on stage as in golf or billiards.

These two games are especially analogous to acting because all the while one is taking his turn he is being watched, he is acting and reacting to conditions that are extant on the table or course, he is thinking, using his controlling personae but at the same time attempting to allow his performing personae the freedom of action required to be successful. The controlling personae have a way of getting in the way of the performing personae if they aren’t shunted aside at the optimal point in time before the action commences. This is true in any context be it social, competitive, business, or stage.

It takes a lot of hard work have this become one’s modus operandi. The realization that one has to be able to do s.t. and not just talk a good game is a valuable insight that this one realized some time ago. The amount of work required to be skilled at golf or pool is nothing compared to the amount of work required to become a skilled actor, both on the stage and in the real-world sense. Aside: a good actor brings the real-world of experiences to the stage role he is playing.

Whenever lacking a coach for these games and acting, I have to rely on my controlling personae to be able to glean information from published sources and through observation of more skilled practitioners. Then my controlling personae become the coach/ trainer for the performing personae. Success can be had with perseverance; of course, if an external trainer or coach is available, one can shorten the learning curve and increase his level of confidence more quickly. This second aspect, confidence, is fundamental to performance but we are getting off track. The sublimation of successful emotional responses can be achieved with trial and error if one has the patience to observe himself in situations.

The controlling personae are collectively analogous to the director of a play; he has a large influence on what the actors do during rehearsals but the play is on when it is being performed. This is part and parcel of the 4th Way; it is what Gurdjieff, Nicole, and others were talking about when they preached self-observation.

The performing personae need to be reminded before the action takes place that emotional content is important, enthusiasm begets positive reinforcement from others. Assuming the role of the enthused participant is the starting point and emotional content can be increased or decreased as necessary to fit the action taking place. The controlling personae have the responsibility to take the initiative and get the performing personae “on stage” with the right level of emotion. Those on stage are then required to perform spontaneously. The emotional level displayed cannot be seen as contrived but must be genuine, which is possible with hearkening back to similar past experiences.