INTIMACY WORK
“To do effective scene work, the story comes out of a relationship and is largely determined by its level of intimacy. It’s in these situations where you really get to see how awkward you can become. Your ability to exercise intimacy can be equated to the development of any skill or the building of a muscle. You must exercise often for proper growth and performance.
The word intimacy is often misunderstood and commonly associated with things of a close, personal, or sexual nature. Because of this, it’s often thought that “intimacy” isn’t something you share with anyone other than someone very special to you. In the “regular” world, this may be true, but for the actor, no way! Thinking like this will not only smother your acting but can negatively impact your personal life. You may not realize you have an issue with intimacy until you’re confronted with an opportunity to step outside your emotional comfort zone into a situation where you’re not in full control. Meaning, you’re sharing the experience with someone other than just yourself.
So, what exactly is intimacy? Intimacy can be a lot of things like sitting quietly alone, an embrace, a kiss, or looking deeply into someone’s eyes. Intimacy can also be an aggressive argument, a push or shove, or even a full-blown fight. So how can two opposite behaviors be the same thing? Intimacy is experiencing a close familiarity with another person, place, or thing, accompanied by a sense of complete freedom. I personally explain intimacy to my clients and students as allowing someone else to see deeper into you {authentication} and when the other person allows you to see deeper into them, we call this getting intimate or experiencing intimacy. In order to be intimate, you have to allow yourself to be vulnerable. Personal guards must be let down, allowing inner truth and humanity to become accessible. Where this is dangerous in the “real” world, it’s imperative in the acting world!
I hope this helps and you’ve enjoyed adding this to your TOOL BOXES for future work.”
– One on One makes for powerful learning-
Ms. Natalia
CEO Instructor
