Guidepost 1: Relationship - Major Points

GP1: Relationship - Major Points

Overview Shurtleff begins his first guidepost (Relationship) by explaining:

"Every scene is a love scene. The actor should ask the question, 'Where is the love?' of every scene, or he won't find the deepest emotional content. This does not mean that every scene is about Romeo and Juliet-type love; sometimes the scene is about the absence...of love."

With this question as the foundation, one should be able to develop an emotionally honest relationship with their scene partner.


 Major Points of Guidepost 1: Relationship

1. Commitment
2. Love
3. Questions to Ask Yourself
4. Other Important Notes

Up Next Look out for the next few posts: GP1: Relationship - Application! I will be applying this guidepost to Antigone and her relationship with all of the characters.

 1. Commitment

• It’s not important if you are right or wrong: what it is important is your commitment to whatever feeling you choose.
• Full commitment creates good acting.
• Don’t guess. Say yes.

2. Love

• Every scene is a love scene.
• It might be a Romeo-and-Juliet love, the absence or deprivation of love, or even the desire to give or receive love. Love comes in all forms.

3. Questions to Ask Yourself

• What is my relationship to this other character in the scene I am about to do? (First know the facts about the relationship, and then explore how you feel about the relationship.)
• What is my emotional attitude toward the character?
• Where is the love in this scene?

4. Other Important Notes

• An actor should seek conflict in performance because it gives him something strong to work with.
• Make questions active in the reading.
• The process of trying to reach an emotional decision is always more dramatic than the achievement of it.
• The now is the imperative question you must answer.