What are we actually doing?
April 7, 2026
Sometimes we do this exercise in class called “I don’t care” which is a derivative of another exercise called “Actors Nightmare” where one Artist has a script, complete with only their lines, while the other Artist has no script, and is invited to improvise responses to the lines as they come. “Actors Nightmare” is meant as an improv game where one of the Artists is meant to confront the literal “Actors Nightmare” which as the creators have determined, is the lack of a script, and no sense of pre-ordained direction for their work; it is in their estimation the great nightmare of the unknown. It is based on the Christopher Durang play in which an Accountant is mistaken for an Actors Understudy and subsequently forced to perform in a play he doesn’t know, and with lines he hasn’t learned. Nightmare.
Or is it.
The original objective is to force Artists to build a scene by listening and reacting and paving a road out in front of them with performance. It’s an intense experience to participate in, and can often be very difficult and stressful…like juggling plates while spinning fire, and talking your cat out of a tree, and being judged for it all along by a group of peers who only want to be engaged and possibly amused. Yes, it’s fun, but it might be a kind of pressure-filled fun…like skydiving…or wisdom teeth removal.
I digress I know. And it should be made clear that I am a HUGE fan of improvisation; I love the curious unknown; it is at the essence of all that we do. But what I am not a fan of, is improv for result, feedback or praise. Just not my thing. But that can be for another blog post.
So in this off-shoot of Actors Nightmare, (I Don’t Care) we give one Actor the script, and then we put the other on camera, and allow them only one response and objective, both of which is “I don’t care”. The idea being that no matter what is said to them, they respond with “I don’t care” and with the full and committed intention of convincing the other person that this is in fact true…that they do not care! Then the real fun begins, because as classmates, we get to watch this experience transpire live on the big screen, and then, whenever we feel that this person does care, we call out “whoop!” to let them know that we can feel, that in fact, they really do care. So they are forced to work harderand perform less. It’s super fun, and beautifully challenging and complex.
Remember that each of these participants is doing so on camera, in front of bright lights, on a big screen, before an audience…and without the prepared script. So in a sense, the participant is doing the opposite of their usual inclination: perform, deliver, please others, while doing everything they can to not participate in the forward motion of this dialogue and potential journey or to service the camera, lights audience expectations etc. This is VERY difficult to do. To NOT be good at this exercise, and to willingly sabotage any hope of doing a great piece of acting work is the goal. And therein lies the rub.
You see, what actually transpires on the screen for the rest of us is the actor becoming a character, due to the fact that they are more committed to something of greater importance to themselves than that of the delivery and performance of this scene. We see a human who is not acting…but is “doing”. And the “whoop!” we call out to them isn’t a declaration of failure of the objective and ridicule but is a celebration of the energetic flow that resonates because of their integrity and strength and character. And that moves us. It always moves us.
In the end, what we get is exactly what we maybe don’t know that we’ve wanted all along. To NOT act. To not put on a show. To be enough just as we are, and to be welcomed to pursue THAT path. To prioritize what we KNOW over what we show. To be, or not to be.
So lets say you have an audition, and you’re asked to play the cop interrogating the bad guy in a crime investigation, or vice-versa. And they send you the pages of lines and the description of the character and the moment, and a bunch of directions and instructions on how this should feel and what it should look like etc. Sigh. And you learn, and prepare, and you’re totally on top of your game, and ready to be the most super-auditioner of history. Turn on the lights, get set for the ultimate delivery of greatness. This is your moment.
Now breathe. Turn around, and ask yourself: is this character an actor? Is this character auditioning for a part in a tv show? Does this character have all my hopes and dreams? The glow of wanting to be seen, heard and approved? Does this character even want to be here at this moment? Even want to have this conversation? And keep asking questions if you like…but the answer will almost always be no.
And let the last question be something like this: do I have the courage and love of this craft to honour the character instead of the Actor? And subsequently, honour thine self in the process? Do I have the confidence and belief to NOT act? To NOT audition? But to live truthfully under these imagined circumstances?
