In The Moment - Reflections

In my meanderings - both as a teacher and director, perhaps a philosopher of sorts, as well - it occurs to me that, no matter what the endeavor, being "in the moment", is essential to success. I'm not referring to artists exclusively. "In the Moment" applies to athletes of every stripe, surgeons, teachers, speakers, lathe operators - actually almost any kind of task you can think of.

Successful people, no matter how much conscious thought they've given to a product or a process - in the heat of battle, as it were, are always IN THE MOMENT. How does it apply? Well, let's take a simple example.

Those of us who drive (cars) can remember how nerve wracking it was when we first slid behind the wheel of the old beater we probably learned on. In my day it was a clutch and brake pedal on the floor and a 3 speed and reverse shift handle on the steering wheel assembly. Does that date me? Hmmm. Anyway those first agonizing lessons were filled with self-awareness, stage fright and a heightened consciousness of everything I was doing, just waiting for the inevitable wreck. Or so I thought. Well . . . the wreck never happened and as I persisted the mechanics of driving became 2nd nature. The entire process shifted from self-consciousness to muscle memory - and after a fairly brief time, it seemed the car was going by itself.

Now relate that, dear actor, to picking up a script for the first time, learning the lines, making the emotional associations - all of which in the early days of rehearsal - require a lot of conscious thought as part of the process. But as you get closer to "the day", if you trust yourself enough to allow all thought to become part of your muscle memory, you'll be IN THE MOMENT when the director calls "Action" or the Stage Manager anounces - "Places."