The Actor and the Target

Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet.

"The night is different for Juliet because the stakes in the night have suddenly soared.  Not only has the night changed but also the balcony has transformed into another stranger.  Suddenly the balcony is more protecting, more frustrating, more silly, more important, and how the balcony demands to be touched or rejected, leaned on, stretched over, sat on or hidden behind, will all have changed utterly.  Irina never transforms, Juliet never transforms, the I never transforms; it is everything else that changes, like the inconstant moon..."

"Juliet's dress changes for her, Juliet's fingers change for her, Juliet's face changes for her.  There is now more at stake for Juliet in whether or not she blushes, whether or not she feels the wind blow colder as her cheeks get hotter, whether or not the air is more difficult to breathe..."

"Actors see with their entire bodies... movement does not originate within.  Movement comes from the thing we see."

-from Declan Donnellan's fascinating book, The Actor and the Target.    (I heard an actor I admire reference it during an interview.  Also very interesting.)

It's good to have on hand (at elbow?) while editing.  Helps me get into my characters' skins in new ways.

Speaking of channeling, read this.  My friend Joe Yelverton is a spellbinder. 

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