On Acting

For an actor, being “mindful” on stage refers to resting in calm presence as you act, even if your character is in a rage.

Mindfulness is simply a call to be present in the current moment. As an actor, you want to be playing in the moment so that you react to the other actor in real time, rather than waiting mindlessly to regurgitate your lines on cue. 

Mindful Acting: Act Now

Mindful acting calls for heightened presence and awareness as your character. You become the character while remaining “present” and aware as an observer to your character’s actions and words. You drop the ego, your anxious thinking mind, and keep the awareness–you maintain control, but set your thinking mind aside, into the background, as you silently observe yourself in role.

The term mindfulness is literally a misnomer because when you are truly mindful, you suspend your inner critic, quieting your thoughts and allowing your egoic mind to become metaphorically translucent on the sidelines of your awareness. 

Your sense of self does not disappear, but you do shift your awareness away from being rooted in your ego’s identity. Your judgmental, personality driven awareness makes space for a more generous, open “presence” or awareness that allows events to unfold without prejudgment.

This “quiet observer” is very different from our normal sense of self which we equate with personality and ego. This silent observer is the real you…the you that is aware of your personality, your social roles, your comfort or anxiety, and all the rest of what makes up your egoic identity. 

Being mindful while acting, is being in the moment in a nonjudgmental way, ready to respond dynamically and effectively to another actor or to the given circumstances of the script. When present in performance, you get out of your own way and let the character step forward. This heightened present moment awareness is what is meant by the term “mindful acting.”

Generous Actors/Mindful Actors

The mindful actor is nothing new. We used to call mindful actors “generous” actors, because they genuinely listened and responded creatively to other actors on stage. A generous actor’s response is fresh and “alive.” It uses rehearsed action as a base level, in addition to reacting in the moment, if appropriate. Excitement is generated around interactions that have this sort of built in flexibility. 

What is new and useful about the term “mindfulness” to describe acting in the moment is the understanding that arises for an actor who “gets” what being present means for her performance.

Skilled, mindful actors enter into a symbiotic identity state that allows them to “become” the character as fully as possible, without losing self awareness or control.

The best actors have always walked this fine line of dual awareness, never losing control of their actions. The trick is to operate as both your character and your slient watcher at one and the same time. Only then does the acting become enlivening and engaging to watch—the result of a dynamic give and take between two present characters. Working towards “presence” in performance is fundimental to an actor’s craft.