“The merit of the instruction is this: those who adopt it spare themselves the rigor of the artistic life. I was once at a marriage ceremony where the parties swore “to try to be faithful, to try to be considerate …” That marriage was, of course, doomed. Any worthwhile goal is difficult to accomplish. To say of it “I’ll try” is to excuse oneself in advance. Those who respond to our requests with “I’ll try” intend to deny us, and call on us to join in the hypocrisy—as if there were some merit in intending anything other than accomplishment. Those with “something to fall back on” invariably fall back on it. They intended to all along. That is why they provided themselves with it. But those with no alternative see the world differently. The old story has the mother say to the sea captain, “Take special care of my son, he cannot swim,” to which the captain responds, “Well, then, he’d better stay in the boat.” —— The most charming of theories holds that someone other than Shakespeare wrote ...Shakespeare’s plays—that he was of too low a state, and of insufficient education.MoreLessShow More Show Less
True And False: Heresy And Common Sense for the Actor
User Reviews: