ABSTRACT
As we work onstage we need to develop two kinds of awareness. The first is what Stanislavski called the Perspective of the Role: what you want, do and react to as the character. When we pretend to be someone else and react as if we’re that character, we are doing this from the perspective of the role: through the eyes and in the shoes of that imagined person. But, another important reality always exists for us onstage called the Perspective of the Actor. This refers to the part of our consciousness that is constantly recalling lyrics, staging, directions and choreography, melody, and is aware of whether we’re in the light, what our fellow actors are doing, etc. These two realities must co-exist in balance for every successful performance experience. Too much attention to the inner life of the character and we may fail to bring the role to the audience. Too much stage awareness and we may become phony and performy, with no sense of the reality of the character.
