ABSTRACT
An actor’s biggest enemy is fear. Fear of failing, not being interesting, or not being entertaining. This fear means that an actor will seek security in attitudes and techniques that he/she feels will protect him during a performance. However, being spontaneous and creative means taking risks. Thus, an actor must learn how to overcome his fear of failure and plunge wholeheartedly into the unknown. Only then can an actor free his true creative potential. This chapter examines how actors inhibit their own creative process and proposes exercises to overcome their fears and unleash their performance skills.
The biggest thing that prevents most people from improvising well is their own fear. Fear of not being creative, not being interesting, or simply not knowing what will happen. Fear of embarrassment, humiliation, failure, and rejection. When you start improvising, the first thing you need to understand is how this fear is blocking your own creativity.
