ON ACTING: Intensity and Importance

Even if the character’s objective in a scene seems inconsequential to those of us outside the character’s life…perhaps even unsubstantial to the character at some other time or place…the objective quest must always be important inside the character’s life at the moment of the scene. Think of it this way: the character in the scene could be anywhere else in the world at that particular moment, but instead, she is present and dealing with whomever and/or whatever she is dealing with. A priori, that exclusivity of attendance, if nothing else, should embue the scene with personal importance.

Emotional intensity in a scene occurs in direct proportion to the character’s sense of the importance of the scene.