Even though you’re not looking at them, you are talking to the people in the room.
The usual retort is, “How can I be talking to them, if I’m not looking at them.” I’ve got news for you. In your day-to-day existence, you rarely have direct visual contact with people when you’re talking to them. You sense their presence. You sense when they’re ready to hear you speak and then you say what you have to say. This all happens automatically so you usually don’t notice it.
This sensing is the important part. In life this happens instantaneously and at very high speed. It’s so fast you don’t even realize that it’s happening. You reflexively know when they’re ready to hear whatever you have to say and you say it.
So, even though you may be looking at the visual mark, you are sensing the people in the room. Think of it as a kind of sonar. You don’t have to be looking at them to sense what’s going on with them. You can tell when they’re ready to hear what you have to say and then you say it.
This especially applies to the first line of your monologue. You’ve made it to the mark in the performance space. You’ve located a visual mark. Ideally as you’ve been doing these two functions you’ve also been “sensing” the people in the room.
Before you speak there is a “nonverbal moment”. This moment is perhaps the most important moment of your performance. This is where you grab them or you lose them.
Next… Power of the Nonverbal
Labels: Audition Monologues