What is happening in you before you try to produce a performance?
No Acting Please, by Eric Morris and Joan Hotchkis.
What the book addresses
An introduction to Morris's system: instrumental obstacles, the Being State, sense memory, class dialogue and Hotchkis's journal material.
How to read it
Read the opening account of the instrument before selecting an exercise. Keep a distinction between the state you discover and the action the script requires. Being available to experience is not the same task as having a character's circumstances fully prepared. When the book moves between classroom dialogue and instruction, notice who is being addressed and what problem prompted the intervention.
An original rehearsal investigation
Before a familiar short scene, write one plain sentence about your present experience. Then identify one concrete thing your character needs from the other person. Play the scene without trying to display the sentence you wrote. Afterwards, describe what became more available and where your attention narrowed. This is an original reading companion, not a reproduction of a Morris exercise.
Connections and distinctions
Read Being & Doing for a continuing practice structure and Irreverent Acting for the detailed move into craft. The three books answer related questions at different points in preparation.
Instrumental work and acting craft
Instrumental work develops the actor’s expressive resources; craft applies those resources to the demands of a role. At JBAS, the six craft tools are Sensory Work, Improvisation, Archetype Work, Externals, Imaging and deep Script and Character Analysis, with voice supporting the work throughout. Morris’s work informs the distinction between instrument and craft. Roy Hart voice work and the Stones’ Psychology of Selves contribute further resources for vocal expression, awareness and imaginative exploration.
This is an original JBAS reading guide with an attributed overview and study questions. Read the complete book for the author's developed argument and exercise instructions.
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