The Hamlet Project

One of the things actor training will embed in you is the willingness to give all things a try. Even if an actor had never seen a pipe before, he would likely say, “I’ve never played one before, but I’ll give it a shot!”
We are vigorously trained to say yes.
I remember telling a friend a story about a time this got me into trouble. I just felt like I had to give something a big old committed try and ended up with a bit of metaphorical egg on my face. When I explained this story to my friend with the actor’s “yes” included, she laughed and laughed about the way I’d responded like an actor to a non-acting situation. What’s funny is that I remember my friend’s laughter but can no longer recall the situation that triggered it. It almost feels like whatever I did, I did for a much delayed laugh. And the actor in me won anyway – even though whatever I did at first was kind of embarrassing.