(Above Image from the Television Series Dance of 41)
As actors, we can harness a multitude of different techniques to be as prepared as we possibly can when we get on stage. This preparation allows us to be better prepared to take direction and pivot when changes are made. The variable that drives the scene to be successful is not only in the work any one individual puts in, but the level of intimacy with the material the actors have onstage.
The scene is only as good as the repour of the artists on stage. It is exponentially important that scene partners make choices that work toward the common goal of what the scene is set to accomplish. It is a magical experience to watch two actors who have had their characters develop a repour.
The audience can feel the real vulnerability that the two artists share. Where there is intimacy there is vulnerability. Where there is vulnerability there is the essence of our human nature. An audience needs something tangible to hold onto and relate with. You never know if you are portraying someone’s real life; an audience member may have lived what you are portraying, and justly so it is important that each story is respected and lived deeply and fully on stage.
It is a very delicate dance two actors play when embarking on telling a story, the listening, the responding to each other ever so slightly to extract enough reality out of that interaction as to make another feel it's truth. That is performance. To be present in the moment and have had the technique build up to that point so deeply in the body that at the point the curtain comes up and its show time, it is a brand-new moment. A brand-new moment every show.
Isaiah Romero-Cordova is a professional model, working actor–musician, and contestant finalist for Broadway Bound Live Season 2. He can be located on IMBd-isaiahromerocordova, instagram @the_isaiahromerocordova_, and TikTok @the_isaiaromerocordova.
Isaiah Romero-Cordova
Broadway Bound Live
7th May 2023