Inside TVI Actors Studio

Well, it happened again last night. Another bad dream. This time I found myself unable to get out of the locked dressing room to make a stage entrance. Despite pulling on the door, trying to climb out the window, yelling at the top of my lungs, I could not get rescued from my dressing room prison. What made it even worse, I could not tell from my costume what play I was in. So even if I did break out, I just had to “wing it” when I eventually got to the stage. It was one of those nightmares that felt so real, it took me several awake minutes to realize that it was just a dream. Other actor dreams I have heard about (and even experienced myself) include making an entrance and not knowing the part, making an entrance and being completely naked, showing up and realizing there is no audience. Psychologists would have no problem figuring these episodes out. I am sure they are metaphors for feeling unprepared, vulnerable, scared. Because it feels so real is probably due to the actor’s imagination being so fertile. When I have these kinds of experiences, I tell myself to analyze at what I need to work on. Usually unfinished business or not being ready for a task or event. For an actor it seems to reflect the need for preparation of some sort. Because we are frequently between jobs, it is easy to let go of our important actor tasks. By taking classes, meeting with your agent, reviewing your resume, getting advice from your career coach, you are, in fact, preventing the nightmare in the first place. You are now doing everything you can to release yourself from the grips of the unprepared actor and embracing professionalism.