Anson had always been curious about one thing: why imitate animals in basic acting classes? What's the principle behind it? What does it have to do with acting? Even now, no professional teacher had given him a clear answer, but Anson gradually developed his own understanding. Imitating animals helps beginners enter the world of acting on two levels.
First, body language. As Julie Andrews said, understand, master, and utilize your body. Express emotions and feelings through physicality without relying on lines, and feel the energy emanating from your body. Imitation is indeed a crucial first step into the world of acting. But why imitate animals instead of superstars or classic movie scenes? This leads to the second level.
Second, breaking down shame. On one hand, animal movements are the simplest, most basic, and most one-dimensional. They are the foundation, like learning to walk before running. On the other hand, it's about breaking down one's own sense of shame and establishing the fourth wall.
Acting involves exposing oneself and expressing emotions, which can be embarrassing. Imagine performing an intimate scene in front of your parents or a tearful scene in front of your close friends. Without the fourth wall, the shame would overwhelm the actor, making it impossible to get into character.
Imagine being asked to suddenly start dancing at a busy intersection, without any music. Some people might be able to do it, but most wouldn't. However, "acting" is precisely that - performing and interpreting different roles in public. This sense of shame must be overcome to allow actors to immerse themselves in their roles and do things they wouldn't normally do, even under the watchful eyes of others.
Imitating animals serves this purpose. Animal movements are primal, simple, and devoid of shame. When actors imitate animals, they must let go of their inhibitions and roll on the floor or scratch their heads in front of others. It's like being stripped naked in public.
Only by overcoming shame, breaking down personal barriers, and establishing a fourth wall in their minds can actors truly get into character and into the story.
This is why imitating animals is a fundamental and common practice in beginner acting classes. This was Anson's understanding, inspired by the class he was currently observing, where he gained some insights through experience.
In this class, the teacher didn't ask them to imitate animals, although the principle was the same. The expression and level of immersion were different. He asked the students to dance, but not in the ordinary sense.
The students paired up, each holding one hand of their partner, palms together, supporting each other's bodies while maintaining eye contact. The only rule was not to look away or let go of their partner's hand.
Then, the teacher played music and asked the students to feel the melody and rhythm with their bodies and start dancing, based on their perception of the music's power.
This was not as easy as it sounded. Maintaining eye contact and hand contact confined them to a "strange yet intimate" relationship, which was already awkward enough. Now they had to dance and express the music with their bodies? This was taking embarrassment to the next level!
And that wasn't all. The real challenge was yet to come. The test varied for people with different personalities and types.
Suppose, in the same piece of music, two people feel completely different emotions. One starts breakdancing, the other performs modern dance. It's like two worlds colliding, completely off track.
The problem lies here: they can't let go of their hands or look away, creating a physical connection. At the same time, the rhythm of the music is consistent, even if the dance types and styles differ. The two people feel the same rhythm, forming an invisible connection.
In other words, with a series of connections between them, they need to find a way to harmoniously coexist in different channels and styles.
So, how do they continue in this situation? This is the real test. Beyond shame and awkwardness, it's more about the actor's personality in the performance state. How to persist in their own style while accommodating their partner, how to seek resonance while showcasing themselves, how to feel their own emotions while also sensing their partner's, and so on.
Some people, more confident, might stick to their own style. Others, more self-conscious, might cater to their partner. Some, more self-absorbed, might immerse themselves in their own world... But ultimately, they need to dance together. The touch of their hands, the meeting of their eyes, forces them to find a way to cooperate within the melody.
At this point, it's no longer just about overcoming shame.
It's a small step beyond imitating animals. It requires feeling the rhythm and melody of the performance, the body's understanding of the performance, the dynamic interaction with their partner, and so on. While understanding themselves, they also need to understand their partner and the environment.
—Through the medium of music.
Music, like animals to some extent, is a simple and primal medium. Melody and rhythm can transcend language, culture, age, and other barriers, becoming a platform for different souls to feel the same emotions. This allows the students to return to their true selves and touch emotions in a simple and unpretentious way.
However, not everyone can feel it. Some find it easier, some harder, some are slower, some are less attentive.
It's a process, but regardless of talent, everyone can have their own feelings and experiences. That's why it's called the foundation of acting.
No wonder the teacher kept emphasizing feeling and experiencing.
Acting is not just about "acting." There's a lot of preparation before the performance: experiencing, feeling, understanding, digesting. If acting were merely about presenting joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, then actors would never be able to breathe life into those emotions.
All of this is truly fascinating.
It seems simple, like nothing more than a series of games. But when you truly immerse yourself, you gradually start to feel the joy.
There's more than one game like this. The entire class is relaxed and cheerful. Each game requires switching partners, experiencing different colors, and continuously feeling individual differences in similar environments. It's a very strange feeling.
They don't even know each other's names, occupations, backgrounds, or anything else. But setting aside the social labels that define each person, they seem to understand a part of each other's true selves.
Shy or outgoing, reserved or open-minded, fearful or enjoying... and so on. It has nothing to do with social labels, just the most real and profound emotions of a person.
There's a subtle sense of nakedness.
It's hard to describe accurately. It's not about secrets, just about truth.
Clearly, this is completely different from Anson's impression of acting academies and acting classes. Every minute and every second brings surprises and continuous self-discovery.
Second update.