To Hear or Not to Hear?

This summer I helped a friend shoot a documentary film.  One of the tasks he asked me to do was be the eye line for people he interviewed.  This seemed like such a simple task; however, it proved to be one of the hardest things I did all summer and one of the most rewarding.

The catch to being an eye line is that you need to engage the interview subject.  You need to respond with body language, nods of the head, smiles, quizzical looks etc. By doing so the interview subject becomes more lively more engaged and in turn more camera friendly.  This simple job is an important one.  On the surface it seems so simple, sit in this chair and visually respond to the person talking so they feel you are taking them in. But what if you couldn't understand a word of anything that was being said?  That is the problem I faced - all the interviews were in a foreign language.  Initially it was very hard to stay focussed, to even stay awake, I had no idea what was being said, it bored me, I was at a loss and then I turned it into an acting game.

Listening is one of the greatest actor tools.  To truly hear what your scene partner is saying, to receive it with vulnerability so that you can respond with truth in your line is a necessity to doing this job well.  Being corny it is the question To Hear or Not to Hear?  So as I sat there listening to the gibberish of the second interviewee I was reminded of the gibberish acting game.  Two people get up with different objectives and through made up gibberish and sounds try to communicate what they want to each other.    (Side bar - there is a great TYA play, Tete a Tete, by Robert Morgan, that does this wonderfully and sends a poignant message about our environment) This acting exercise always fails until someone stops fighting to be heard and changes the tactic to listening.  And so I began to listen.

I was reminded that listening is more than hearing words; it is about hearing the tone, the inflection, the pace - it is seeing the body language and following the flow of the speech.  It is about engaging someone's eyes and looking into their soul as they share their story. As all this came to me, as I took in every foreign word I began to understand passion, hurt, love, joy and an on going myriad of emotions from these wonderful people answering questions I knew nothing about.  All of a sudden I was awake and engaged, all of a sudden the interviewees became people rather than talking heads.  It was such a rewarding experience to sit and be the eye line for these people.  I had the chance to observe people tell some of the things that move their souls and although I do not know the details I know they were moved and in turn so was I.

So looking back on this I am reminded that as an actor if I listen, to everything my fellow actor tells me,  as they say that monologue for the millionth time, and if they listen to me, then we will engage, and there will be energy and flow and the play wrights words will come to life and so will the audience.

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN

DO!

In the immortal words of Master Yoda

"No! Try not! Do or do not. There is no try." (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

More to read in the coming days.