Distractions...

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Distractions are all over the place…even as I write this my eye is being constantly drawn to the sights of other people in the café I’m sat in, the sound of other people’s conversations.  In some ways distractions are good…they keep us entertained, they provide unexpected inspiration…they can make us feel like we belong, that we have allies…that we’re connected to more of our world…which is good as there is no escape from them…facebook, tumblr, twitter etc etc etc mean that we can be equally as distracted in an empty room as I’m being now.

However these distractions demand a price and that price becomes infinitely greater the minute there is something that needs doing…and greater again when there is a time constraint on that something being done, like thinking about a character for example or sorting out and finding costume or dare I say it…learning lines…

Far be it from me to dictate what people do in their spare time…once you walk out of the rehearsal room I am aware I have no jurisdiction at all…however there is a self awareness thing that needs to kick in, especially for those that are working their way up the Yew Tree hierarchy and especially those that have committed to Connections, our most demanding project. 

The equation is really very simple…if you spend enough time on lines, both finding a strategy that works for you and employing it…then in rehearsals you can concentrate on character and relationships and interactions and intention…if you reflect on the discoveries that have gone before then you can build on that in the rehearsal room.  If you spend some time before the rehearsal sorting out costume and props then you’re going to have everything you need…the result…rehearsals are a pleasure…creative, challenging, rewarding times with other people as committed and brilliant as yourself.

I’m imagining the quiet resentment or even indignant outrage of those of you reading this that might think it is aimed at you…all the excuses about how you don’t have any time and I’m genuinely sympathetic…you’re all busy, vibrant people with lots to do…you know however that I am your biggest fan and that applies to all of you…my question to you is only this…how much that fills your time is chosen consciously and how much of it is just being pointlessly absorbed by the distractions that surround you…

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