Years ago, I took Meisner level 4 at Act One Studios in Chicago with Ted Hoerl. Ted assigned me the role of Biff in Arthur Miller’s classic, Death of a Salesman. It’s the second scene just after Biff returns home and he and Happy reminisce about days long past and discuss their current state of affairs. It’s a rough one. After several weeks of reworking the scene and digging into the specifics, Ted said it was one of the best performances of that scene he’d ever seen. Ted also said I had the opportunity to be a working actor. Sometimes it takes one person to tell you the thing you want to hear to slingshot you into a deeper sense of action and purpose. I’ve been sprinting toward that goal ever since.
I started AdlerImprov’s On Camera Scene Study class this past Tuesday night. I asked Rob for a scene recommendation. Death of a Salesman. Same scene. And I can already tell I’m going to give a richer, deeper performance because of my life experience. Happy to be playing Biff again. And excited to watch the AdlerImprov community deliver the goods and share in the experience.