It’s hard to allow yourself to open your heart to strangers. You think about being dressed as a comic book hero or an animated character or a dinosaur or a robot. It feels goofy to be serious about any of this. It feels better to wink and nod and make jokes about the whole situation.Continue reading “The Character And The Guest”
Tag Archives: Acting
Shakespeare For Today’s Actor
I’ve been working a lot with Shakespeare lately. Teaching, performing and writing about his plays. I realize now how much this training and performance experience adds to work with contemporary scripts and in working as an interactive character. Doing Shakespeare well means the actor is portraying a bigger than life character with unshakable commitment, believabilityContinue reading “Shakespeare For Today’s Actor”
“Yes, and…”
The Goal – Each guest becomes a unique, contributing partner in the word of our story. Every time a guest interacts with a character, their feeling of being a valued part of this new world grows deeper and fuller. They go on to explore their new environment, inspired, confident and emotionally connected to this imaginaryContinue reading ““Yes, and…””
Connections and Interactions Create Relationships
There are two kinds of performers in a theme park. Those who entertain and those who connect and interact. Two separate approaches to the work. Each one has it’s place – when applied in the right situation. I’m writing about working inside an immersive environment, one on one, with a visitor. Immersion in the storyContinue reading “Connections and Interactions Create Relationships”
The Why Part Three – Why Am I Asking Why?
Get the answer to The Why question and you will have the goal that your character is driven to accomplish. You will have Why your character is in this place, at this time. And Why the character does what they’re doing right now, at this very moment. You’ve got the heart of the character asContinue reading “The Why Part Three – Why Am I Asking Why?”
The Why Part Two – What to do with the stuff from Part One
In Part One, you learned what to look for when you dive into the source material. You got answers to very specific questions about your character. And the answers came directly from the IP. You now have the clues that will lead you to the treasure – knowing what makes your character tick. The WhyContinue reading “The Why Part Two – What to do with the stuff from Part One”
Where Is All This Leading?
Our work is all about characters and connections. I want you to be able to create a well-crafted, multi-faceted character. It can be out of an established intellectual property or an original concept. A character rich with relatable goals and values. One that visitors are emotionally attracted to. One that people will identifyContinue reading “Where Is All This Leading?”
Detective Work
You’ve been cast as an interactive character. Your job is to give life to an idea that was created by someone else. You have to prepare for training and rehearsals. How do you get ready? Step one: dig. Be a detective and find every fact you can about the character and the world they areContinue reading “Detective Work”
Developing Your Character
There is no question that as a performer you want to be consistent with the character. Your work is based on an intellectual property that has been established long before it got to you. You have to be true to that IP. You have to present it in a way everyone will recognize. You can’tContinue reading “Developing Your Character”
Paradigm Shift
Simply put, paradigms are the way you perceive things. A paradigm shift is a change in the way you look at things. In this work, it is the first critical step you must take to become an extraordinary interactive character. When you get a hired to perform – your perception is, naturally, that you areContinue reading “Paradigm Shift”
Interactive Characters 