On Relationship in Acting
Relationship refers to those aspects of behavior that define how we treat or respond (emotionally and physically) to others. It is obvious that how we treat our Mother would be vastly different than how we would respond to a policeman. (Or maybe not) Exploring all aspects of the characters's relationship to others in the scene, or referenced in the scene, should create additional interesting behavior to more fully define what’s taking place.
The human emotional and psychological condition, and all facets of, it is about as complex as it gets. All of the principles of “The Foundation” involve the use of our imagination, but applied through the specific lens of the respective basic principles, i.e. character, relationship, place, etc.,
We use our imagination through relationship to come up with interesting, human, physical behavior that tells the truth of the story we're telling. For instance...I'm in love with this person and fear losing her, so I hate her in this moment as well...or...I hate this person, but really, really want to fuck him right now...Or...I have to be really sweet to this woman to disarm her because I'm going to leave her tomorrow...or...I know this person is smarter than me, and can advise and help me, but I also just want to beat the hell out of them....or...I really love my husband, but I'm going to sleep with this loser anyway....Or...I fucking hate this son of a bitch, but I'm sooooo hot for him...
Note that all of those choices are extreme versions...I don't know how to play “like”...or “somewhat attracted”...or “Kind of”...the choice has to be strong to evoke the emotional condition that will be effective...
Let me also say, that virtually all scenes between men and women are about fucking...and the ones that aren't still contain the seeds for extreme emotion, love, hate, fear, loathing...something that will give you fuel for creating interesting physical behavior...
Your imagination focused through the prism of relationship is one of the main sources for an actor to create and tell a truthful, interesting story. If you do the work, you'll find that you will separate yourself from others that haven't. Some of the greatest performances in any medium have been created this way. I once worked with Louise Fletcher, who starred with Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” an Academy Award winner, and one of the best movies I've ever seen. Fletcher told me that they worked their relationship in the film as a seduction. If you see this film, and see their relationship, you'll be shocked at that choice, and how it resulted in one of the most incredible performances in film. It's one of the finest examples of relationship choices creating interesting, human, physical behavior ever. A benchmark for imagination focused through a specific area creating something “out of the box”.
Remember this is fundamental. If you don't make a choice, you make a choice, and it will most likely be much less effective than if you'd have done your work. The Foundation is about giving you a reliable, solid, learnable, masterable, workable process that, once learned, and absorbed as your “reactive” skill, will make you a formidable actor, capable and confident in your approach to auditions, and performance. In other words, a working actor.