Try being someone else

Here is an exercise I love to do to let go of my fear of lack of truth in my characterizations.


Listen to talk radio and imitate the caller as soon as you hear them.  I don't mean after the show is done, I mean live on the call.  If the caller says, "I think so and so is an idiot", I want you to say it to yourself outloud as if you are the caller, and yes IMITATE the caller, (woe to all ye method actors....) Imitate the tone, attitude, everything and anything that sticks out to you. You see, that is a real person on that call.  You can do the same on a newscast but that's more edited.  


In class and with two other students, improvise the same exercise, one is the caller, the other the radio show host, the third the actor.  Pick a subject and go!  You can also have four or five students being callers, your job is to imitate them.  I like doing the exercise with live radio to avoid actors, well being actors, but its a great stage warm-up or exercise nonetheless.  It also works watching movies.  I hate to tell you what you will discover, but here it is, you can never imitate no matter how hard you try, because it is always you.  Roll that and smoke it.


Mind you, I am not speaking of becoming mime or impersonators.