To be or not to be...

No, this post isn't about Shakespeare, it's about acting!

If you've read my blog for a while, you'll note that I often talk about intention. To me, there's very little difference between intention and ki, until you get into philosophical areas...which I will not!

As a performer, intention is what's behind projection, presence, and spirit. These are those intangibles which draw your eye to a performer, whether it's a martial artist, dancer, taiko player, etc. However, both ends of the spectrum catch our eye, whether it's the performer exuding confidence or the one without energy, creating a "dead spot" on stage. So how do you generate intention?

For martial artists, I've yet to see someone doing a kata while smiling, because the idea is that you are simulating stylized combat. Even if you're not all that experienced, you know that the mindset is more serious than joyful, and your energy should reflect it on your face and body language. Still, it's easy to spot those who are going through the motions and those who are "involved in combat" as I put it. The difference is in acting, although I don't hear people referring to it as such. I'm not punching the air, I'm knocking someone out. I'm not blocking for the sake of blocking, I'm breaking someone's arm. It's a mindset that I enter; a role that I put on. In other words, I'm acting! If I don't have that mindset, then my techniques will look weaker and most likely be weaker, as well.

For taiko players, you may have more than one mood of song that you play, so you have to be able to distinguish what kind of energy you want to project. How do you switch between "happy" in one song, to "stoic" in the next, to "mischievous" after that? The answer is simple, really: be happy, stoic, or mischievous! The hard part is doing it convincingly, to the audience as well as yourself. Some moods are harder than others, especially if it's one you're not familiar with (imagine a song that required you to be "ethereal"!) Part of doing this well is in wanting to be a better performer. We spend countless hours learning how to strike well, how to stay together as a group, even how to move the drums around on stage, but we rarely practice our visage. I would often get comments in SJT that I needed to show "more intention" in my face. Ok, but how? A furrowed brow just makes me look angry, and if I tilt my head just wrong, I look...well, angrier. So what do I do? Hell, I'm still working on that.

But what helps is really trying to get into that role, and not letting any feelings of awkwardness stop me. It's really easy to laugh when we feel uncomfortable; it's a defense mechanism. Try getting a few feet away from a mirror and holding faces for a long time without chuckling. Try to be "intense" for 2 minutes without flinching away from your reflection - can you? If not, how can you do it on stage while drumming and moving and listening and...you get my point, right?

I'm no expert on intention or acting as a performer, but I feel comfortable doing it. When people ask me, "how do you get confidence on stage?", I answer, "fake it at first." It's not easy, no, but imagine what a confident person looks like when they play. How would you mimic that? In time, you may find that you're doing less mimicry and more of your own expression. Another thing I do, especially during solos, is own that spot. For those short moments, I want to express myself, do justice to the composer, and entertain the audience, all while keeping in tempo and mood. Again, if that sounds daunting, try faking it and see if you can't use that facade as a useful training tool!

I've seen people with moderate ability "sell it" extremely well, but I've also seen those with talent hide it unintentionally. Whether it's appearing to be confident, trying to convey an emotion, or just not being a dead spot on stage, you have to take on a role - to act - in order to not only make the audience "believe" what you're projecting, but also for you to believe it as well. It's a skill that most of us have to work on. Don't give up!