PURSUIT & ENGAGEMENT

Clarity of Target, Responsiveness, Focus, and Active Connection

COMMON DEFICIENCIES

• Internalized acting
• Self-consciousness
• Lack of responsiveness
• Presentational acting
• "Watching yourself perform"
• Weak connection to scene partner, audience, or target

SUGGESTED TRAINING FOCUS

• Outward attention
• Active pursuit
• Listening and responsiveness
• Target work
• Presence and spontaneity
• Playing actions rather than emotions

HELPFUL EXERCISES

• Meisner repetition
  
• Eye-contact and listening exercises
  
• Target exercises
  
• Improvisation with obstacles
  
• Independent activity exercises
  
• Direct-address work
  

Combined Listening & Connection Class (35–40 Minutes)

1. One-Minute Eye Contact – 3 min
2. Count to Twenty – 5 min
3. Basic Repetition – 8 min
   
4. Target Exercise ("Make your partner smile") – 5 min
5. Independent Activity with Interruptions – 10 min
6. Direct-Address Monologue to One Listener – 8 min

The progression intentionally moves you through:
Presence → Listening → Observation → Influence → Relationship → Communication

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

• The Actor and the Target by Declan Donnellan
• The Actor's Art and Craft by William Esper & Damon DiMarco
• Impro by Keith Johnstone