“GOING THERE”
Planning to “go there” in a scene is often the very thing that keeps you from ever getting there. When you treat emotional intensity like a destination you’re required to reach, you replace live acting with preplanned results. The work isn’t about arriving at a specific feeling, it’s about staying responsive enough for something real to happen.
THERE IS NO “THERE” THERE
Actors put a huge amount of pressure on themselves around big moments.
I’m a Broadway acting coach, and I watch people fixate on this idea that they have to cry, scream, or break down in a very specific way to “get it right.”
But what is “there,” exactly?
There is no fixed destination. The moment you decide that the scene only works if you hit a particular emotional beat, you’ve already left the present moment.
STOP RECREATING YOUR LAST PERFORMANCE
A common trap is trying to recreate something that worked before.
You think, “Last time I sobbed on this line, so I need to get back to that exact sob.”
Now you’re not acting. You’re doing an impression of your past self. You’re not pursuing truth. You’re chasing a screenshot.
CHASING EMOTION BLOCKS EMOTION
The more you try to force an emotional result, the less accessible it becomes.
Emotion is a byproduct, not a target.
When you chase it directly, you tighten, you control, and you cut yourself off from the very conditions that allow it to happen.
RIDE THE MOMENT YOU’RE IN
The job is not to arrive at a preplanned meltdown. The job is to stay open to what is happening right now.
Keep breathing. Listen to your scene partner. Let the moment affect you in real time.
Every run of the scene is different because you are different in it.
LET THE MOMENT CHANGE
If you stay present, something new can happen. A different reaction. A different shift. A different level of intensity.
That “new there” belongs to this run, not to a version of the scene you’re trying to replicate.
That’s where the work stays alive.
ASK A BETTER QUESTION
Instead of asking, “How do I get there?” ask something more useful.
What is true right now? What is happening with this partner, on this line, in this moment?
Those questions keep you engaged with the work instead of fixated on an outcome.
🥜 IN A NUTSHELL
There is no emotional finish line. The moment you chase a result, you lose the present. Stay in what’s happening now, and let the moment take you where it actually goes.
