Feedback Loops

Hey Friend,

Every now and then I take my students out into the field to
practice. That's right we keep it real. Training inside a
studio with scripted lines is not going to make you a great
actor.

In ancient times (not primitive times) our ancestors would
practice the art of acting in front of a live audience. No, not
in a theater setting, but right to groups of folks. There were
no scripts or monologues. This type of work is hard core but it
makes you good really fast. Why? Because it creates a feedback loop.
When you do 100 cold approaches you start to see patterns. When you
start to see patterns you learn very quickly what works and what
doesn't work. That's when calibration kicks in.

Feedback loops don't come from rehearsing in a studio with a
coach using scripted lines. Why? Well grass hopper let me school
ya on how the mind or as our ancestors called it, "spirit" works.
Your mind functions in components. When you walk up to a group
of three people and come up with something on the spot you are
forced to use the creative centers of your mind. This jump starts
the right hemisphere of the brain which probably has been asleep
with all the scripted left brain junk you are forced to recite.

Now when you perform in front of that group you, through a
process known as calibration, start to adjust to what works
and what doesn't work. This is because you are seeing the
results in front of a live audience and not a coach sitting
back giving you his or her misadvice. See, when
you look at whole groups to gage their reactions the patterns
emerge. And when you can instantly adjust to patterns that
create positive emotional reactions guess what? You not only
learn how to manipulate and invoke the right emotions, but you
also eliminate any fears or anxiety that you may have had.
Great huh?

So the bottom line is acting as it was originally meant to be
was an interactive experience. Through the Greek and Roman
civilizations it became a left brained process putting it in a
box and thus destroying the key element to success which was
the feedback loop.

What this boils down to is making yourself into a great
actor. In order to do that you are going to have to take the
unconventional approach. One that might lead you down a road of
success! Take care

Sincerely,
Ronald K. Armstrong