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Embracing Discomfort

by Mario A. Campanaro

Embracing Discomfort

by Mario A. Campanaro

As actors, we must learn to be OK with allowing our instrument to experience discomfort. We cannot shy away from it, for it is that very discomfort that holds the key to fulfilling the most complex realities of life’s circumstances. Our discomfort is pregnant with the substance needed to be utilized in our work. It is through our instrument that we become the vessel to express the most complicated and even the most inexplicable private essence of the human condition in a very public way.

In order to do this, we must strive to make our history, our inner life, and our world within those circumstances so vast, so full, so specific, and so rich that they stimulate and maintain all of our attention. This allows us to take the risk to uninhibitedly pursue our needs, moment to unknown moment, with the true nature of action that exists and is necessary within the world of the text. To help us on this journey, we may need to utilize specific tools—tools that allow our inner world to fill and experience those circumstances fully, so we can actively live them with a truthful, raw, authentic, and unpredictable life force.

It is through these tools, using our own personal experiential vocabulary and imagination, and the marriage of the two, along with our willingness and courage, that we stimulate our inner world. This allows us to truly experience and believe in the most complex circumstances so that we can live them authentically and in service of our work. But we must continue to exercise our craft, even in these unprecedented times. We must not get discouraged, and we must not give up. The obstacles we face and the stakes they heighten must fuel the energy and intention we put forth when it comes to our active pursuit of our life’s objectives.

If we spend all of our energy allowing our obstacles to become excuses for why we can’t, we simply won’t give our life’s objectives the energy they need and deserve. Let not fear, doubt, or uncertainty rob us of the very thing we love. Instead, let them fuel the flames of our passion to adapt, adjust, find a way, and overcome. Allow the passion in your heart and the fire in your belly to be the fuel that keeps you moving forward, despite everything “out there” that may attempt to keep you from persevering.

You are more powerful than you have been led to believe, dear artists. You are essential. The only way to lose sight of the dream is by giving up on it. So don’t give up! Continue to invest the necessary sweat equity into what you want to make happen for yourself. Remember, we get what we put into the dream, and the universe undeniably meets us where we are and responds accordingly. So persevere, dear artists. Stay safe, stay mindful, stay creative, stay on purpose, and stay on the path of the dream.