THE BIG GAME

Even though the actors have read the script... the characters have no idea how the story will end.

I didn’t watch the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa.

Instead I went for a long walk around the neighborhood and over the hill. I thought, maybe I could intuit the direction of the game from the people, sights and sounds around me?

It was only going to go one of two ways. Either the All Blacks would win. Or lose. But for that 80 minutes, while the game was in play the ending was completely unknown.

THE GOAL

And this is our goal (excuse the pun) as actors and directors! This unknowingness is exactly the illusion we want to create in theatre and on screen. This state of not-knowing is how we excite the audience about the outcome of the story. Embrace that mystery. Don't fall into the trap of pre-empting the ending.

Even though the actors have read the script...
The characters have no idea how the story will end.

As I walked I was reminded of the famous experiment Schrödinger's Cat.

SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT

In Erwin Schrödinger's thought-experiment, a hypothetical cat is con…