Practice, Train, Perform

Here's an embarrassing but true fact: circa 2014, I had a pre-audition / rehearsal / performance routine that included blaring (and sometimes belting) the OG Pokémon theme song. The first line in particular – "I wanna be the very best like no one ever was" – would get me ready for show time. 

While my intentions were good, I've since learnt that setting out to be "the very best" every audition, rehearsal, and performance was a sub-optimal strategy. In fact, I could have moved closer to becoming "the very best" by approaching each context with greater nuance – something that sport science's "practice, training, competition" framework has subsequently helped me to do. 

Teasing them apart 

Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start) and unpack what the hell this "practice, training, competition" framework is. 

In the sporting world, practice is characterised by: 

• Light loads. 
• A focus on improving movement and mechanics. 
• Not mimicking performance conditions. 
• A controlled environment. 

In the acting world, practice could mean working script-beat-by-script-beat, solo, at half speed, paying singular attention to nailing the intentions behind our lines or ingraining complex blocking. 

Training, on the other hand, looks like: 

• Heavy loads. 
• A focus on improving strength and consistency. 
• Starts to mimic performance conditions. 
• A controlled environment. 

As actor homies, this might see us running a scene with a scene partner, working toward real-time speed while consciously ensuring spontaneity / specificity / safety, etc., aren't flying out the window. 

And finally, competition. Competition equals: 

• Best effort. 
• An exclusive focus on performance. 
• Performance conditions (obvs). 
• An uncontrollable environment. 

For our purposes, we'll refer to "competition" as "performance". These are the moments when we're on stage or in front of the camera fo' real. Show time, in essence. 

Putting them together 

With some definitions in place, let's now look at how this framework can help us. 

TL;DR version: We can get more bang for our practice / training buck by determining which mode will serve us best in every formal rehearsal or at-home rep and hyper-intentionally embodying that mode while there. 

This is significant because, typically, in both formal rehearsals and our reps at home, the default mode is performance mode. Which may sound like a good idea, but the better idea is to reserve performance mode solely for performance time. 

Paradoxically, the least gains come from performance mode – development and growth lie in practice and training. But, when we think about it, this kinda does make sense. Constant performance mode is unsustainable, and the outcome-focus of show time means we often take shortcuts that are okay on occasion but can hinder our progress in the long-term. 

In sum, fulfilling our full potential as actors means investing more in practice and training and saving performance for performance. A counterintuitive approach, yes, but a successful one all the same. 

If you've jammed with the Dojo for some time, you'll know that the awareness-intention-action cycle underpins a shed-tonne of what we do and share here. The practice, train, perform framework is a new A-I-A cycle for you to consider, and this article can provide the first "A".

The rest – as always – is up to you. However, it's likely that, as a Dojo friend, you'd like to get the most from your formal rehearsal or personal rep time. If so, you may want to approach these moments with intention (i.e., decide which mode you'll be operating in) and take action accordingly (i.e., practice when you say you're going to practice; train when you say you're going to train). In doing so, you may find yourself realising more and more of your full potential – becoming an actor "like no one ever was".

Thoughts / feedback / challenges? We'd genuinely love to hear.

Need some 1-On-1 attention? Book your coaching session today.