Many years ago during a scene study class a teacher of mine stopped two of my classmates mid rehearsal. "Play either A, or play B. You can't do both. Make a choice!"
What he saw in the the performers was an attempt to straddle the fence. They had more than one interpretation of the scene and tried to split the difference by infusing the story with several points of view. I'd fallen in the same trap many times myself.
As I get older, my instructor's words seem even more poignant today. Whatever path we choose we must do so fully committed. There's little to be gained by constantly hedging our bets and looking for a chance to bail out at the first sign of trouble. Even if we discover a choice we made is the wrong one there's enormous value to be gained by making a decision and standing by it.
When we decide not to play A, or B fully and look for something in the middle, we end up with something vague and uninspiring. There's courage in vulnerability and lots to be gained by living boldly.
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