I have come to enjoy the weekend reflect-on-the-week time that I have settled into (both weekends of
our class time now). This has been a time to really connect the
themes of the week with the readings in a broader way. Last Saturday
I wrote about form and the importance thereof in preparing and
presenting a story.
This Saturday, I turn from form to
presence. Presence is a word that we have used since our first day of
class. It is important enough that Anna Deavere Smith devoted three
chapters of Letters to a Young Artist
to it. I read all of three chapters on it and Smith calls it her
“favorite subject” (11), but I found something that will be of
use to me in storytelling and in my career.
In my
vocation, presence is a buzzword. How is so-and-so's liturgical
presence? Can he or she fill the space? These are questions that I
have heard more than I care to admit. I was struck by Smith's answer
to the question of presence in a way that will inform my life's work
going forward. Smith writes: “Presence can be magical. It can
delight the people around you. Think of when you were a kid, and you
had a favorite friend, or favorite relative – something enchanted
you – presence is enchanting.
And it does not always have to do with what a person actually
is. It is what you wish
they were. ” (17).
Gold. Just gold.
-Bob
So. good.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice she started and ended the book with a letter on presence. After reading her book, I began reading a book she mentioned "The Presence of the Actor" by Joseph Chaikin. I have it with me but have not had a chance to read any more of it these last couple weeks, if you want to borrow it this week - let me know. What I've read so far is great. It's a quality that fascinates me.
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