A Trick of the Trade1

Over the years, I’ve had some pretty interesting acting teachers. Back in college, one of them took aside a couple of students one day after class and bestowed upon them the following words of “wisdom” (true story):

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret. A trick of the trade. When preparing to go on stage, if you feel your nerves beginning to take control, go off by yourself and shove your thumb up your ass. This will work for you in two ways. First, you’ll think to yourself, “Holy crap. I just shoved my thumb up my ass.” And you’ll shock yourself into focus. Second, if you start to break character at any point during the show, simply stick your thumb up to your nose and sniff it. And you’ll bring yourself back.”

So what’s the point of this story? Just spreading the love. And now you know: if you ever see me sniffing my thumb on stage, I’m probably in my head.

You’re welcome.

Dave Goss, Managing Director