Competition [in a scene] is healthy. Competition is life. Yet most actors refuse to acknowledge this. They don't want to compete. They want to get along. And they are therefore not first-rate actors.
Michael ShurtleffTake nothing for granted. Make an emotional discovery as often as you can find one in every scene. Ask yourself: What is new?
Michael ShurtleffAn actor is looking for conflict. Conflict is what creates drama. We are taught to avoid trouble [so] actors don't realize they must go looking for it. Plays are written about...the extraordinary, the unusual, the climaxes. The more conflict actors find, the more interesting the performance.
Michael ShurtleffIf we lived for reality, we'd be dead, every last one of us. Only dreams keep us going.
Michael Shurtleff