You must fail in order to succeed, and you are expected to fail.

A lot.

One of the greatest challenges that will arise as you bravely undertake this journey through graduate school will be conquering your personal fear. For most of us that fear is oftentimes a well-hidden fear of failure. In one respect, this fear of failure can be a positive force – fueling ambition and drive. However, many times it can severely block us from tapping into our potential.

All of you have succeeded in auditioning for the program. There is a feeling of accomplishment in being selected on the basis of talent and work that you have previously accomplished, and to be offered assistance as a result. (And not only in the form of assistantships directly from the university…interesting side note – tuition only pays for somewhere between 25 and 33% of the cost of education – the taxpayers pick up the rest of the bill). But this well-deserved satisfaction may immediately cause us to ‘size each other up’, to become less enthusiastic about volunteering in class, or trying new exercises or ideas – for fear of being found ‘not as good’ as other actors around us. This is the death that Lecoq refers to in the quote above.

Perhaps even worse is the justification that compliments and kudos have been heaped upon you in the environment you have previously worked/studied and you therefore don’t need to experiment or expand your ability (or shouldn’t tinker with the process you may have begun to develop). Therefore there is great resistance to attempting anything new or different. The problem is that under those constraints, there can be no growth or development.

The actor / artist is always developing and seeking to exceed the audience’s expectation. He/she is daring and inquisitive and relishes the state of discovery. Even when the work is challenging and mastery takes time.

This concept is particularly important, because no element of our being and doing is so personal and at the same time taken for granted as our physicality. We may at one time or another feel awkward about our opinions or behaviors, but we find ways to ‘fit in’ with either certain groups – adapting physical behaviors that may not be genuine or organic. We can fool ourselves into believing that these physical habits are ‘natural’, when the truth is that they are reactions to a wide variety of elements in our environment that can create a mask that we do not ‘shake’ when attempting to create unique characters.

Returning to the idea of understanding that failure is a part of the process of growth – there is a difference between exploring and daringly attempting to such a degree that sometimes you will naturally fail – and simply not putting forth effort or shutting yourself off. The second instance is not really failure as much as non-participation. The latter situation can also lead you to ‘pre-analyzing’ an exercise and determining that it ‘doesn’t work for me’. The fact is that you cannot assess an exercise (determine whether it ‘works’) until you have thoroughly explored its implementation (figured out HOW it works). It is a strong focus and fearless passion that marks the actor who continues to develop, and whose career is both ‘fed’ and fruitful. It is this focus that we encourage as you continue your graduate career.

CWithout failure

there is no movement.

Death follows.

Jacques Lecoq