Page 5 of Method Acting

It was an opportunity to push my limits and to explore acting as a craft.

This was what I told myself.

Was I convinced?

The jury was still out.

“So,” Deirdre said as she waltzed back into the room. “How are we feeling? Excited?”

We all kind of said yes, but not with the enthusiasm she was after, clearly.

“Well, look alive,” she said. “Preproduction is two weeks. That means you’ve got two weeks to get to know your on-screen partner. Get acquainted, become familiar. Partner off and pretend it’s your first date—ask each other fifty questions.”

Well, that I could do.

“Because,” Deirdre added with her trademark grin, “tomorrow begins the workshops where we’ll get a whole lot more familiar with each other, if you know what I mean. There will be intimacy exercises in touching, holding hands, cuddling, and kissing exercises. You know the drill. So go,” she said, shooing us out. “Go on your first dates.”

Chapter Three

Chase

Yikes.

Yikes with a capital Y.

Why indeed.

Why did this feel different?

Why did I ever agree to this? Why did I ever sign up for acting in the first place?

Why was I so damned nervous?

It was just acting. And if there was one thing I could do, it was act.

So, with a resolve I didn’t quite rightly feel, I stood up. “Come on, boyfriend of one year,” I said to Amos. “Let’s go get acquainted.”

Amos straightened his folder, picked it up, and stood. He never said anything—he rarely did—and he followed me to the far corner of the room.

I sat down with my back against the wall, legs outstretched, and he did the same beside me.

There was a good foot between us, and while it wasn’t awkward, it wasn’t comfortable. He just wasn’t an open person. He had a hard exterior that wasn’t easy to break.

“You up for this?” I asked.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at his Chucks. “Sure. It’s just acting, right?”

“Right.”

“You work at the Bean Necessities, right? The coffee shop across the street? That’s where I’ve seen you.”

He nodded. “Yep.”

And he offered nothing more, so I figured I’d just dive straight into the deep end. “So, have you ever kissed a guy before?”

He frowned, though his pale cheeks flushed a little pink. “I have, yes.”

I nodded slowly. “You’re gay, right? Is that what I heard?”

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