Listening and Reacting (Josh Logan)

"I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." -Socrates
For me it's the same. These are my unfinished theories and current philosophy. Take them or leave them.

My first draft of this blog was long and dealt with several ideas about listening and reacting. I realized I could write twenty papers from various viewpoints on the same topic. This blog will deal with how I feel the two relate and rely on one another.




Think about listening and reacting like a ying yang sign. Ying being the listening and yang being the reaction. They need each other. First you listened to what is being said. Really listened. If your scene partner delivers a line than it is your duty to react to it. They've just given you a gift by simply saying something to you. Give them a gift in return by reacting to that line, not something else but their words. What is a reaction? Reactions can be verbal or non-verbal. If my line was "Screw the newspaper!" and you just stood there than you are not reacting. If you were to hear that same line and say "What! The newspaper! Screw the newspaper? No sir!" than you have successfully reacted to my line. This dude obviously doesn't feel the same way about the newspaper. Now there are countless things you could have chosen in place of that one. You could have chosen to gasp, which would get across the same point, or you could have agreed and had a similar view on that nasty 'ol bothersome newspaper. The point I'm trying to make is every line needs to be listened to (considered) and reacted to. There are huge reactions and tiny almost insignificant ones.

Let's move through a basic scene
"It's cold outside"

-If that's the initiating line than react to it-

"Oh no! I gotta go to the store. I should wear a jacket so I don't get a cold." (said with real concern for your well being)

-Here's where the ping pong starts. Now you can react to their reaction-

"Don't even joke about getting a cold. When I hear the word 'cold' I get chills up my spine."

-Just keep reacting to the last line-

"Cold! Cold! Cold!"

-I hope you get the point. I'm gonna see where this goes though-

"Stop! Stop! You're scaring me. What if I did get a cold? Ohhhhh. That'd be the pits"

"Yeah it would. Then we'd have to send you away to an island so you wouldn't infect anyone else."

"Nu uhhhh"

"Yeah huh. I knew this kid who disappeared after he got a cold. The teachers told me he died of pneumonia, but I know they sent him to an island."

Was that the best scene in the world? No. They didn't even have names or a location. But it was basic enough and it dealt with the last line said and they all had reactions. If you were wondering the characters names were Joe and Chris. Two brothers who live in North Olmsted, Ohio. Joe is 10 and Chris is 8. Why was Chris going to the store you ask being only 8yrs old. We'll never know.

In closing, react as much as possible and listen as hard as you can. React to everything even if it's a small one. If you find your self in a stale scene, just react to anything.