The First Layer

I've been thinking about this all night, how on earth I managed to add so many layers to my acting without even trying, and I think I've figured out the answer. I think I've discovered the first key to my acting process. (And I think perhaps this is something more seasoned actors knew already, but no one ever taught me this, or if they did I just never understood it until now.)

The key is in the first layer, which for me is emotional honesty. When I think back to my audition last night or any of the scenes I've worked on in my classes, that has always been my primary focus and one of my strengths, bringing emotional honesty to my work. My monologue last night, the first performance before receiving direction, was simply the emotional honesty of the piece. No embellishments, no character really, just me being honest with the material. So, once I was directed to do something else with the monologue (such as talk to a baby while feeding it) even though I was using a completely different tone of voice, and a different action (connect with the baby) the honesty was still there, and that is what created so many different layers without my even trying.

And this is a tool I can use as I move forward (hopefully, if I've really got this figured out right). Understand and connect to the emotional honesty of the piece, then begin to add character, actions, etc. I've been aware for a while that I've been having difficulty finding the characters, and at times I would attempt unsuccessfully to create the character before fully understanding the emotional honesty of the piece. So I got in the habit of performing the honesty without character, and without a real understanding of how to move forward from there. Now I finally get it! If you have a real connection to the honesty, you can intentionally add another layer (or two?), and trust in yourself that there will be more layers and depth there than perhaps you are aware of.

Those of you who are more seasoned, what do you think? Am I on the right track?