Alexandera Yetman

“One day, my acting coach John says, “Alexandera, I have homework for you.” I eagerly awaited, as I could see he had it all figured out. “I want you to enrol in the school of nothing.” John is a perplexing man at times. He likes to ask you questions, and just stare at you for an eternity while you writhe in your chair trying to figure out what the hell he’s getting at. He just sits there and says, “Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm,” in a variety of different tones until he finally puts you out of your misery, and sheds some light. Though once you get John, you realize he is magic. He has a profound understanding of the human condition. He explains that the school of nothing is actually not nothing, but it is really something. I must have looked utterly stunned, as he didn’t hesitate this time to clarify. He said he wanted me to take the scene, go home, read it once, determine what the situation of the scene is, then put the scene away. Do not look at it again until next class. I was terrified. How can I play the scene without memorizing the words and studying the beats? I think he was enjoying my terror, as he then added that he wanted me to do this for the next six months! I hesitantly agreed to his terms. Doing nothing was scary at first, but as time went on it became second nature. I began to really loose myself in the situations, and play in them truthfully. It reminded me of a Thomas Troward book I read, impressing that we should touch things lightly. By year end, I received an email from John telling me that I was finally on the right side of the river. He congratulated me for fighting the good fight, and winning. I printed it out, and it sits magnetized to my refrigerator to remind me what I am capable of.”

— Alexandera Yetman