Carolime Time

Be Impeccable with Your Word

I’ve realized as a journalist and blogger that occasionally gets published and occasionally has readers, and as an actor that occasionally gets acting roles and occasionally takes classes, that it is important that I stay impeccable with my word. I came across this theory of being impeccable with my word during the class I’m taking with casting director Ron Leach, when I found my major weakness was memorization of words—something I’ve struggled with all my life, stumbling over Shakespeare and ruining countless *significant* auditions (i know, i know, all of them are significant.)

There are many ways to look at this theory of being “impeccable” with my word, the core of which is taken from the book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. Yes, it can be found in the self-help section and I did wear sunglasses when perusing this area of Indigo..

I look at it from the point of view of an actor learning and using their lines, I look at it from the point of view of a writer using a thesaurus, and interpreting it as a go-ahead with the thesaurus, while also seeing it as being a very CAREFUL writer–as I move forward and grow as a writer, I recognize habits I have, words I use more regularly than others, comparisons I make that might grow stale, things that were neat and interesting metaphors when I first began writing but now have to reconstruct or explore further because otherwise I am recycling things I have said before. I have to think more deftly in that I can’t use the same descriptions anymore, I need more adjectives, I keep reading and make notes of wise writing methods, both in non-fiction and fiction. I try to absorb them but don’t necessarily express them..Rather, I absorb them and hope I will use them somewhere along the way. So I think part of my maturation as a writer has come into play of late, in that I don’t feel silly checking the thesaurus and learning new ways to say things. Perhaps it is that Sylvia Plath admitted, no, rather stated shamelessly that she used a thesaurus in her writing…so, why not, mofos? I am becoming more impeccable with my word..And there’s no shame in pulling out a thesaurus.

Next step is improving my memorization techniques. Scripts are written so meticulously. They say it is a crime to mispronounce anything by Shakespeare onstage–not just because some people recite his words inside out, but because the writing is so careful and specific that to change a “the” to “an” or miss a line is to change the meaning completely. Casting directors will denounce reading from a script during an audition but also tut-tut and tsk-tsk at the off-book actor losing a line. Apparently, the best thing to do at the end of that scene is point out that you lost a line and suggest re-doing it correctly, at the very least to show that you’re off-book.

Of course, the agreement to “Be Impeccable With Your Word” is also talking about being impeccable with ones word in that we should be dependable, sincere, real and come through on our word…I have been trying to master these things but I think it will take a lifetime. I’ve never been able to say “sorry” and “i promise” or “i love you” without thinking about it before saying it. It was very difficult for me to stop making commitments creatively and socially…

This has not been such a breeze, as I am ever so greedy;)