Working With A Partner

<p>What happens when an actor really looks at the person they’re speaking to? This week, I use Edgar Degas’s painting <em>L’Absinthe</em> to help the class build a relationship with a partner. We begin with what we notice about the woman in the painting, then explore how those observations can become a personal attitude toward her—and an impulse to speak.</p><p>One actor’s response takes us somewhere unexpected. Along the way, we talk about giving ourselves room to explore, letting the partner affect us, and finding the difference between describing a relationship and experiencing one.</p>