One of the greatest challenges for a young actor to to capture a sense of vulnerability that can play out in front of a audience. This is no easy task – especially for a teenage actor who is by necessity putting up masks and barriers as fast as they can to protect their young ego. But without that sense of vulnerability – that ability to drop the mask and be real for just a moment – the actor has no hope of connecting with the audience. This is especially true when preparing a college audition of only two minutes or so. How do you get to real in ten seconds flat?Today we worked on a sharing exercise that led many to a feeling of vulnerability – at least they could see where vulnerability might live. I asked all in the class to bring in something of significance from last year that was now “standing in the way of their being authentic” and share it with the group. The class was most earnest about this exercise. They brought in pictures, gifts, souvenirs, journals, letters, etc. They talked about the significance it held in the past and the anchor it presented today. The actor was obviously able to control just what was said and how personal they wanted to get. Most dove right in. In a very safe supportive space they wrestled with vulnerability. I think this exercise did much more then I could have done in a lecture on the subject. I am eager to see how this informs their work as an actor.