Twenty years ago, I was rehearsing for a one person show that I had written and was performing in a very small theatre in Portland, Oregon.
The audience was going to be very close, close enough that I was going to see everyone's face eyes. Yikes!
I wanted to practice what it would be like looking at a few people in the audience in their eyes, so I could have good eye contact. I wasn't going to try to look at everybody but just practice looking at a few people.
I thought to myself, how am I going to practice eye contact while staring at all these empty seats in this tiny theater?
Then I had an idea. At my next rehearsal, I brought a couple of stuffed animals. And I put them in the chairs. Some of them needed little risers, so I can see them their little beady eyes, and it made it so much easier to be able to look from eye to eye.
This guy I put in a chair thinking, “Here’s my grumpy audience member.” Not that I'm going to look at him that often. I'm going to keep my eyes on the friendly.
Using stuffed animals can be a great way to practice eye contact. These animals are also a great example of how to use props when you're trying to teach something. It's going to be hard for you to forget this lesson of looking in the stuffed animals beady eyes now that you've seen the prop.
What do you think? Ready to bring your teddy bear to your next rehearsal?