This was an interesting little chapter on being still onstage and the effect that it can produce. I have had to do this before when playing a statue in the musical "All Shook Up." It takes patience and focus, as well as confindence. To be compeltely still and have no way to "hide" from he audience can be unnerving. You know they can stare you up and down for minutes at a time. It takes focus too because you must remain exactly as you started and you can't let your mind wander. Keeping the energy throughout your whole body while being immobile is a challenge too. I think the longest I've had to be still was probably 3 minutes at the most, but it is definitely hard.
On page 28 it says, "such a technique implies a prepared, breathing, concentrated actor, with clear intentions, permitting the action to be sustained in the inaction." That sums it up so beautifully for me.
Tableauxs are fun and can leave a cool lasting impresion on the audience. It can be a picture during someone's monologue that really sends the message home.
It's just interesting because we think of acting as action action action. But inaction can be very powerful too. (Like the dummies Matt mentioned in Major Barbara :D.)
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