Imagine you’re on a film set, playing a role in a fantastic movie. The director sets the scene: “Approach the window because you sense something happening…” You have yourself, a partner or object to interact with, and nothing more.

Michael Chekhov often criticized the idea that imagination is artificial and that nothing will happen without “substitution” or “addition.” Indeed, you can use imagination as a starting point for your performance because you already have the director’s words “something happening” and the genre of the film—fantasy.

But the method goes much deeper than it seems at first glance. So…

Exercise One: From where you are, walk to the window. Consider this your “task.” Turn back and reflect on the state. Is nothing happening? No playfulness, no hints of it? That’s okay, it’s supposed to be like this 🙂

Exercise Two: Between you and the window, a very real third participant appears—Distance. I invite you to delve into Distance. What does Distance mean to you? What associations, symbols, images come to mind? Dive into the term without making anything up, just follow the word like a guide. Now, walk towards the window, taking into account your exploration of Distance. Take your time, enjoy the path that leads you to the window. Reflect now, what has changed? What new has appeared? What will I bring into the play?

Exercise Three: Now you know that there are three of you in the scene: you, the window, and Distance. Let’s “formulate” our exploration. Start with Neutrality, move consciously into Distance, and now there’s the window before you… Now, give yourself time for improvisation. I mean, listen to your body’s reaction to the path, to the window where something is happening. This impulse is honest, alive—it awakens the Character’s play. Your state has changed, the space feels different, new sensations have flooded you. Therefore, the game has begun!