Every Scene needs to CHANGE!

I had an audition for a feature film and I was only given one page as my side. Nine times out of ten the roles I read for TV and film are either villains or hit man type of characters. So the role I was reading for the film "Tacoma" was again a killer.

As I prepared the scene, I started to lean on some old and bad habits like not doing any homework and not asking any questions, i.e What and WHY? Just razzling and dazzling what I think they want.

When I worked on the scene, I knew something didn't feel right. And as I taped myself and played it back, it started to pop out at me. NOTHING IS CHANGING in the scene. And the moment I started to ask the questions What and WHY? The scene started to get more depth, levels and the beats became clearer.

Plot line of the scene:
Laura is a driven real estate agent who lives and works with her mother. Her friend is brutally murdered ( by me ) in a short-sale scam gone bad. I am at the house of the girl I just killed when Laura comes over. And the WHY I crafted is that if this girls suspects that something is gong wrong, then I could lose everything I have worked so hard on. Like picking the house, picking the girl to kill,getting rid of the body and now trying to fudge all the papers so that it looks legit. And my boss is type of guy that will cut my fingers off so it is very clear that I need (WANT) this bitch to leave and keep her mouth shut now. It's life and death for me.

How do I do this? By charming her in the beginning (positive fight) then when she does not get the hint to leave and even starts to connect the dots, then I intimidate her and threaten her with malice.  This is the change in the scene!, and on camera, the scene came alive. I looked like someone so much more deseperate and much more threatening. 

When preparing a scene, ask yourself what needs to change in the scene then you immediately begin asking all the right questions like What, Why? and what would success look like for my character in this scene. 

Summary: Every scene does not end where it begins. Something must change!