Moments of Magic
Moments of Magic
Week Eight: Williamson Cabin Retreat
Happy Thursday! Welcome back to Acting Class Daily. Today we’re personalizing the work with a themed knicknack from this week’s class, a formative moment of magic … and, most importantly, Bauer’s chance to say hello.
Lloyd Williamson’s Cabin Retreat (NYU - 2001)
Towards the end of our time at NYU’s Meisner Studio, our graduating class scored an invitation to Lloyd Williamson’s retreat cabin in Upstate New York for a weekend of training, celebrating and relaxing.
During the retreat, each day began with the Williamson Warm-Up (no surprise there!).
The first morning was magical with all of us lying on wooden floors, in a room surrounded by wide windows, with natural light spilling into the space. When the work was finished, Lloyd had little pieces of fruit waiting by our side ready for us to taste.
Wow.
It wasn’t until that moment that I ever really tasted a strawberry!
The work removed the sleep-walking-automaticness of life and brought me to the unfiltered present … something I could then feel carrying over from my “touch-buds” to my tastebuds.
Later that day, we were given time to stroll along the grounds.
Everything was covered in snow.
I found myself lying on my back under a massive tree next to a frozen lake.
In that moment, I believe I was the most present I ever was.
From the sunlight, to the temperature on my skin, from the swoop of a bird’s wing, to the rustle of leaves.
Whatever existed … landed.
That taste remains my baseline to this day and a reminder of how much of life lives untasted in the world around me.
