When he was interviewed by Conan O’Brien, John Krasinski (also known as Jim from the Emmy award-winning show The Office), talked about a pivotal moment in his acting career.
He was feeling nervous about a particular scene he was doing on The Office, when the showrunner, Greg Daniels, came up to him and asked if he was ok.
John said, “Oh no, this is my favourite joke in the script, I want to make sure I deliver it funny.” Greg replied, “You don’t deliver anything funny. You deliver it truthfully and it’s up to them out there in TV land if they think it’s funny or not.”
**
Twice a year, my wife and children perform on stage.
They each have their own shows, and their performances are part of Pop Nation Canada.
Each show is easily a highlight of my year. As a husband, a dad, and a fan.
Besides the singing (which is incredible) and dancing (which is equally incredible), there is one thing I get excited to see in every Pop Nation show.
Facial expressions.
There are often quite a range of facial expressions in a show.
Some performers might give you nothing. Deadpan, while singing Lady Gaga.
Some might have the same expression regardless of what they’re singing. Almost like a forced expression, because they feel they should express something.
My favourite performers to watch are the ones whose faces express the truth.
One of my favourite performances from last season, was Pop Nation’s version of Zombie by The Cranberries.
Zombie is quite a tragic song. It’s about bomb attacks that took place in the early 90s in Northern Ireland and specifically the child victims of those attacks.
To sing that song truthfully, your face would have to be full of angst.
The reason it was one of my favourite performances was because many of the performers delivered this angst truthfully. It looked viscerally painful for them to sing, which is exactly how it should be.
**
The truth can be easy to obscure and hard to face.
At the same time, it can also be piercingly revealing.
In her wonderful book, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott writes:
“You don’t even have to know how or in what way, but if you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save, they just stand there shining.”
Like a lighthouse, the job of the truth is to wait. To be itself and wait.
Our job is to receive it, and whenever possible, have the courage to deliver it.
