Introduction
I am therefore I act'

We live by acting roles, be it father, mother, teacher or friend. We construct our sense of self by playing roles we see our parents play and develop our identities further by copying characters we see played by elder brothers, sisters, friends, rivals, teachers, enemies or heroes.

A baby is born not only with an expectation of 'mother' and 'language', but also with an anticipation of 'acting'; the child is genetically prepared to copy behaviours that it will witness. The first theatrical performance a baby enjoys is when its mother acts out appearing and disappearing behind a pillow. 'Now you see me; now you don't!' The baby gurgles away, learning that this most tragic event, separation from the mother, might be prepared for and dealt with comically, theatrically. The baby learns to laugh at a potentially appalling separation, because this time, it isn't real. Mummy reappears and laughs — this time, at least. After a while the child will learn to be the performer, with the parent as audience, playing peek-a-boo behind the sofa; and eventually the game will evolve into the more sophisticated 'hide and seek', with multiple performers, and even a winner. Eating, walking, talking, all are developed by copying and applause. Whatever human instinct is latent, it only reaches virtuosity after acute observation, repetition and performance. You cannot teach children how to act out situations, precisely because they already do — they wouldn't be human if they didn't. 'I copy my father eating his toast. I copy my mother reading the paper.' Acting is a reflex, a mechanism for development and survival. This primitive instinct to act is the basis of what is meant by 'acting' in this book. It isn't 'second nature', it is 'first nature' and so cannot be taught like chemistry or scuba diving. So, if acting in itself cannot be taught, how can we develop or train our ability to act?