Stop Blaming the Script ~ What happens when “This doesn’t make sense” becomes an excuse to stop doing the work.

I hear it all the time.

Not just on set, but in auditions, in class, in scene work—some version of, “This doesn’t make sense.”

Sometimes it’s about a line. Sometimes it’s about a character’s choice. Sometimes an actor simply doesn’t understand why the scene is going in the direction it’s going.

And sometimes “This doesn’t make sense” is what we say when the truth is, “I don’t know how to make this work yet.”

I see actors get stuck there all the time. They read something that feels unfamiliar or uncomfortable, and instead of getting curious about it, they start judging it. They question the writer. They question the character. They question the scene.

And once they’ve decided the material is the problem, they’ve given themselves permission to stop looking.

And that’s concerning.

Because acting is not about being handed material that immediately makes perfect sense to you. If it were, there wouldn’t be much craft involved.

Your job is to find the way in.

When an actor tells me a scene doesn’t make sense, I want them to get specific. What exactly isn’t making sense to you? What are you struggling to understand? What are you assuming about the character? What happened before this moment? What are you not seeing yet?

And this is especially important when you’re auditioning. You may have only a few pages, very little context, and almost no time to prepare. It can be tempting to decide that a character's behavior is strange or that a line feels unnatural.

Instead of rejecting it, get curious about it.

Oftentimes the thing that feels wrong to you is actually giving you information about the character that you haven’t discovered yet?

Coach with Lisina

I talk about this in my book, Do The Thing You Can’t Take Back, in the chapter “This Doesn’t Make Sense” — When the Actor Gets Stuck. It’s something I’ve encountered so often in my work with actors that I felt the need to address what can happen when we use the script as an excuse to stop investigating.

Because there’s a difference between recognizing that you have a question about the material and deciding the material is wrong.

One keeps you working.

The other lets you off the hook.

So the next time you find yourself thinking, “This doesn’t make sense,” try replacing it with something more useful:

“I’m not seeing it yet.”

That gives you somewhere to go.

You don't have to know immediately. You don't even have to understand it on the first read.

But you do have to stay curious.

Because sometimes the thing standing between you and the truth of the scene isn't the script.

It’s the decision you’ve already made about it.

Work with me in person in Atlanta this November!

Or online in October and December!

Or privately on a personal schedule.