The Late Night Show

Every night after we go to sleep we become the star of a major motion picture. Scene by scene we are literally drawn into a drama that surpasses any movie. In this movie, we’re the star. But unlike any other movie our whole mind, body and imagination is involved in such a way that our brain is convinced that it’s actually happening to us. No matter how bizarre the situation or the images, and when we wake up we may find ourselves still sweating from the fright, or still trying to escape some unknown entity that has been chasing us. We may find ourselves still haunted by the images or feelings for years, or in some cases, the rest of our life. So why not look at the dream as it is-- a movie. And in doing so, we can use the same techniques that actors use to understand the characters they play in solving our own dilemmas with our starring roles, “by Acting Your Dreams.”

Ben Tousey had his theatrical debut in the third grade where he played a snowman in his school play. Since that supporting role Ben has gone on to play some serious characters with heavy-hitters in the theatrical community. He has worked with Grant Goodeve from Eight is Enough, and Northern Exposure and Barry McGuire form the Broadway Musical “Hair” and the hit song “Eve of Destruction.” The one thing Ben loved more than acting was writing. He has written and directed quite extensively. His most successful directorial project was a highly successful musical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” which played to sold out audiences. Ben’s dreaming life has always been very active. Some dreams were so incredible that Ben had to understand them, so he studied Carl Jung, Anne Faraday, Gayle Delaney, Jeremy Taylor and others to get some insight into his own nocturnal dramas. Later, he studied and received his certification as an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Practitioner) under Rich Anrich. It was only natural, as he continued to write, act and dream that he would eventually combine these techniques to create this groundbreaking approach to understanding dreams.

Why Acting?

Modern day people love movies, which are the greatest phenomenon in storytelling in the history of mankind. How many of us have held our breath during a scary movie, so terrified that we could barely watch what was going to happen next? How many times have we jumped when something unexpected startled us or screamed even though we know it’s only a movie? How many times have we felt embarrassed for a character who found themselves in an awkward situation?

What about a really good drama? Sometimes, despite all our efforts otherwise, we find ourselves fighting back emotions and casually reaching toward our face to brush away a rogue tear before someone sees. Somehow through the course of the movie we became so attached to the characters and their story that we couldn't help ourselves.

For others, there's nothing like a good belly laugh, and there are movies that are great at tickling the funny bone. Sometimes a movie becomes a cult classic such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail. To this day, no matter where I am in the world, just about every other person I run into is able to quote the movie almost line by line.

There are so many genres of movie, as we all know; Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Documentary-- and the list goes on. All of these (the good ones at least) have one thing in common; we believe them-- or we believe their premise. Even if it starts out “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” we suspend our doubt and allow ourselves to believe and relate to what the actors on the screen are going through. That's what makes movies so powerful.

The actor knows how to create for us a character that is so compelling that, whether we like them or not, we can't help but believe them. It's that kind of persuasion that convinces us that an actor is staring at a huge space ship called the Death Star when in reality they're looking at a blue wall in which the Death Star will be added later in a special effects room. We believed that those castaways were running away from massive dinosaurs in Jurassic Park when they were only following a prescribed course. Those actors knew how to make us believe they were terrified when they were only running from an imagined creature in the director's mind.

Believe it or not, those actors go through a lot of work to make you and I believe that they are the persons they’re telling us they are. Each script involves a certain analyzation process that allows them to give life to that character. Some of those techniques are very complicated and others are simple.  And many of them are just plain fun.

Dreams are very much like movies and we are all actors in them. So what better way to learn to understand our dreams than to use some of those acting techniques to breathe life to our own characters? I won’t go through the major analyzation processes here because it’s not necessary. In this book all you need for your characterization are the more fun and creative techniques. So let's approach this other world, our own Hollywood where we are the stars, the directors, and the supporting cast, with the excitement of a real star. This will bring us to the place where we can fully glean the gifts that our dreams have to offer.