What happens when an actor really looks at the person they’re speaking to? This week, I use Edgar Degas’s painting L’Absinthe to help the class build a relationship with a partner. We begin with what we notice about the woman in the painting, then explore how those observations can become a personal attitude toward her—and an impulse to speak.

One actor’s response takes us somewhere unexpected. Along the way, we talk about giving ourselves room to explore, letting the partner affect us, and finding the difference between describing a relationship and experiencing one.