Between ACTION and CUT


Between Action and Cut

The set is always half-built,
props recast by time,
and someone keeps adjusting the light,
so even our cracks can pass for character.

We wait for our cue,
face powdered with borrowed courage,
rehearsing lines we wrote,
believing someone, somewhere, was listening.

The Director never speaks directly—
just a nod, a silence,
and we guess what the scene demands.
Sometimes we overact,
sometimes we forget our lines,
and sometimes the camera keeps rolling
even after we think it’s done.

There are retakes, of course—
not of the same moment,
but of the same mistake
with better lighting.

We find our marks,
trust the tape beneath our feet;
face the camera, hit the cue,
even when the scene’s not in our bones.

Between Action and Cut
is where everything real happens—
the tremor in the voice,
the glance the script forgot,
the truth that slipped through
before editing began.

Some scenes never make it to the final reel.
Some faces blur in post-production,
some memories too.
But once in a while,
the light falls just right—
and even the extras look like meaning.

We spend our lives in long shots,
trying to get the focus right,
waiting for someone to say,
“Hold that frame—this is the one.”

Until the day the clapboard closes softly,
and the credits roll through everything we meant to say—
all the dialogues that never made it to sound,
the lives we improvised

between Action and Cut. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 9, 2025 at 8:05 AM

    Very profound. Yes. It happens between “ Action and Cut”. We learn before and after that as well! Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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