When I’m directing a play, one of the central questions to answer for each character is what their “super-objective,” or ultimate goal, is. Do they want to win another character’s love? Receive forgiveness for a long-ago wrong? Avenge their father’s murder? Triumph over their nemesis?
Figuring that super-objective out is important because it charts the path for all the other choices. Each scene, each line, each beat, happens in relation to that goal. If you’re unsure about what’s missing in a scene, you can turn back to this work, and it helps bring the options into clearer focus.
I’ll give you an example. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s super-objective might be something like “to figure out his place in the world” (yes, Hamlet can be a coming-of-age story!) To accomplish this, he tests everyone around him: his best friend, his girlfriend, his mother, the people who surround him at the Danish court, himself. In each scene, he is trying to establish who he is and what meaning each relationship has. He learns something in each scene, and that moves the character forward.
If the actor isn’t clear about their super-objective, about what their character is really trying to accomplish, then the scenes feel like a grab-bag of interactions. There’s no through line of action and understanding. It’s boring and disjointed.
So! As people out here in the world, we can also home in on our super-objective, or our long-term intention. How do I want my colleagues to experience our relationship? What do I hope my clients think about working with me? And the big one: at the end of my life, what do I want my legacy to be?
Putting some words to these long-term intentions can help us navigate the short-term moments. If I know that I want my children to feel supported and empowered, then that helps me make a decision about what to do when they have a problem. My long-term intention for my clients is for them to trust me with their growth. Then if I’m tired and don’t feel like updating my client notes after a session, I remember the experience I want to create for them in the long run, and I can push through.
Happily, most of us aren’t going to grapple with the unusual circumstances Hamlet finds himself in. But we all have long-term objectives that we want to reach, legacies we want to leave, relationships we need to nurture. Naming our long-term intentions is a powerful way to chart our day-to-day path.
