The first acting strategy

Recently, an actor, friend of mine recounted a performance of his on stage in the West End of London. He described how, for a moment, he became aware of where he was performing, the history, the magnitude of it all. He snapped straight back into the performance. But, now he was thinking " did the audience notice" and "am I repeating the same line." He, of course,  continued on through, regardless of the doubt in his mind. He continued on through because the story had to be told: the show must go on.
The show must go on.
Ever since those words (some credit them to P T Barnum, others, Noel Coward) were uttered, they have become a dictum, a rallying cry to the performer. For, within those words can be found not just a simple instruction, but, a performance strategy. The show must go on : no matter what else occurs, it is your duty, in that moment, to draw strength and inspiration, to find it within yourself to rise above the circumstance, and tell the story.
Here endith the lesson. Here endith the first principal of performance : the first acting strategy.