The Stanislavski BREAKFAST DRINK

Method
Name: ________________________________

Date: ____________________ Period: ______

Objective
• Assess your progress with your relaxation efforts
• Assess your progress with your ability to concentrate
• Recreate the sensory experience of drinking a morning beverage (coffee, latte, tea, hot chocolate, juice, etc.).

Introduction
Experiences can be reawakened. Your body has the ability to remember and recreate sensations—sights,
sounds, smells, tastes, and touch sensations. As a performer your job is to “live through” imaginary
circumstances as fully as possible. On stage, you will be surrounded by set pieces, props, costumes, etc. It is
your job to breathe life into these items. The other actors surrounding you are peers, colleagues, friends. It is
your job to imbue them with the life of the character they are portraying.

Lee Strassberg, who lead the way in bringing Stanislavski’s Method to America, developed a series of sense
memory exercises to help actors train for their ultimate goal—recreating every single sensation in the course
of a play as they “live through” the life of the characters they portray onstage.

Preparation
You will need some privacy in your kitchen to complete this assignment. First begin by relaxing your body
and quieting your mind through the relaxation techniques we have learned in class. Take as much time as you
need. Prepare a beverage that you drink for or with breakfast. Slowly drink this drink very carefully
recording your observations.

Your beverage of choice: _______________________________

Observation Record
Your responses to the prompts below MUST be almost ridiculously specific. Use comparisons to accurately
conjure up the sensation (i.e., its texture is rough like fine sandpaper). Be specific about how the sensation
physically affects you; for example if it’s hot, describe how your heat affects your body (i.e., my ring finger has
the most contact with the heat as it rests directly on the mug; my pinky is the least affected as it is the furthest from the mug; I can
feel the heat in my nostrils—more so the left one.)

1) Look at the mug/glass.

2) Describe the color and design of the surface of the mug/glass: _____________________________

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3) Describe the size of the mug/glass: __________________________________________________

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4) Describe the shape of the mug/glass: _________________________________________________

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5) Touch the mug.

6) Describe the texture of the mug/glass: ________________________________________________

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7) Describe the temperature of the mug/glass: ____________________________________________

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8) Bring the mug/glass up to your lips.

9) Describe the temperature of the beverage: _____________________________________________

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10) Describe the smell of the beverage: __________________________________________________

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11) Drink the beverage.

12) Describe the temperature of the beverage: _____________________________________________

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13) Describe the taste of the beverage: ___________________________________________________

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The Exercise
Now, set the mug/glass aside. Spend at least 10 minutes relaxing in a chair—as you have been taught.
Repeat the process above without the mug/glass. You are not doing this exercise in order to learn to
pantomime. Work on reliving each of the specific sensations you recorded above. Do not move on to the
next step until you fully recreate each sensation fully and vividly and specifically.

Work on this several times for roughly ten-minute intervals.

You will be completing this exercise in class, and will be expected to have worked on this significantly at
home. You will be guided through each step, and you will be asked to recreate and describe each sensation.

Due Date: ________________________________

Reflection
Respond to the following prompts sincerely and with specific detail. Keep in mind that sense memory work
is intended to be a continual process. You are not learning your times tables; these are exercises not unlike
sit-ups or yoga. You continue to develop your ability with no end zone in sight. To achieve any kind of
success you must commit yourself to continually working on it.

1) How did you feel working on this exercise?

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2) Which specific sensations gave you the most trouble?

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3) What specific goals do you have for yourself as you continue to work?

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Assessment [for teacher use only]

PREPARATION 5 4 3 2 1
RELAXATION 5 4 3 2 1
CONCENTRATION 5 4 3 2 1
DETAIL OF WORK 5 4 3 2 1
ABILITY TO SUSTAIN 5 4 3 2 1
SELF-EVALUATION 5 4 3 2 1

Total ________ out of 30