The Stanislavski OVERALL SENSATIONS

Method
Name: ________________________________

Date: ____________________ Period: ______

Objective
• Assess your progress with your relaxation efforts
• Assess your progress with your ability to concentrate
• Reliving the sensory experience of being emerged in some external condition.

Preparation
You will need some privacy 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. Then go
through the actual steps of immersing yourself in some external condition, such as walking through the rain
or snow, or taking a hot shower or a bath. Carefully observe all the sensations that accompany this task.

The source of the overall sensation: ___________________________________

Observation Record
Your responses to the prompts below MUST be almost ridiculously specific. Use metaphors and similes to
accurately conjure up the sensation. Be specific about how the sensation physically affects you. It is
especially important for the actor to be inconstant motion during this exercise to assure that muscles are
relaxed, so as you go through the initial experience, stay in constant motion.

Describe all of the physical sensations experienced. Be specific about how the sensations vary on
different parts of your body. Be specific about different types of sensations—temperature, texture,
moisture, etc. Be specific about the “journey” of the sensation.

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The Exercise
Now, go to another location. Spend at least 10 minutes relaxing in a chair—as you have been taught. Repeat
the process above without actually engaging in the activity. It is extremely important that you keep your
body in constant motion throughout the exercise. 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 [To Be Completed After Your In-Class Performance]

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