iii iV ’ oy ee FORTHE ACTOR LENARD PETITThe Michael Chekhov Handbook For the Actor Lenard PetitContents Acknowens: Introduction The aims of the technique The principles 1 The techrique (acting) is psycho-physicel 2 Intangible means of expression 3. The creative spirit and the higher intellect 4 The technique is one thing: it awakens 2 ceatve state 5 Artistic freedom The dynamic principles Energy 2 Imagination 3 Concentration 4 Incorporation 5 Radiation 6 Expansion contraction 7 Space is dynamic 8 Direction is a foree 9 Polarity 10 Quality nv Thinking feeling, willing 12 The four brothers 1g A Feeling of exse 1g A feeling of form 15 A feeling of beauty 16 A Feeling of the whole The tools, 1 Translating the inner event to an outer expression 2 Spy back 4 5 6 ” 8 8 8 23 3 25 26 26 2B 33. Enevgy: the life-body 4 Staccato/legato 5 The senses: expanding and contracting 6 Qualities of movement 7 The artistic frame: conscious movernent B Action: the psychological gesture 9 The sweet spot: sustaining an inner movement Sensation: fcatirg, 1 Characterization: stick, bal, veil 2 Thinking 3 Willing 4 Feeling 5 Characterization: archetype, the psychological gesture 16 Characterization: the imaginary centre 17 Characterization: imaginsry body AE Characterization: personal atmosphere 1g Atmosphere: engaging the space 20 Continuous acting 5 Application + Watming up 2 Exoansicn/contraction 3 Imaginary centre Thinking, feling, willing Desire Under te Els Action, psychological gesture Qualities of movament Sensation Feeling leeds to action Desire Uncer the Elms 1 Thinking 12 Archetype: the psychological gesture 13, Imaginary body 14, Atmosphere 15, Desice Under the Elms 6 Mastery of the technique 107 us 26 45 ao 146 149 163, 166 We wa ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS L would like to thank Talia Rodgers ind Ben Piggot at Routledge for taking this book idea seriously and guiding me dough the process of tts acceprance and release would like to thaak all my teachers who pointed me in che directions I have gone in. This book could nor have happened without them, Nene of Uiem are still with ws, so TIL keep their names in my heart Thanks to PAJ Books for permission to ineude some words (of Michael Chekhov fron their publication, Lesons forthe Profesional Ar. Tam very grateful to Rutgers Universicy for giving me the playground co develop dlls material over a number of years: will, grext support from Carol Thompson, Barbara Marchant, Kevin ie, Deborah Hedwall and Heather Rasche, 1 should also like to thank Maggie Flanigan and the actors at hier studio in New ‘York City for allowing me to include theie responses in this book. A special tlianks is reserved for Bethany Caputo and Juith Bradshaw for wanseribing numerous workshops and including invaluable observations ahout the results of teaching this work Also to Janes Luse, Janet Morrison ane Mel Shrawder for reading the manuscrip. and assisting me in its presentation, To Bdwaid ‘Marry for his photographic eye, I need to thank my colleagues at MICHA: Joanna Mezlin, Jessica Cerullo, Marjclem Baars, Ted Pugh, Fem Sloan, Davie ‘ander, Sarah Kane and Pagnar Feidank for their confidence and ccuthuslasm for my ideas and work Talso wane to thank my students, setors who continvally inspire me to create new dings for them to play with, but especially Scott Miller, Sal Cacciato, Jossie Greene, Tyree Gitows Ben Bauman, Joha Rawlinson, Brian Parrish, Jonathan Day, BryanCohen, Jessica Sav . Glenn Cruz, Caron Levis, Oliver Martin and Juliette Bennett, for showing up all the time and digging into the work, —_ The biggest and most . folound thanks goes to Michael Chekhov, whose genius continues to vibrate all around me. INTRODUCTION IfL could have, I would have asked Michael Chekhov: What do you believe is the mest important factor in your method? Instead, Tacked my teacher, Denice Hurst du Prey, Chekhov's student and secretary for 20 years. "That would be Truth’, she answered ‘This isa hig idea, bu simple enough. The difficulty is in keeping it simple, Once it gers complicated the truth becomes more and more elusive. T vant to speak fiom this place of simplicity, where | found my own eruth, because useful acting techniques ean only be about one’s own truth, the truth one is experiencing in the ‘The Michael Chethor cechnique is a very free way to work as an actor. The material we encounters immediately provocative and rewarding. I have been a practitioner of this approach for 30 years, L have been a teacher for ueatly 20 years. T know most of the Chekhoy texchers professing chis work throughout the world today. It is not such & large community, and Tam veryhappy to be « part of it. One striking thing about this group of teachers fs chat we are incliv Chow's metus ate actaly nite in scope, Hi isention wwe cam bring ourselves co inspiration are limited, ‘This is actually A good thing becanse we can choose exactly how we will work and in what manner we will approach dhe role; and we will expect not 10 flounder, am now presenting an approach co this method, and 1 want to make it clear from the start chat what you will find here is how the technique has come to me, how it speaks to me, and how T have made it any own. T quote Chekhov in these pages, -d a stirring in me, I do not believe there is one onthodax way of weaching or using this technique. I have seen some exwaordinary teaching andl it was new to me, things I had never scea nor considered before, but T recognized how ‘Chekhov’ these new things were. Iris easy to mow when its Chekhow, and also cesy to know when it is wt ‘The purpose of the technique is t inspire, to find a creative state that is both pleasing to be ia, and also full of the power of expressing oneself, Through the principles he offered w us, Chethor expected exch actor to find bis own teclique, his over way of working, The result of che technique is also the ching wtself. The techaiqne is inspiring because of the very special demands it puts on the actor. I have chosen this as my way of working and 1 have looked into the entirety of it, but I have plunged headlong into the parts of it that especially speak uo ane and excite me, This is the material | will share with you. Some of i ean be backed wy by reading Chekhov's books, and some of it I developed out of but 1 choose the words that have caus principles I have found vrithin the technique, Thexe are also some other things Ihave encountered in my jourey of physical theatre Tam not @ purist, so 1 am always on the lookout for material has which E yecognize as being in the arbit of Chekhow. allo a truth for me and so I hope you will be able to find some truth in it as well. Michael Chekhov was ahead of his ume, He mnst have Enown, that because he spoke about the Theatre ofthe Faure and also about the ‘actor of the fare’. Fifty-four years after his death does indeed bring us into what he could call che future; perhaps he was speaking (0 our curnent generation, Arts nawadays have ing such as Chekhov's cars for an approach to working and se: With the proliferation of Eastern philosophies and practices in the West today, we are open to more concentrated approaches to working, We accept spiritual and energetic infhuences on life ‘he parely intellectal psychological methad has already demon- stiated its limits for performance. The conception ofa human being as an energetic force Ino longer an idea that needs defending. The miné-bedy comection is now commonplace ‘Modern inumens have reclaimed this nan-nieterilistie atitude towards Unomelves, This isthe basie working staff of the Chekhov weal teanlol w speak to mnadeen actors of today about techniques thar were devised for yr Let's take a few steps beck and begin at che simplest place, the physical presence of the actor, the actor standing before the public, What is teue about this is chet the actor is cecupying space, either filing t with energy or not. IF there is sath (que. This buvk > ‘is an interest on the other side if nat energy, then thet boredom or disinterest looms up. This is clear and can be easily demonstrated by these amusing yet profound words of Michel Chekhor quoted by Ms Deirdre Hurst du Prey, while she was teaching a clase: "The moment you are not alive on the stage you are dead.” Now this is a statement that an actor cam under: stand, because every acior knows the inunense pleasure of feeling4 alive on the stage, and the profound pain of losing the audience due 10 a lack of energy, Energy is a loaded word, it means many things ¢@ many different people. Let me define the word as [understand it, so we have 2 common ground te stand on. In my elsases ¢ define i as the force that moves che body, a substance that is neither muscle no bone, It is the life force, its called by many different names, a few of che more common In order 1o work with Michael Chekhov's technique, its essential that we have an understanding and an appreciation of this concept. Besyy Is the key that opens up the deo: Imagination is another key because all our possibilities le in this ability to imagine. A good starting place is 10 imagine chat are great actors. t's ant image, an ideal picture of where we are going. Tt helps us to proceed toward our goal, it keeps us cemgaged. As aciors we must be creative all the rime. We have to believe chat our job is to make art, Our axt is a living thing and ic is bound up with wudh and reality and humanity, and che tbeatre, The the ope, full of ax of imagination, and people. We can encourage the spectators (0 use their imaginations, they can become a creative presence there slong with ws, Iris better when cveaycane is autive wind alive it the imaginary world, because the exchange between the actors and the audience is ruly an exchange not just a one-sided assault from the stage, It is my intention that actors, directors and teachers of acting will sce this as a workbook, hope it will be used as a practical guide to understanding the techniques Michael Chekhov ha: given to theatre artiss. My appreciation of the technique as a ynamic whole came when Twas able ro discern the differences between the principles and the tools, This caused the components of the techaique to fall into a clear and workable form, and allowed me to easily pick and choose the material I needed to engage in for a particular performance. ln che book, Lesos fr the .ges are spirit, chi or prana re is fall of sic illusions, full Professional Aust, where Chekhov is speaking direcily to a group of actors in New York City, he states that its own technique’, suggesting that cexain clements of the performance are already understood hy the actor so they need no attention, He also states in the 4th Guiding Prncpl, that the technique is one whole thing made up of many purts, and that partis to engage all off, This allows a very simple ery role requires approach to creating a role Chekiiov cals a great deal of the material we rely oa in. the technique as intuyjble. Because it is imangible, actors reading yne puzzled. Chekhov's book To the Acar fs a great ollering co acters but it remains a difficult book from which to work, He was unable 10 include the spiritual in his hook about acsing and still get it published, So something is missing, Through research into materials left by Ms du Prey, we about it can easily b can find many references Chethoy made to che ‘sprrimal” at these sources are hidden avray in certain Libraries, and only the serious researcher well ake the trouble 16 locate them. The people whe werk with the Chekhov technique talk about, and exercise, and play with the thing dhat is missing from his book. I¢ has come {rom person to person and it remains at the centre of the weak. ICiy 9piitual iu due way tai vue Fecls ute is engaged with ‘something ele’, but not spiritual in a religious way. 1 want (0 address that missing part in this book so that actors ean put it into phy. T want 0 show you a way co the work dat ly sellable emore [ have worked with this material, the simpler and clear. 7 It has become, Chekhov's techniques for acting are based sn one primary point of reference, This point is movement. Whea we look at his systema, we keap coming to this point, Ac we investigate the technique and rerum to this point, we find we are standing in 4 different place. Somehow the point is always moving. This technique begins with moving the body, because the moving Dodly is what the audience sees. Ie is our front line of expression,6 ts our fall back Becoming ware of the body as an instrament leads us (0 become sensible and sensitized to movemtent, even movements that are now super-sensible. As Chekhov said: Everything you do now consciously will become in time super conscious, and that Is our aim ~ to create supercconsciously (Michael Chelchov: Lessons jor Teachers) There are many ways to mov movement; it starts and it scops, it is both action and reaction, and many ways to perceive it fous and it destroys, it ifs things up and casts chem @ is essentially breath: the in and out of life Michael Chekhov's most conspicuous contribution to de acior is what he has named, the ‘psychological gesture’. This isa very specific movernent that is first imagined then executed as a means to excite the actor to play. It is in many ways a question posed by the actor, 2 question concerning the haw of this or chat in. Receiving the answer is the initial difficulty of dhe technique and this brings us back to the body, which must become sensitized to the movernents it ean make Our insirament 3s the same body that carties on a lies ic eats, and sleeps, ane makes love, 1 laughs and cries, it dies, Experience is coming to vs through our bodies as sensations, Our bodies secord this as knowledge, We speak a language of experience we are comfortable with, using word pictures that are absclacely connected fo movement Perhaps we are too comfortable in that wwe have lost a commection to the original statements, What do we mean when we say confusion’, or ‘fell in love! or “ell asleep"? How can these things. be connected? Do we really fill into them? Behold our common language of movement: We say we are either moved or not moved by things. We get bebiad them or we theow ther out of our lives forever. No one likes to feel pushed into things, and we are quick to dump this on people, but sometimes itis sweet to be pulled long until wre are join willlly, at which ‘she fell into despaiz', or ‘fell into point we begin to flow and we are pical up by this How so our spirits we lital unui chey fll again, whea we may be induced 1 iat away or fale away. Or perhaps the fall has happened because -e been tom opart, Our hearts go ut to others, oF they bk, our chins dup, we rie to the occasion, and snell with pride, we id others out, put aur lying in fear, or firmly stand our ound. We ‘nals toyther andl touch pon the prot, sidetepying the real issue until ‘we ate able to draw emdusns and then fina Movement is at the centre of these satements s9 it is essential sx assited, etc vements we make, the Wwe pay attention wo movement, che ‘ones made around us, and the ones happening within us Chekhov has said that theze are two ways 10 work, There are ‘0 ways to concentrate and he makes it clear which way he prefers. Nothing will happen the way we want it 10, ualess we sts, If we follow his lead here are immediately engaged concentrate in the way he su then something happens, we find with pare acting, and we recognize that we can go to new place within ourselves, Very little here is new, After all, they are Chekhov's ideas. What is different is the structuring of the tools and the principles, and the inchision of the dynamic force of energy, T have come to see the technique os conceived around archetypal energie Concepts such as imer movements, davon, aunoyphere and iawxgration of images are big tools, The only way we ean successfully engage ther is energy The book i§ laid qut in a very straightforward manner. The principles are separated from the tools to make it easy for the eice them, The fifth section of the book, called namic model reader 10 &e ‘Application’ puts these elements together inta have found a way totalk about the moatexial tac is both practical and simple. The Application section is made up of edlted class teanseripts. Certain punts reference the play, Deite Under the Elms, by Lugene O'Neil, while other parts are pure technique clases My students and 1 are working tngether, and we have some dialogue about the exercises,1 THE AIMS OF THE TECHNIQUE Chekhov imagined che Theor of the Futur. He was convinced that nvwould happen and actors would come to mers it fully prepared, The aims of the technique speak about an ideal. Michsel Chekhov is quite eloquent about all of this and these ideals are scattered ‘throughout the books and teachmgs. A long time ago these ideals Ikept me reading his words and they have stayed with me; I do believe in chem. They give usa picture tat keeps dhe destination clear: ‘The actor in the future must not only find anether attitude towards his physical body and voice, but to his whole existence ‘on the stage in the sense that the actor, as an artist, must more than anyone else enlarge his ovn being by the means of his, profession. | mean the actor must enlarge himself in a very concrete way, even te having quite a diferent feeling in space His kind of thinking rust be different, his feelings must be of a different kind, his feeling of body and voice, his attitude to the settings ~ all must be enlarged, (Michael Chekhov: Lessors for the Profissional Actor) ‘Our own “| Am’ is usually weak, but If we da the exercises of concertration, we will see that this feeling of Am becomes stronger, and we will feel as ifwe are centralized on out own spirit, The ability of concentration and the exercises, ifthey are done sufficiently and with the proper activity, will give thid marvelous feeling of Ars’. With this ‘| Am’, we will begin fo get our own being centralized, so our body will become centvalized and our spirit will be centralized, This is the most beautiful thing, and especialy fr an actor who shows his whole being and nothing else on the stage. Then we will immediately become artists in the highest sense cf this word. (Michae! Chekhov: The Actor is the Thea Through concentration, die Chekhov technique leads actors 0 discover a power that is greater than the everyday sense of being hhuunans, The real work of the actor is to nansform personal experience to a universal and recognizable foria of expression that has the ability co change some ing in the spectator, To simply pression as it was experienced is not sing, we are saying, ‘lam’, again and again reproduce person enough. As actors p so that we can come to know the many fan actor | find a way to say and believe in these words so tha ars’ that ive in us. As hey can be a starting point for my work. The feeble ‘I am" of everyday cannot be enough, I have 10 look for ways 10 increase this sense of self so that can transform into other characters, ‘We lixe in an age where all of our responses 10 life are monitored, our thoughts and feelings are continually questioned and weighed Invo the scale of sucial acceptance. Generally speak ing, we grow up in a world of doubts, apologies and yieldings, Pushing that all down, some of us decide to become actors. 910 Hopefully we have talent, or the natural ability to do it, because the talent of U nition, ‘These techniques appeal to the talent, The instrament is the body with the voice, but we have to bring our (alent into it, There is only so much we can take from wark oa ourselves, on our psychology ality. We have to bring a clear and objective power to our tal ce can interpret the lives written far 136 €0 aet, 61 {0 act the lives we are creating in our rehearsals. Good intentions are never enough. Dance and speech lessons are not enough. technique is necessary We mist in methods that use images 10 vansforia us, and believe thac there is a radiant enssgy inside us and chis energy can be formed and made active. If the Joy of the actor is to give all at every moment, then chere must be something to give, there Thas to be an inexhaustible supply of energy: When | try to imagine what the theatre can be and will be in the future, it will be a purely spiritual business (I speak neither in the mystical or religious sense at the moment) in which the spirit of the human being will be rediscovered by artists. The spirit will be concretely studied .... [If will he a concrete tool, ‘of means, which we will mansge just as easily as any other means. The actor must know what itis, and how to take it and, use it. We [wil] now how to manage it, and understand how concrete and abjectve it can be for us. | believe in the spiritual theatre, in the conse of concrate investigation of the spint of the human being. But the investigation must be done not by scientists, but [rather] by artists and actors. (Michael Chekhov: Lessors for the Professional Actor) The actor looks to the essence of dhings. Ia the essence ase found the building blocks from which he ean reeceate the world of the characier. The details are created out of the essence Michael Che formed as a resul of ils ability to conceatrate and to Jock al how he was concentrating and what he was putting his attention on. He sew what was at work for him, His exly trining with Sunislavsky enabled him to have a clear starting point, a new ‘T aun’. But his technique was his own way of working. ‘I invented nothing he suid, 1 hu syhat Lam doing when | act.” ‘The actor develops his skills in order to be capable of every thing demanded of him. This development and the abihty 10 create belong to what Michac] Chekhov calls the ‘ereative indi siduality’ of the actor. The ‘creative individuality’ allows the artist to use parts of hirnself that are not just the meaner more Danal elements thet make up his daily Ife, bat rather pi subconscious, where éwwell moze universal and archetyp: In this way, the ego of the character is mot subjected to the ego fof the actor, The iduality seeks an aesthenic oy was a very gifted arcist; his techniqnte wa Deen observant, and discovered this is 13 oF his images 's creative ind with the character, and will not allow the actor's personality todnterfere with dhat process, With this the acten’s work becomes an ulstie creation: We have lost the whole poetry arounc! ourat, ane ithas become a dry business, The whole for us as actors: our attitude towards ourselves, our bodies land) voices, our epproach to the new play and so on Everyiing is condensed to the present mo to the events ofthe present moment, and even more to certain exents ... The future theaire cannot go along this way of condensing ané making everything cry. The theatre must go the opposite way, which is to enlarge everything: the point of pression, themes far plays, and ~ frst 1 kind of acting, theatre has become so materialistic vent, and even more view, the means of © of al (Michael Chekhov: Lessors for the Professional Actor)Artists desire to work from an inspived state, Yet inspiration isa fickle thing. The Chekhov technique addresses this desire. It ums to entice the inspication to wake up for the artist, This is a bold claim chat Chekhov imakes again and again when discussing. the method with his stucients, We begin with that promise, and by using the techniques, discover very quickly that we arrive somewhere within ourselves that is very new, yet very familia, ‘This creative place is fresh and available; it leads us to pure acting Chekhov defines this pure aeting as being able to happen with out justification, without personal reasons, without psychology Inspiration happens simply because we are actors, and we have ‘engaged our actors talent: We must never stop acting. We are always going on, and if we know it, our inner life, and power, and beauty as artists will row, will show itself, and we will use our means of expression better and stronger than if we are under the impression that sometimes we are active as arlists and sometimes not. If this, seemingly simple and not very important idea is digested, you will see how much it will give you and disclose for you, ard in yourself things may aise from within which you cannot get in ny other way than to change your point of view ain! gel mw conceptions of yourself and your art (Michael Chekhov: Lessons for the Professional Actor) The chart om the facing page describes the processes and progressions involved in actmg with the Michael Chekhov technique, ' Energy <—— Lenagination fe : he {. : 6) Oeder ——» Movement gesture Sensetions Lmpulses <<» Giving ae fe Rehading SS Receiving2 THE PRINCIPLES Chekhoy has given us what he calls the ‘fve guiding principles These guiding principles should lead us through « acquiring and developing the rachniquie Hi tolls us we have co recess of twain in order to have a general technique, and then we apply specific vechuuiques to a role. The first five principles listed elowr will be the five guiding principles Jn all shere will appear more than five, My approach to the technique is t take the principles and apply them by using the tools, In my ques. to master it, [ have differentiated certain elements of che technique as djaumic pritcpks, These principles are the seliable power for us, They are points of reference we keep retuming to. They can sustain us ag we sustain them, The principles are like prisms, the woos, ike light passing through them, All the colours we experience, we use to express } THE TECHNIQUE (ACTING) IS PSYCHO. PHYSICAL The bedy and the psychelogy axe one thing, ‘The body is devel, oped and tained so that it becomes sensitive to this connection. Movement is noe gymnastic but psychological ia that it affords us the experience of states and conditions of being. The good result of movement exercise 1s a fit body, for us st 38 a good benefit but noc the aim. The body must act asa sponge to absorb psychological values or qualities from the movements. These abl movements are rep and cin be used during the rehearsal fo anchor hey meunents of the scene within the body, The psycho- physical exercises devised by Chekhov aim to develop the wo powers of conceatration and imagination in twadem, Conscious pavement involves much more than muscles and bones, With proper concentration we experience movernents 50 as to re-educate ‘ourselves. We heceme familiar with che actual movements that surge though 1s, ‘Our normal lives prevent ns from recognizing these move- ments, due 10 our habit of passing experiences through the Intellect, Cunscious movement helps us become aware of dear impulae> that lead «a through our eaily lives. We ace them for ‘what they are, where they move, and how they move Jenrn how to access them and follow them when they naturally ‘occur within. As dhe concentration develops we can then begin loimagine these inner movements as happening. We make then, happen. We develop the power to chauge things for ourselves in. out lives and in cur are through the imagination of movement, Action and reaction, giving and taking, laughing and aying, living and dying, can all be seen as mawemnent, And as they move through us chey will move us to act, If Mhe impulses thar spring up and die within us are not followed or atively resisted we will naturally lose consciousne Of thera, Our focus as student aciors here is 10 reaequalnt and16 THE PRINCIPLES then to reanimate thar which we have let atrophy within. With the body flexible and soli, absorbent and expressive, we find again the pleasure of movement, and the surety of a physical wisdorn our thinking could never achieve, 2 INTANGIBLE MEANS OF EXPRESSION The promise of the technique lies in the idea that the most eflective and powerful means at our disposal are intangible, They are present uly when the concentration is active, These intangibl means include auspkere, sce, cadotion, relatenship, maer movement imaginary Body, iaginary came, When che concentration fades, so do these means; they cannot exist without an imaginative and concentrated effort. They are intangible because one cannot pat a finger on what itis. We know when itis present, and wre know ‘when it is not, When it is present we receive what comes to us and use If as our means of expression 3 THE CREATIVE SPIRIT AND THE HIGHER INTELLECT ‘There is 4 spirimal element to this work thar mst be arknowr ledged. This spiziaal element is not religious, The creative spirit (imagination) is differeatiaced from the seasoning mind, The creative spirit as Chekhox talks about it fmetions within the artist by making one thing out of a multitude of things. This faculty ean grasp understanding through archetypes and through a desite 10 find wholeness, Ie is the quick ereative function of synthesis. The creative spirits capable of working in this way: the rational ming ‘works through analysis. Analysis separates and divides, whereas synthesis unifies and brings together the many disparate pars, ‘we encounter in the preparation of cur compesition (eole). The work is intuitive, the results came and are actively invited inte the consciousness, so they can be experienced and expressed ‘THe privcines 47 4 THE TECHNIQUE IS ONE THING: IT AWAKENS A CREATIVE STATE There are a number of components in the technique. Bach one of them needs to be examined individually and practised thor oughly. The actor learns to distinguish between the components, ‘The creative spirit commects them to each other, Each component opens a door ro insphation, Throngh concennarion we can activate one of them, Because we have a familiarity with all of thern, this one component will cause any or all of dem to become 5 ARTISTIC FREEDOM ‘The technique promises artistic freedom. Chekhov suggests that this principle be engaged through a dialogue with the technique iielf Tes dhe way (© know how tw work, Rehearsing and per~ forming is the work of the actor. Bur how will he do it? Ar he las a method to use, and it is mede up of different parts thew it is necessary to confiomt this method and to inquire of it wihich part of't speaks the loudest to him. Which part of this technique gives him the freedom he seeks as a performing arist?_ 3 THE DYNAMIC PRINCIPLES 1 ENERGY Moshing i effartve withenitenengy Rea] energy i inoxhanstle Tnergy breeds moce energy. Everything radiant is energized nergy (s full of life. Buergy supports life, Energy moves 1 Raw Energy is formes. Giving fonm to enexgy makes it creative The human body is a conduit for encrgy. The many parts of the physical body have corresponding energetic pars. The shape of the energy within us is the same shape as the bo 2 IMAGINATION Willisin Blake, imagination’s fearless champion, w1ote, “What is now proved was oaly once imagined.” He saw the imagination, os a divine and sy human beings. It is our connection to pure energy, When we begin to werk as artists, i is the fast thing we appeal to, Hf we persist in our endeavours, we find @ way fo connect onr technique Co this most precious acivity. 11 1s conn to Mi Chekhov's approach to acting. It is always addressed and dally developed. It becomes the stepping off pot’ for students of this method, As student arists we are taught to imagine aud thea to cross the dueshold of our daily lives into the world of the creative artist, Quite literally we lear 10 step into another world where our inner powers of concentration and imagination wake up. Upon crossing this threshold, we continue walking in what Chekhov called the ‘actors’ march’ This exercise Is an affirmation, The: words empower us co want to use the instrument we have to our fullest capacities: 1am a creative artist. have the ability to radiate. Lifting my arms above me | soar over the earth Lowering my arms | continue to soar In the air moving arcund my head and shoulders | experience the power of thought In the air moving around my arms and chest | experience the pousr of feelings In the air moving around my legs and fect | experience the power of wll am that lem (Michael Chekhov: The Actor fs the Theatr Deirdre Hurst du Prey) This affirmation of ourselves leacs us easily into how Chekhov envisioned the ideal actor. It gives us pictures of the actor moving, and then moving withomt moving. Engaging human Functions and sealizing that everything we aved a wichin us already, waiting to wake up. Wealso see itis all around us for the taking, if we are open to receive it fe are asked to 19envision this ideal as already achieved, so chat our working ‘omes with pleasure and foresight af success, It an towards i mbodiment of Blake's words ‘What is now proved was only once imagines.” The use of imagination and the image gives the actor a freedom. to reach beyond his personality, It allows hima 10 be led by a that is continually expansive. It 18 brought nto play by 3 CONCENTRATION Concentration is the key activity in realizing anything of value To concentrate does not mean 0 think harder about some thin, When we concentrate we wid ourselves towards an object ve can feel its or image. Once we become one with the image quality, sense its personality, receive Impressions and impulses, A concentrated artist makes a huge impression on the audience, Artis not really possible without concentration, When we are looking at something we are attracted 10, we somchow feel that we are moving towards it; ie pulls us in with real attraction, This is a pleasing Sewsation. IC is a concentration that is happening on ite own. A willed form o: possible when we can sead ourselves to wha Dtder to become one with it, and know, in an inner sense, what this image or object is. In this way we can become psychologically dentified with the image 4 INCORPORATION Acsing is completely wrapped up in the body. tn order for us to experience the images, and express che things we are seeking the images manst be incorporated. They have to be put into or onto the body. Once the image is successfully incorporated, we play the instrument to express what needs 10 be expressed! Incorporation is the direct consequence of the concentration. 5 RADIATION ‘The inner work of ating, the knowledge, the felings, the actions mist in the end come out te touch the audience, Whatever is, living within us can be gene out in an energetic wave, Radiating 1s an activity thar will accompany an actor who is inspired. [ cam alto come as 4 resule of willmg it It produces pleasure for the actor to do and for the audience to witness. I simply is a sending out beyond the body what is ahve within the body. 1 touches the audience because it actually goes out to them, 6 EXPANSION /CONTRACTION ‘Toro dynamic forces that impact the natural world are funda ‘mental principles of human interaction, It is very easy to see the ld that surrounds effects of expansion and contraction in the i us. When we obscrve the differences between winter and summer as two polarines, we will see char to move from the depth of Winter to the height of summer i a slow and steady expansion, While the reverse is tue, a steady contraction from summer 10 winter. Everything responds thus, and all creaeures understand the dynamics of yrowing and receding. The body and as pacts rove in the sme way, muscles, hings, eyes, esr, blood vessels, ‘expand and contract The emovional life (0 isin aux controlled by these forces. The world of thought, as well, depends on bets open to certain things, and closed to ethers, These kinds of things sound obvious and simple when we talk about them; we are such busy creatures occupied with the many complex details of Ife, thar we tend to forget the most base things There is no way that mother person can convince me of his point of view if 2m closed to t, There is no stronger indicstor of resistance for that person than me in the act of closing. This contraction of mme signals the other person to do something, ‘0 move either outwardly ox inwardly aA phaysical acting technique eannot really be taught without working on this as an artistic principle, It must be investigated by the student actor, explored, tested and applied as.much as potsible. ft is so useful and practical 7 SPACE IS DYNAMIC pace filled bility is a powerful ally to the actor, Chekhoy tells us the surrounding space is just asking to be engaged. If we imagine it to be thick then movement slows down. If we make it warm then things appear closer because bodies are attracted (© this kind of heat. Filing dhe space with coolness creates distance and alko a kind of clarity, because this is how things are for the body in a cool space. Make it fragrant and we begin to open up; acrid and we close down che senses, I ig not about pretending chat the space is cool or warm, nor do we want 10 show that it is cool or warm, The imugization supplies the amaphae, then we receive the cool or warm onto ‘our bodies and let the reaction guide things for us, The body is consistent and reliable, also predictable and expressive A company of ‘with an amspher can make an astonishing impression, rors Working together to imagine the space fille 8 DIRECTION IS A FORCE ‘Movement happeas in space, usually in one diicction at a time. There are six ditections we feel as real force. The dynamic directions are: Expanding and contracting, forward and backward, up and down, We Immediately recognize whac they ate, and whar each direction means te us, W quiclly understand how we can use it, These dizections are forever corresponding wich human interactions. They are cormected to all che sensetan:, and to all the actions actors involve themselves with. Awareness of direction is an easy and valuable lesson to learn, It forms and informs the performance, 9 POLARITY Byents happening benveen two poles cause a vibration te occur fontrast allows things to stand oat from one another ancl in relation to one another. Any werk without contast is dull. The edges are not clear andl everything seems to have the same value Polarity makes things instantly interesting, In the Chekhov jechnique we are akvays looking for ways to use it, While exercising, Its fiequently explored, and always considered whl rehearsing and performing, The beginning and che end must appear as a polarity. The 1 will bo 1ore polarities we find, the more exciting our w yo QUALITY How to do it, is an artist's question, Hew do we interpret the zole or the play? How do we make form and sense out of th given circumstance? How do we order the talent to express itself? Quality can tum one thing into a mulitude of different thing Jean transform a kick into a kiss, ora seduction into a murder. How ic is done is the joy of creating, the plawure of being an anist, The quality is how something is done, The quality speaks Aimactly to the fashingr of the actor. We often use words lie soft, strong, courageous, sluggish, vibrant, proud, quick, heavy, etc, to describe characters. This is how they appear to us and these words help to identify the essential aspects of them, We can also make our movements, both outer and inner, using qualities and they will say something very unique depending on low they are done. What is exciting about the technique is that we can go outside of ourselves to find source material for our creations, We learn to appreciate the quality of the world around us ina very practical and excative way. We can look at the qualicy of abjecis, wmages and people We can perceive something truthful about them, and directly experience a fesling for them ation of their quality. We express tend by penetrating imo an appr4 ourselves by engaging this question of haw. Through quality we find the ways to do the things we have to do, 11 THINKING, FEELING, VALLING ‘When we look for the simplest things about being human then re find a way to work as actors, I-ls Out of the simplest functions tha deeper complexities can appear. Simple ideas are the best ones for us to Jook at, because they are possible to understand, to feel, and to do, We as crearures are capable of thre: the interplay of these three things Hhacmake up a life. As huunans wwe are very proud of che fact that we can think, i is our domain, clear functions and itis and it can be viewed as a function, We also have the ability to feel, and our feelings often rise up in us as a recut of our thoughts, The next function is action, doing, expressions of will power. These can also lead to feelings, which tn turn ean excite ‘more thoughts, which could then cause more actions or feelings and then again more actions and then some thought, and so forth, This view is limiting in its scope, but at the same time all possibilities, These three functions become wonderfull th characters tn ind containers to put the material of the play int relationship to each other, the words they say, the way in which they say them or hear them, These ideas are not new nor ean we ascribe them to Michael Hhekhow, but Chekhov did offer us picuze of the human being asa principle to work from. In fact, when discussing the play itself, he suggested we look at i¢ as a living human being and tny to discover what aze the ideas or thoughrs of the play, what arc its atmospheres which could also be called the feelings and what isthe will, the acmal things thar are done and seen by the andicnee. The very firs thing we need (0 know is: What is de difference berween a thought, a feeling, and a will impulse? Thoughts are zeal things that occur quite Jocally within the body. We do not thunk with our legs because they already know what legs are supposed to know. Thinking is a process of working through something that we do not already know, Ifwe knew it then we would not have co think about it, it would simply appear as an image in the mind, like a chair, This isn't am activity, it just is. If the chair is wsieady then we might be compelled to think about why this 16 so, ar how we could stop it ftom being so. Now we have to think about it. Or perhaps we might try to remember something, or calcalate something, or invent something. These ane differene thoughts which tae place in the hese. The chest is where the heart lives, and the world of feelings has allways been linked with the heart. in all languages, hearts are broken and meadled by love, We do not asa rule think with four hearts, hut we can speak ftom chem and listen with them, Movements originating in the chest alow the actor to connect with the feelings, or the feeling life of the character; they also allow the audience its own sympathetic resonance to the moment. ‘The world of appetites and sexuality located lower in the body can be the staring point for baste expressions of the will I want, Jake, I give, I reject these chings originate low and sure within the hedy wih the pelvis and he legs Attention pa location of the body excites bold clear actions or doings. All this sunple business may appear primitive on che surface. Bnt Michael Chekhov's technique is never on the surface, itis always deep inside the core of th the impulses moving through the centres of thinking, feeling and willing, we say fof us, and we make conscious use of i actor. And so we connect to es to what is universal and buen in all 12 THE FOUR BROTHERS very great work of art possesses four common tats, accesary clements towards 2 satisfying perception of the art. Eich one 25complements and informs the others, These are quite tangible things for the actor to look at, and to work an, And they are the following 13 A FEELING OF EASE 1 is possible to see a feeling of esse because it is apparent when someone executes a task o ase, tis also apparent ere isa lack of ease. No feeling of ease is easly perceived an action with when ¢ and it hasa dewimental effect on the audience, especially if what they are looking at hasan element of risk o danger. The audience does not want (0 really worry about the actors on the stage, at leest not in the saine way that they worry about the characters, The safety of the bodies on the stage is not part of the bargein that was entered into, Bur the actor finds this ease as an inner thing much like a feeling. It begins from the desire to have it and it comes because we will it, and we knovr that it Is one Way to make our work artistic. 14 A FEELING OF FORM Everything that needs understanding uses form. A feeling ot torm can really he experienced as a feeling, because our human body isa form. We begin our understanding of this through the phys ical body, how it fds to be in the body. Being in te body is something few people actually experience beyond the sensations fof injury, illness and distress, We learn «o feel this human form, ‘and know the particulars of it as well as the unity of it. This form moves forms and these movements have a beginning, a middle and an end. Here are some other forms for ow consideration: the the scene, che monologue, te siage, the scenery, the props, Fellow actors, ete a5 A FEELING OF BEAUTY ‘Uhis feeling of beauty (s not an easy one to feel, values attached to it, Perhaps it could be looked at as meaning ‘thetic. Chekhow satel thac anti eauniful simply Decause they are always true to themselves. A butterfly on a flower, a tiger stalking a rat, these things hold a fascination for ihe viewer, The feeling of beauty i find it by urying 1 be beautiful because chis only produces the opposite effect, but we find it in a most natural way by playing all around it, and also with the other brothers of Fase and Foran, We are capable of making ugly chings but this has to be somewhat elusive, We cannot caiscious work. IP ve can approach our work witha feling of heauty, then we will not make unconscious ughiness. Ic isn’t showing off, i is exactly the opposite; itis being appropriate, vietwous and positive 16 A FEELING OF THE WHOLE AS actos we are never alone, we are part of something which fs greater than we are, Buc we are one thing, and the whole of wha wre ris ne rhing, and the part of what we do is also ane thing. Everything works as one, and each moment is one thing and 1t points towards the unity of the entire composition, Bye fn time, what will be sen in the end needs be present in the beginning, and the begining be present in dhe end. taken out refects the whole, plece 274 THE TOOLS There is slays a certain what. [For example the playis whet,” [and] we have to deal with our parts as ‘what.’ There are two ways in this “what.” one is leading to ‘why," and that is pure science, When we take a play ard try to discover ‘why’ the author has dome this or Una, we will vever Le able Lo act I. The other way is how,” and that is our way 2s actors For instance, if we know how to become jealous on the stage without knowing why, then we are artists. The more the ‘materialistically minded world forces us to go the way of ‘why,’ the less we are able to develop our abilities and talents. This ‘Why’ is very widespread in att in our present life Ifyou ask how can I know ‘how’ if don't know ‘why,’ | would say that its a very materialistic question, because ‘how’ Is the mystery of art Its the secret of the artist who always knows how! without ary explanation, any proof, ary analysis or psychological abilities. [Michael Chelinov: Lessons for the Professional Azan) 1 TRANSLATING THE INNER EVENT TO AN OUTER EXPRESSION For an actor to have an effect on the audience, this actor must be alive; a dead actor has absolutely no effect. What makes an actor alive? The first pact of being alive is to realy be alive: to have life wichin, Pane were to compare a living body to a dead body, on hing; the living body is animated. Implicit in movernent is kind of fe. Within ital force, which is clexly e would instantly hecome aware of one the living body thece appears to by absent from the dead body, We eannot really see this force but ‘we can see its effect, We could call this vital force an energy, a life energy which maintains the life in the living body. It allows all movements, voluntary and involuntary, o occur. The quality of the energy is a guide to its health, It is possible to look at a living body and see the quality of the energy within, an to say that this organism is strong or weak. Without the ¢ chen rgy's influence the physical body has no support, it falls in fact, and immediately hegins to decay. This energy exists, but until T can recognize the energy within, it has no form, only force The second part about belng alive as an actor Is wo be able 10 appear feeeh and spontaneous, complersly involved in the circumsiances of the character as if forthe fist time, responding ‘with fullness and trath. This, ofcourse, is the aim of every acting technique. Michael Chekhov's technique promises to creace the second part by working with the frst part With a small amount of imagination applied, we to glve this vial energy a form, Let us suppose that de forma it takes ig kind of inner replica of che physical body. The lauman being has a body; it isa form. Inside this form one can imagine is another finer body (form) composed of life energy. ‘The physical body mores, this is the actor's means of expression; she moves in response to the world, she moves towards things, or away from them, with them or against them, Sympathy and antipathy are the causes for her movemens, also desire or will p begin 29jo. Tur Toots eis possible to imag of the movement simultaneously. It is simple to do, and as soon as we have an experience of this then so much can be underscood, If [tell myself to move my arm up and down, and (do it, this movernent and have an experience requires nothing more than desire. It is an ordinary movement, something I do everyday. I can continue to practise this move ment so that I become very familiar with it, then can stop the movement all cogether and begin to Imagine that Tam moving my arm up and down, This particular imagination is not viswalizz Lica, i isa raeveretimenetcn, as T intend have the experience of this particular movement without accualy moving my mausdes. Encegetically cis inn moyenae is as much an event as the actual ‘movement, Bn belongs tome, the actor, because 1s mwisible The appropriate inner movements are a means to excite within ime the expressions required of good acting. We ean begin to work with ordinary movements in oxder to exercise our ability o experience movement without moving the visible body. The purpose of this is to feel as #f we are moving Once this is incorporated, st becomes quite a pleasurable and fiee place to work. Ics Limited only by the images che actor is, able to find and put to use Tas way of working Is Lest sued (0 talented actors because the principles involved are 2 direct appeal to, and an ensiching of ti talent within the actor By appeeling tothe elent, and not the psychologs vincing possibilities to choose fioxa that are no longer pexsonal Te enables the actor to have a real-time inner experience right I history of the actor, the technique opens ce noe a reconverted memory. It is called an inner erent What the audience p inner event, They do not know the actual and they believe it t0 be the circus character, The talent of the actor allows a connection between two different occurrences (inner and outer} to take place, because the talent of the actor is 1n stare of giving to the andience. elves, dhe outer expression, Is the response to this, ase of the response, surrounding the Tis incumbent upon the actor to know the outer ci surrounding the character very well. During te rehearsal process, different inner movements are being experimented with and laid down as sign posts or anchors for the performance. In perform- ance the concentration is heightened, the actor really ap be living freshly, spontaneously, completely involved in the eircumstances of the ehazacter as if for the first time, responding uunstances with folluess ond ub, Yet ics de image that is moving the actor night afer night. The ianer event, generated by the image, causes certain impulses to pass through the body of the actor. Following and/or resisting these impulses creates the betaviour of the character, the outer expression of the actor This basic operating principal, the inner event is wanslated « the outer expression, is the key to understanding how to use the teclinigues of Michael Chekhov, The training is always pointing to this abilty of making an identification with an amage, and it continually confzms that moyement is essential to living things. 2 SPY BACK When we are properly concentrated, then we are one with our Iiniages aind our biveritivas, The uccessaty Uaiags «ie using through us, We are being creative. We need to be present enough to get ot of our own way and enter the flow that is given to tas, This isnot the moment to analyse it, When we lave finished and this is particulaely true fer exercises, then we can look back ai what happened, we can evaluate what was working and how it wos working in us We want 1 be ed inte our work by our iaginations and not our intellect. We are normally led into everything by the intellect. Tt is used to being ia charge of our lives. Because it is ma position of authority, the antellect does nor relish Iening gc of the reins, so to speak. Chekhov said the intellect is a kind of enemy ro the artist; he called 1 the ‘irle intellect’. We know 3thislitle incellect, itis the erittal, judging, discerning and divisive part of us. It prowess and guides us in many things, but does nt help us in the creative state, So we try to subdue its influence by engaging the imagination When we have finished an exercise, we can look back at what we have done, and henefic from pressing the lie intellect into service. Chekhov called tt spying back. If we can engage the little intellect her hen ir becomes tatisfied thst itis involved with our process, We lead it away froun the real work of creativity, which is intuitive, impulsive and physical. The spy back isa good cchearsal device, and a brilliant learning tool. In lass these spy backs are shared and the students grow together in understanding the value of the exercises. Questions to ask in the spy back: = What was L concentrated on? What does this movement mean to me: — What is my experience of this? Where is my connection to this? Do I recognize this? Can {do it again? = Where can Tse fr? ete 3 ENERGY: THE LIFE-BODY The life-body Michael Chekhov did not nse this term in his writing, or in his, teaching. Ihave adopted it as a way to describe the inner energy that we play with while pracising the technique. As a teacher Thave come to ue this tem, because I believe it describes, succinetly and perfectly what this elusive and intangible force is It is necessary to call it something, because I refer to tall che time. We could also call i the energetic body, but I prefer xo call tthe lfe-body because This picture allows us a way to give form to the energy and i an expression [ encountered some years ago, ‘cus.a certain kind of picture THe TOOLS 33 also provides the life that we seek as actors. We need to fel that sve have bodies and that we can use them, The same is rue of the life-body. Stand still and feel your feet making contact wath the floor, Here is an experieace we are so familiar with that we hardly notice any more we have feet, Not une T step wrongly off the ‘curb and sist my ankle ce | ever tell myself that [ have an ankle. Buc efter the curbstone twist happens, I say to myself with every step Take, 'T have an ankle! Allow stancing on the floor to become the experience that it fs right now, When you can feel your feet making contact with the floor, chen you can rightly say, ‘Lam present in this moment” Tis so because your attention is with your standing and that is what you are doing. Normally we are not actually present, but drifting with our thought Erereises should hegin with fecling your feet making contact ‘with the earth, This is a signal to yourself that you are present and ready, Auditioning, rehearsing and perfonming sould all start from feeling the feet Exercise 1: Finding the life body aft your right arm so chat it 1s pomeing towards the sky above you. Thea let it mum to just hanging naturally by your side Repeat ts a few times usinyy each arun; see if you can kel wha’ it takes to make chis movernent. Now imagine that inside your right arm is another finer arom made of energy, itis there within the physical arm, thas the same shape, Now try to hf the energy arm first, before you life the physical arm. The phy. just naturally follow the energy arm up so thar you will be pointing co the sky above you, Now begin to lower the energy arin and let the physical arm follow i down, This can be dane in wo ways. You can imagine you are doing it by visualizing yourself doing it, sceing an imaginary arm rising sical arm will34 followed by the real am. You ean also imagine you are doing it Iy feding that you axe lifting an inner arm followed by the zeal arm. There truly is someching to feel here, and nothing 19 see jention on lelig it Iti much more werk to try and. visualize U1 and lite reward comes of i All the exercises need to be experienced. These firs few exercises are Jocused on waking Put your a nip the energetic connection 30 that all the other exercises can be approached with the attention on the life-hody Exercise 2: Timeline Zsily ft your left arm as if point at something on the horlzon. Feel all the way to your fingertips, Then imagine that you can reach past your fingertips inco a space just beyoud your hand. This reaching is not a physical stretching. It is an energetic reaching. You must hie that it is possible so de this with the imagination, then it becomes a fact, The body, and especially the lefi arm, should be easy and light. If you feel tha: you are tense, then release the cension. New you are reaching a bie beyond the body, you are tabling into a space that we could call ‘romorrow", Continue and reach beyond that into ‘nest week’ then reach even further through the opposite wall mt "next year Ted that energetic rays are leaving you in a straight lime and radiating out beyond the wall of the room you are currently in, As you continue te look forward, lift your right arm into the space behind you, Feel that you are reaching beyond your fingertips into ‘yesterday’. Please do not get distracted by what happened yesterday, itis not che poiat of the exercise. The poin is to just send mye encyeticaly into “ast week’ and ‘last year Focus on the line of energy you have just ereated, running from last year through you in die presenc rime, and on into next year, When you make a contaet with this line, say ‘yes! to it Now lower your physleal ams, but Teave dhe life-body arms ‘where thay are, they are a part of the line that help you feel it, Square your shoulders, Stand there comfortably Feeling the line, then begin to walk forward on che line as if to walk {nto the firnre. Stop. Walk backwards on the same line towards the past. Scop, Find the present time. Lift the physical arms up to meet the life-body arms, Conscionsly take back the line from the past and then take back the line frorn the future, lover your ins. Eud. Spy back. Repeat This exercise isa very clear way of understanding that we cin move energetically, that we can move beyond the physical confines of the body, that we can radlote in one direetion and then in two directions. The line itself is very pleasurable. Ic is quite possible 10 take this out of dhe studio and 10 walk for a distance on the line, Walking itself kes on a new feel, a real feting of we certainly appears. Toy it when you are late and must walk quickly somewhere, You will be most surprised how things ice you have done it a few times, change in your journey, O your body ‘knows it and you no longer nee ‘can just spontancously project a line in two directions, then you can walk on Ut There are other exercises to help us feel the life-body the big set-up and Exercise 3: New eyes This exercise is hest done in a large cluuer-free space, Stand up and imagine that yon have eyes on your shoulder blades, and as you sand there, look behind you using your new eyes. Your rention from you, The world somes te normal eyes require 20 & you through your nosmal eyes, you do not have to go to it your attention on looking backwards or behind you with your ld comes to yon, in the back you ards without mening your new eyes, Ia the front the wé ust Took’ for it. Begin to walle back head or your normal eyes from side to side, If you are working in a group, really try to feel (see) when you are about to bump into another person. By looking back with your new eyes, you 3536 will be able to negotiate your way around each other. If you are alone, then stop just before reacting a wall because you can Feel (ee) it with your new eyes, Then stop ss and walk backwards, Is there a difference? Standing stl, look back with your new eyes again. What has changed? Continue to look backwards with your nevr eyes but walk forwards. Stay awake asvare of (0 put your attention on your new eyes. Be present in the room ig your new € at is happening in front of you, but continue now. Lf you feel that it is becoming trance-like, then stop and gather yourself hefore going on again. You need to develop the concentration so that you can do the exercise and not be lost by ic. Always make yourself present. Tt wall nor serve uso float away ina trance. We desire to work consciously. Make ¢} contact with your normal eyes to the people you pass, this will help you tremendously to stay present, But stay involved with your new eyes This exercise delivers a genuine and unique sense of being a ‘hree-dimensional figure in space, It gives us a direct sense of dhaying a back and that this back is in arelationship to the backspace, which Is different (rom the front space, The backspace is a concept my teacher srozzedl. IF we are connceted to the backspace, we att sna place of power. When we ‘light up the backspace, we instantly feel more important. We feel ourselves to be cccupying more space, and the things we do will have more consequence. Weak ness and power as choices become understood in a spatial and physical way. The New Eyes exercise helps to develop the conee tration, Tt is also helpful in the accurnulation/repetition process, while developing the psychological gesture Te is an exercise | introduce in the first mecting, because it allows us to experience ourselves expanding, and gives us a new and energetic starting place. With new eyes you perceive a different sense of having 2 body, and that the bocly is im a space, Exercise 4: Feeling the lfe-body Walk around as if you are a character ina cartoon trying to sueak past a sleeping dog. Walk in a large and exaggerated way so your concentration is completely wrapped up in moving silently and largely around the room. Try cifferent tempos and make your eps varying lengths, Ie is a very child-like thing to do, Play, and enjoy what you are doing. Sneak. Afier a few minutes, stop, then walk normally, but as you are walking, imagine that you are still walking like che cartooa, You ean also just stand still and imagine you are walking like the cartoon, As you do this, really lay to imagine che movement, Tis very umportant (0 locate the Imagination in your rauscles, oF your life-body museles. Then you will feel ike you are actually doing it. Stop. Spy back, Did anything wake up in your body, any sensations, or impulses, images? Exercise 5: Tricking yourself Walle quickly fore keep reinforcing the ides, dhen physically prepare to turn right, Dot atthe last posable moment, tim leit Ty this many times wed andl cell yourself that you will carn right, In both directions, ‘While walking quickly tll yourself to stop, prepare to stop, but do not stop. (Or being stopped, filly prepare to go, but then do not move Really try ( wick yoursel. Spy back, ‘This produces 2 strange sensation where you feel yoursell separared in two, The energetic body is going right and the physical body is going left. The sensation Is very brief bat it becomes clear where intentions are located, and how easy itis to follow what is already tn motion. The head rules in this exercise, Now we can feel how awkward itis when we do not follow the energetic body 738 4 STACCATO/LEGATO Mostly everything we do in our normal lives (except sport or physieal exervise) fs «0 deny chat we have a body. If we always move in a normal tempo, it becomes difficult to get any physical ¢ doing. Repeated movements in a normal everyday tempo have a rendency to nuinb our experlences. Tf we sense of what we speed up our moyen it isa bit more difficult w do them, When we slow dewn our movements, we become very conscions of moving because it 1s taking more time to accomplish things. The point is to become canscious of movement, We have to have ‘knowledge’ of it, The actor's biggest problem is that her instrument is also the same thing that carries her through life, Everyday life makes us shut ‘out some consciousness of moving. The initia intent of this work is to become re-acquainted with our natural phy which we éed as impulses and seusations, ‘The next part is to discover how cettain movements can animate che same natural impulses and sensations Tempo is a clear gauge of a characer's core. There are two types of tempo so work writh, inner and outer. Inner tempo is the speed In which the inner life moves. A slow thinker, or a quick hot leeler, or a sluggish but determaned wall: al that begins inside the charecter, Cuter tempo belongs to what is called business, the physical doing of things. We can practise many of the movement exercises and vazy the consequences by changing the lempo. Staccato is quick movernent with sudden stops and starts, Legato is slaw (aot slow motion) and has no clear stops Ie might stop, but chen again it might not stop ats, we sens that We are moving because Exercise 6: Staccato/legato My teacher, Blair Cutting, a student of Michael Chekhov's class plan, He began each class with the staceato/legato, Ik was of singular importance 9 him. 1 have been doing this exercise for 26 yeart and it is still as fulilling as it was when I was a student, [ have come to believe that the ‘whole Chekhov technique isin this one exercise. Tis an exercise that can be done in many ways, and with different focuses. The basic exercise is a8 folloy Stand in present time, Know that you will move in the six directions of right, left, up, dawn, forwards and backwards, You You will make only one ‘mevement and chis rnovement will be repeated a total of 36 times. Begin the movement by turning to the right and lunging onto your right foot, stepping on it taking all you weight there. It does not need co travel far, a short Innge Is enough, just @ real commitment to the direction of right. So, you are completely facing in this direction from are making this lunge with the lower half of your body, imagine that you are holding two tennis balls, one in each hané, and you will throw these imaginary balls undeshand as far as you can, The fina) position will be all your weight on your right foot fecing completely in What direction, your anmns fully extended in, front of you, the palms of your hands facing downwards, It is swill move in one direction at a time our toes to your face, While you all done in one efficient moversent, one lange gesture of throwing your physical body in this gesture, what remains is for you to send but your inner energy in the dection of right. The energy shoul tatcte out of your fingertips, your fice, your chest aud your knees. Ty to throw it through the righ facing, The physical movement should be done in the tempo of siaccato (quick with siops), The radiation continues briefly then ting position. Iris tmpertant 10 {you never left 4 So you have a complete commitment 10 moving rewards te while lunging to the sight. So mow that yon have m. hand wall you are now yyou retura in staceato t© the st return to this position and be present in it, as right, « throwing gesture, which helps you to throw out or radiate your energy, then a reaum to a daun starting position as if you had never left, Now repeat the same movement, only da 3940 it to the lef, onto the left foot, committed to the direction of left, radiating in that direction, return t@ dhe clean starting positon, From this position you will now throw upwards towards commit to tie up direction, it you face in this direction, starting position, Then teow everything down into the earth, bending your knees, radiating ough the floor, head facing dovin, return to the wart, Now lunge forward xto your right foot and throw in that Girection, radiate, return, Now step back onto the left foot, throw This € one cycle completed, six directions all done in the tempo of stacato. Repeat the cycle in stceato one more time, Then repeat the same cyde in kegaio (low with no stops) Uo fall times. Then repeat one time mm stacesto, and finally one more tne in legato. The whole and radiate, return (0 the clea dowawards ti vnderhand cowards the back, radiate, return exercise should take no more than two minutes to complete Mr Cutting suggested doing this exercise on the stage in preparation for a performance, before the audience is admitted did that then, and still do, This is a wonc up the instrument. It also allows you to fill Uie space with your energetic self. Ie is a creative act to do with other actors, as it helps the ensemble feeling, I cannot begin a performance vrithout ‘ean throw off unwanted fc now. Iti» kind of cleansing ae stale or negaive energy dhat cau. iasidiously interfere with my beet intentions as a performer. The exercise also helps us to ground these two tempos with in the body, thereby inenponting 2 dynamic understanding of character and quality, We ean discover a great deal eth these tora tempos if we see polaciey between them gives them significant consequence hem as viable means of expression. The 5 THE SENSES: EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING. Expanston/ contraction a principle but itis also a taal hecause it is something that can be done. It is an inner event and if we follow it then we are involved with the principle. Expanding or ropuacting is very specific activity that we can localize anywhere sce choose. IL 1s possible to expand the body, or the organs, or snses, of the space, Ie always delivers great rewards when fe are engaged with it Experiencing the life-dody growing or shriaking fills us with the eb anc) Row of vitality. Are we grow ing in the [ace of something or somebody? Are we shrinkin ‘These are very simple questions hat are easily auswesed, easily known, and the inner activity can be easily done he Exercise 7: Relationship to people and objects Make a soft fist with one of your hands. Look at the fist and slowly open your hand, as you do this tell yourself that you are growing, Try to experience it asa growing, a filling with vitality, power, effectiveness and stwength, When you have reached the end of the movement, whea your hand is ec its most open, then begin to contract it into the soft fist again, Tell yourself thar you ring, S hrinking, and ny co fee! this movement a cerrala vitality 3s withdrawing are shrinkiag or wit cas that because a from you. Play with these wo movernents for a little while watching them and freling them, Use both hands, and then add your arms, Do this easily and softly and you will scan feel what expanding is, and what contracting is. When you have this understanding, then yon can hegin to play with it In your imagination “Tell yourself that y wwe have this, but » Ciscovering it, we come to appreciate It because it is new. We Tow thar our sense of taste is located on the tongue and we ‘an taste because we have taste bnds there. Imagine that it is [Possible to expand your sense of taste, This activity, as you wil find out, isa familiar one. Sustain the activity of expanding now anal lla the ier aisry. Whatever impulses caune to you. ou have the sense of taste, We know that take it for granted. Saying i is almost like 4yourself to follow them. Play as long as you are able to receive something from te expanding, Approach some object and see ‘what kind of a relationship you have to the object. Now try the op about tasting, so don’t get conf is Liorally ab rosie and contract your sense of taste, None of this is actually sed here about the exeneise. I conticcting your ailey w tase. TF we make this about tasting chocolate or anchovies, then there 38 nothing we ise We put our energy into recalling a specific ct Lucky and actually recall it, But we tan susan a growing or a shrinking and it will always speak te taste and maybe we will g ts, Approach the same object contracting your sease of taste, Do you have the same relationship to that abject? Now try the same thing with your sense of smell, Tist tell yourself da you have this sense of smell and you wl know ght away where itis located ane what it is, This will make it sible to contract this sense of stnell, Sustaln the activity and follow the impulses. Say yes to what is happening to you, grab hold of it and Jet i take you, Notice how you deal with the world around you. Now expand your sense of smell and sustain the activity. & yes’ and follow the expansion, Notice how your relationship to things has changed. You can do the exercise with all ve of your senses and you will discover a rich, nuanced and suggestiv world that is easily accessed. You will algo find that this is just the beginning of an approach to what Chekhov called ‘pure act ing’, which Is acting without justification, yet fall of psyehology 6 QUALITIES OF MOVEMENT When we understand the value of working with archetypes, Michael Chekhov's technique makes a new kind of sense and real order begins to appear Chekhov rightly suggested dat How is che primary question amjsis need to ask. He recommends that we leave the question of why 10 a later time in the rehearsal. If we begm by asking the question why, we will he engaged on a level that is both dey and cold; the question has little roam for the imagination, He said why Is a scientist's question, Who does what bow? This is a good way to order the work. Ia the ead it will become necessary to answer why, but he suggests that how will give us the answer to why, Who is obviously the character, this is creative work and much of i revolves around how. What, are the things that happen, most of that what is given by the author. The ‘objective’ remains for the actor to work ou, und this is also whut, The question of how opens up the creative world for us. This g back again and again to see great plays like Rom an Jae, hecauise on answered is what allows us to come itis about interpretation. Kvery production of this play is diferent from another, be ruse of how itis interpreted. ‘We can use a simple example by posing this question: Why does the earth zevol c sun? Iisa question for scientists and they can answer i in this way around t Any two masses exert gravitation forces on each other [Newtons Law of Universal Gravitation). Thatefore the force of attraction, between the sun and the earth is large enough to make the earth veer off from the straight line path that it would have fallow othemise followed by Newton's First Law and te a an ellipsis There is lide here to excite de lmagination, 14s ancerestin yet it does not serve the artist. If we ask the question: Haw does the carth revolye around the sun?, we are immediately broug! Into ¢ world of images and qualities. We see images of day and night, dime, the passage of the year, spinning and tilting, ete. All of these Images have some power to stir the artist inte action Hovr it happens speaks dizectly to aetion and quality, corre Ponding to willing and feeling 43We can look at this question of has, in terms of acting, by approaching it dirough quality. The quality of a movement makes ique, Becat it itis movement, it speaks dirscily to the actor, Ifyou were to pick up au object, even a newspaper with absiute se, it wil] awaken communicate the circumstances and your Feelings for the object If yom pick mp the same object sgh and quickly, something else iin you a concern for the object that could will be awakened, and another cigcumstance with its corres ponding feelings will he nmmunicated, If we believe thet we shen mostly any quality will speak to us, especially how we move In Michael Chekhov's book, To the Acer, the first exercises presented are to feel chat you have a body, and that the body moves. Immediately, there follow exercises on different ways 10 ch of move, He offers four distinct qualities of movement and these qualities is an azchetype. The genius of this is that by working on one of these qualities you are working on so many different qualities at the same cme. The names he has given them are Moniding, Flowing, Flying aad Radiating, They very aeally correspond with the four elements of earty, water, airand fire, respectively. Chekhov's exercises here are very atinightforward: make movements with thie or chat quality. A aew sense of movement is Immediately offered dhat pots the actor's sense of movement on alert, as it were, 10 become avrare of what the experience of moving in this specific way awakens Moulding movements (earth) are resisted by the space, as if you were moving through a space made using the whole body, you mould and carve and prod your way ‘irough the (earth) space. The snavement naturally becomes slow and heavy, forceful and determined, exact and economical. The into play and the ides of form becomes corporeal at all restricted. by the The space is flowing like of wet clay, Hke sculptors will cou owing movements (water) are nc space, but are led along by che space, You move from one thing seamlessly into che next jst vo hep up with the flow. Ir ean be {38 or slow, heavy or light, Moving like this you wall find case and charm, pleasure, joy, convietion. Moving in this vay, one can abso experience helplessness Flying movements (air) are gone almost before we know the have happened, Off they go our ineo the space, ‘The space moves so quickly ~ flying away, aking al form with as it fies off this way, that way, up and down, all around. A panic, or confision, a chaes, oF even a miraculous connection, or a realization come from flying Radiating movements (fie) deew attention to themselves ike deacons of light in the night, These movements light up the darkness of the space, they allow us to make contact with other things outside ourselves, We can move to lluminate the world, The movement is full of understanding and compassion, Ic is allvays attractive and at ve same time empowering ine way that is not hard or violent. Tae mavements go beyond the body with energetic rays. These movements have purpose and clarity These are che delineating aspects ofthe archetypes, which help uss to separate them from each other. Many more things are posible Kawth se rnnich mare than wet clay? Ic also sand. or gravel, or heavy stone, Bach image delivers a new yer related . {fwe pata bit of air in the earth thea it ier to move Uhrough, of we could come to 8 complete halt ith without pausing, without choosing movement experie and crack our way trough the stone. The earth could water to result in mud oF fertile land. ‘The mud eoule become baked with the heat of fire into a hard cracked or brittle ‘medium to move thravgh Water flows, but objects in it float lazily upwards, resting upon it, supported and influenced by the nature of the dow Water can also rise in a flood or ebb away, Tiny steams trick! and they also swell with rain. The water can be supportive or crushing, Waves move with tremendous force taking things with46 Udhem eicher to arrive o be swept away, They ako crash violently oa a beach with weight and force, There are currents and whirlpools, etc, Water can mean all fluids and each moves the way I€ moves, blood, oil, puss, honey, et Fire coasuines fuel and gives off light, heat and smoke, Te can or explode, it can dance, and lick, and spit, and spuster, Ic s destrwetive and helpful, It repels and beckons. Fire can and airy, and flare up. T can glow low and secretly. I can fash, Te can light the way and wanm the night, Tt can cause you t© pen up to It or to cum away from it Bice is atuactive and rngrossing, comantic or cataelysmnic, The element of ait Is fas: and thin, Home Cor kites and birds and swirling dust, The tempo is fist, ight and airy. Things are done as che crow flies, directly, or carelessly, tudefinitely. The chilling wind and tae balmy breeze are found here: gusts and gales, puffs and whirlwinds, updrafis and gasses. “These elemeats are the building blocks of the universe, We can tase them to build of our ar, forming yelationships, actions and ways of performing own universe. They axe the building blocks the character. They meet circumstances dough quality and connect images to the reality of deang, 7 THE ARTISTIC FRAME: CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT Normal everyday movement is general vithout consciousness. We need (© move to carry on a hfe, and our movements become ‘more functional than expressive; we lose conscioumess of them. As actors we have 19 1 and expression, and between rmoW uke he connection between movement vent and life. The artistic Game is a device iat we employ in the dass, or for part of the rehearsal, We do not use it in performance because it takes too much attention, and our expression will appear stilted We acquire knowledge and facility by using the anistic very action af consequence has thiee part co it che pre the act itself, and the sustaining, These three parts are what make ‘up the artistic fiame, In exercising, itis critical that we use this tool. Te is sitnple enough to do and well worth the el takes (0 make happen, Tn terns of anovement, i¢ means that the movement will have tree parts, The preparation 1s the engagement of the life-body, the act itself is the physical movement that is made, ané che sustaining 18 the radiating 0 the movement. To radiate the movement means that we go on, swith it for as Long as we can radiate it, Agamn, its the Life-body moving Leyond the physical body, This practice puts intentional movement into the body. ft makes many’ things possible and it 1s also pleasurable. Exercise 8: The artistic frame To experience che artistic frame, we can return to Exercise 1 Most of the artistic frame was already engaged in chat exercise, Stand still and be present by feeling your feet on Ue floor. You will raise your arm so that it will be pointing towards the sky above you, Hegim by raising the inner anu of dae Life-body (preparation). Then allow your physical arm to follow that preparatory movernent (the act itself). When you have reached the end of the movement, when the arm cannot rise up any more, and you are pointing (0 the sky, continue to reise the inner arma of he life-body for as long as you can (sustaining), This is the artishie frame, Doing this makes the moverneat clear to you, [talso tains the life-body to become consciously engaged If the life-body knows how the movement is done, then st becomes possible to experience the movement without actually ‘moving the physica) body. This is required if you want to make a successfil practice out of the psychological gesture. 47a8 8 ACTION: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE Perhaps the most tmporrant contribution Stanishaysky made to the art of acting was his idea of the objective, and units of action I is a way to form the work and dis helps the actor to sustain time, because it is a solid footing, clear and energetic, This dramaic action allows the actor to speak his ss and interact with others na way chat is necessarily consistent the performance © ish the story or the conflict presented. Without It, che script of the author would be merely written ww rds spoken sloud. Knowing how we are active in the scene is a real concer for exery actor, We can define it with words, verbs, strong verbs and we can have these yexbs in our minds and this will give us 4 guide t stay on conrse with the intentions of the playwright We can also translate these verbs into archetypal statements Of action, which will lead ws to gestures, and these gestures can Being in the boely, these gestures (Forms) come (0 the actor direcly as knowledge, or a physical connection (o the action. They can generate impulses to satisfy the action, become our guideps ‘The impulses surge through the body, and dls engenders a real bidding to do. One doesn't have to convince oneself of anything, one is not called upon te consider anything, because the intellect, is left ont of the effort. The innor gosture ie the epsnic ta die fie of life on stage. Action has to be approached through the realm of the will, and this is centred low in che body. Unfortunately, scudent actors are often led to t by way of the intellect and that is centred quite high in the body. This thinking causes some difficulty, some faltering and floundering. Action is not the character's thinking ic is che will of the character taking on a form, Clearly action is about dolng and noc abou thinking. What am Toing? A questi inevitably come to a¢ actors; it leads as to the lorm. What I an doing is very specific, the more specific the better but the gesture I seek for this action is alive for me when T can THeToOs 49 determine that find the essence of that action, If, for example, my action in the scene is to seduce the other, then T must find 4 gesture that is all about seduction. In seeking it, will find that the gesture of seduction is a pulling in towarcls me. 1am seducing so that can have it, If T have It) then J have taken it This ts essentially what is going on, this business of aking in 3 very special way that seduction, To take could be called an archetypal action and it holds the smaller actions of seducing, or spying, or plundering, or seizing, or killing, ete ‘When learning about the objective, we have been led co look at it in this way: What do [ want? This is helpful for the intel Jectual pursuit of finding it, For an actor playing Richard 10, it might sound something like this: ‘I want to be king.’ This is okay, thas started (o wake up something in the actor. In the end it will become more important to ack: ‘Haw do T heceme king?” It is not so much any more about wanting something but ahout doing somerhing. Richard becomes king by murdering, by stealing, by seducing, by seizing power. Hie is all the time taking in one form for another, with one quality or anodker. If dhe actor finds the ‘gesture for this archetypal starernent of action, ‘I take’, and works with It in many ways, it will take him far. The simplicity of the choice helps the actor to explor® its various potentials and range The eapluration is through quality: To teke slovrly and sneakily is very different than to take explosively, which is different again from taking grandly. These qualities added to the gesture, supply the specific of each moment of taking, all the while the actor is invalved with one simple gesture. There is no inner dialogue of doubt er consideration, no questioning of the self as to ‘whether 1am on the right track’. The gesture opens within the actor a steady stream of taking. Streams of taking are generating Impalses that fulfil the accion, The body comes alive in ew and unexpected ways, and the actor engages us because he becomes fascinating. This is the real gift of the performing artist, co sustain 3 condition of fascination for the sudience. As long 2s the actor50 Wena workin che thet ve alse feratea by he poten cf Shakespeare bu sty at we fated thes Yess sways ule iat evil et more en teh pay ihe ang the Cvs ad om and not his body Bivegintbbad Wen wc looks atom i an archetypal way, we find ths fea xe are not so many atchelypal actions, Everything begins with waning aed then leads to someting te more seve and direct. ‘T want’, is itself an archetypal statement of action, There ss 9 gesture that clearly speaks cis, a primitive and lovely gesture tat wakes up in us chese streams of wanting; it may even be the very first gesture we make 0 the outer world ay human beings. It is a gesture ftom che infant who sts alone and calls ft to the mother, not with words but with the body. The gesture says, ‘] want comfort, { want food, E want you.” As you read this, iC possible to see this gestaze, because we all know it, we have all made it, And if you make this gesture right now, you ‘can feel the sireains of wanting moving through your body, T: Movintene, “rn ‘Many things we want and many things we do not want The things we do not want we actively re) ourselves: and here we find fh another one of these archetypal statements, ‘I reject’. This too is primitive, active and evocative, Again the child child sated or utterly discomforted making this gesture of refusal and rejection The infant as guide isso clear, because there is no language except .RestUrE to communicate the most primitive things. As we become more sophisticated, our primitive needs and wishes do not disappear from us. They stay within the bor dlireet yet amcor wothout language becomes our guide, We see and we are im a ‘ous contact with them, We now have words and concepts, ideas and proofs of ‘why this’ and ‘why that”. We easily confuse one ding wich another, so many things have and we must remember them all, When we come things ae simpler but no less back co the archetypal, the profound “There are times when we cannot be persuaded or we will not be persuaded, Our opinion, our point of view, our stand must hold and nothing will change it, ‘Thold iny ground’ leads us to a fine gesture where we became rooted in our beliefs, we dare another to elange things even though we know that it will be impossible, Sometimes, afier Jong argument and conflict, when J cam no hold my ground, after I have been beaten or persuarted Tonge: then it becomes necessary 10 yield. This cm run the gamut from completely submissive to a very arrogant or reluctant yielcing. Another archetypal gesture can be employed here from the statement yield’ Generosity within us is « powerful force. It is so difficult to swaich another sulfer even slightly, We do what we can 10 help them, We joke with them, pray for ther, cheer taem up, kiss them, console thera, slap them out of it, or challenge them to help themselves, All of these actions and amore live in the archetypal starement of 'T give ‘This work has enthralled me for some time and T have examined it with serutiny. What J have discovered is this. There are six statements of action. These statements could be called auchetypal, and all other actions or objectives are based in 1] Want = 1 Reject, I Give ~ { Take, T Hold My Ground ~ Yield. Try as T might, Tcannot come up with others. | found that these hold so many things sulfice. Because they ate archetypes the within them. Qualities 2 quality will always change tie archetypal 1o the specific. Kissing actions, are muly bath «practically infinite in number, and and punching, which seem to be opposite giving One of them is tender and soft, dh other is violeat and52, THE TOOLS hard. The specific gestures themselves may differ as well, but essentially it is something coming from me and going to you, Again s€ 1s hese to be a8 specific as one can be concerning the chosen action, I: will not do to simply say, ‘Tam giving’ if what intend t9 do 4s to cheer you up. This clear choice needs to be settled firs Yes, I am cheering you up. The nest question is HOW can this happen? If | begin to talk out Te can cheer you up, and while Iam talking about it T also use my hands to help me speak, Twill find thar T unconsciously begin to make 9) tures which are very much about giving. Now 1 know that this 1s how its done, and {can find the psychological gesture of giving with is light quality and upward dizection, My mind is satisfied, $0 I no Longer have to think about it. But beter than that, this gesture of giving begi 0 wake up impulses in the body. These impulses help me to lift you ont of your doldrums or cheer you up, Tn raining we work with five gestures as archetypes, and for tualning purposes these five are cich, Pushing, pulling, lifting, ‘rowing and rearing are a means of realizing the six statements of action, There are six directions to exercise them in: forwards, backwards, up, down, left and right, There is cifferent mforma- tion from each of these directions, and there is, as stated above, an infinite number of qualities to week with, Qualities are merely adverbs. Of course this can become beginning, so students are czutloned to wo with qualities that can easily be imagined as a way to move, Words like tenderly, slovily, quickly, lightly, heavily, quietly, carefully, carelessly, plosively, sluggishly ae highly secommended, Te is Destin the beginning to aveidl emotional adverbs, can fool them: sneakily, 5 into believing they are moving angrily, for example, when tather they have become angry and start moving, The former is full of artistic pocential, while the latter can beccane a havard for the other accors on stage Exercise 9: Psychological gesture for the objective say, ‘I want’ and repeat these ow words again and again until you fel a gesture forming within you, Then stop saying it and Just begin to execute the gesture, Make i large and fall-bodied put 2s much of your consciousness ino it as you can. You raast uly know you are doing this, Feel what i going on within you ‘while you ace making is gesture, especially when you radiate up stems of wanting within yon. Recogalze the impulses that caiae from dhe streams of wanting that are being generated by the gesture Use the artiste fame now, s0 that yon can lear (o make dhe gesture without the physical body. ‘The artistic feame is invaluable at this point, 1 will deliver to you the real meaning of your gesture, Using the artistic frame how will alow you fo bring this gesture ono the stage later if you need it, Icwill help to make the gesture an inner gesture. 1 ‘ill make the gestare one of the “intangible means oF expression’ Repeat this process with the remaining five Archetypa the words undl you fel a gesture fn, The gesture wi Statements of Action. Spea forming within you. Stop speaking the words, use the physical body and make the gesture, A full-bodied gesture is what you want, The gesture should take up a Jot of space. There is nothing mundane about it These gestures are primitive; they are effective xy are primitive. You vill feel it by speaking the Decaus words, The gesure will wake up the will. Use the artistic frame Spy back, tll yourself what you experienced, reinforce it all with the spy back, 9 THE SWEET SPOT: SUSTAINING AN INNER MOVEMENT Im any action there is a moment that could be called the bight point, Iris when we receive the mest satisfaction from the action, IFT really wanted to slap someone in the face, I would use a 354. THE TOOLS fairly large gesture to do it, IPT followed duough with tt, 1 believe the most satisfying moment would be when my hand made contact with the face. Thi ‘ould be called the high pota When we work with the life-hody, we are able to cater into a fantasy time/space where & becomes possible io sustain a very litde moremeat for a long time. In the case of the slap, it would bea matter of continually living in the moment wliea my hand sakes contact with che face, thet moment Is higpering cially, not over and ever again, bat always, i is always new and fiesh, the hand contacting the face, ‘That is che sweet spo and 1 can sustain that, Aldough we have mace a very \we need from it, in the end sera gas the lol hoy we become pyle positon to become eal by ic We need et fl aod a repeat this age ter gare ovr sd a large gesture and si committed to again, Instead, as pre and investigate the gesture, we vv find the sweet spot; the place in the gesture where we recognize we are getting the strongest excitation, Ir is much easier to do this than to wilk about ii Ifyou can already move the gestave inwardly den you can sustam the sweet spot. This kind of conscious eons reeds (0 be explored and used in the rehearsal Ifyou do that then, te body will member i all, and be able to doit without effort in the performance Exercise 10: Sustaining the sweet spot Create a psychological gesture that expresses the archetypal statement of "I take!. Wark with it, using all of the body. Feel satisfied that the gesture is waking up stxeams of taking within you. Use the artistic frame so dat your life-bady Inaws the gesture aud ao kuows how to make it body. Try to sustain the gesture inwardly fo ithout the physical as long as you ean, follow the impulses, ete. When you are satisfied thar the gesture js. good one, Le. dia it has the power to move you, en you can begin to look for the sweet spot. Return to making the gesture ‘wich the physical body. Pay close attention while you are making the gesture, as you are looking for the moment when you get the biggest kick or excitation from this gesture. Be clear about the playsica] location of the sweet spar. Now use the artistic frame that you can introduce this sweat spot to the life-body. only the life-body ane live in that moment always. You ret, but you only have again, s Now u do not have to repeat it over and o\ copesiaxe that moment es continually happening, You are engaged ‘with a sustaining effort here, It as an inconceivable occurrence, sly done, It is one of the intangible; you cannot fon what it 1s, but clearly you will experience yer itis qui pat your fingy something. It could happen for the whole scone if you needed It, or i€ could last for a monologue, or a brief moment 10 SENSATION: FLOATING, BALANCING, FALLING We have all couched fire before and we have been burned by i, vo we do not have to think about how to behave when handling it, Every experience we have ever had has been witnessed and The badly has reacted to it, and the body has file by the body also recorded it. IF we seck the experience asa sensation which is something felt by the ody, as opposed te a memory of a specific event, then we begin to discover that these sensation are tied cogether, all of our sorrows having been forgocien by our conscious selves, bur never forgotten by the body are alive as sensations, The specifics of any past events ate no longer Important to us. What we find is that the response to the event is there within us. It can be felt again, triggered by the inner movements we made when we first experienced this event, We also discover that all che sensations that produced a particular 586 tion in us live all together in what Chekhov called our subconscious laboratory. All joys, all fears, all jeslousics, all regrets, all loves, all pleasures, all doubts, all sorrows, all hopes are there and all this ; mown by the body. They have accumulated, each in ‘own house, each bouse living within us as archetypes. J, the actor, can surmmon them. 4 curious thing about Michael Chekhov's investigations is tha they invariably yield a limited choice of possibilities, But soon ‘webegin co understand that with the proper application these few choices can exponentially grow into 2 multitude, Clear examples ‘of what J am talking about are these sensations. Jusi before his cant, Chethov began ope He discovered that there a i inree primary archetypal sensasions The frst sensation, Honing, holds all the positive feelings we might experience. This physical sensation is essentially our ability ro move upwards. [08 re bbut one will sufice here. We Sensations of joy, pride, love sled in oul guage in more idioms than one, ak of our spirits being lifted edom, hope, ee, move im an mnce them as a kind of floating upward direction, and we ex up. The second sensision, falling, holds all negative feelings we might experience, We speak of being down in the dumps, falling Into despair, e«, Sensations of sorrow, doubt, confusion, panic espair move in a as some kind of fall, The third archerypal sensuiton, bukucag, ot seeking the equilibrium, holds the transitory sensations of under standing and revelation, These mouvents of balance are when we gather all of our forces to keep our feet on the ground, as it were, {0 not fall, wot to float away. I Is 40 easy to fall, So easy t0 float ff, but it requires much work to stay balaneed and awake and swnward direction experie! ‘ection and we experience ther power, sobity, ete Obviously we cannctlterly oa away. We hae keep us on the earth, nor are we cor i ity to inually falling down jase sue Toois 57 to get up again, We are actually in a kind of numb physical palance. These actions of floating and falling can be looked at a purely psychological things and can be tenslated into physical Anderstandings or in chis ease physical sensations. They become very dynamic realities for the actor to employ. The body feels fhe sensations. Within the bedy they correspond to inner mave~ rents, or movement impulses, Gyzinasts and acrobats ean learn to fall gracefully and effortlessly without any pante; this is their work and we applaud them for this ability, but any normal person who has the slightest bit of a fall, or even near fal, will Fecelve at instant and defiaite panic that 1s experienced in the pit of the stomach, Jusi recall a time when you went to sit Gown and judged the chair to be a certain distance beneath you, then you give into the sitting, only to discover that you had iiscalculated that distance by just a few centimetres, The resulting sensation in the pit of your stomach is enough fo cause you to Tet out a cry or 2 gasp of fear, which always results in a lite Taugh once your buttocks find the chair and your equiibeium is restored. This fall of a few centimemes is a dynamic experience: it isin fact a real event that can be useful to the actor. There is also the moment of desperation when we are awakened from & dream in which we have begun to fall, This is very primitive business, but nonetheless very human, [tall ends, however, once the equilibrium is restored So the work becomes: How can I susiain « psychological fal? Hoy can J sustain a real panic that wants 0 resolve (self in bal ‘mee? Michael Chekhov's approach always comes back to the jmagination, So to speak about a sustained fll here, we must Jook at it as an imaginative fll. fall that begins im che tmagis- ation but is felt, and doesn't end until the actor ends it, Tt isn't tually the fll that interests 1s, but the acy of fallin, When the human body is falling, here is an accompanying sensatio Chekhov said that tae door to feelings Is opened theough sem sation, The process is a clear one, We know as actors that We58. THe Tools cannot appeal to the emotions, because we ris coming up with nothing but tension, We hope forthe bes: and trust in inspiration is through our feelings that we communicate; Chekhov said the feelings are the language of the actor. Actors come to believe that if iey think sad choughts they wall become sad. But what is in fact happening to us as humans e are thinking sad thoughts because we are sad. And ‘iia its ur bodies and the sensation of sadness within the body that is leading us to have sad thoughts, We fail to notice that we are sed in our hands and shoulders and legs, chat our movemnents are heavy, and that we aze having sensations that are downward moring. This is always ruc and we can recreate these downward movements with our imaginations, Once the sensation begins, tke natural love of events comes uaimpeded, so that the sensation awakens the feeling and the feelmgs ead us to the emotion, which is the final outer expression seen by the audience, 1 follows then tat the opposite is me of upward movements and their accompanying sensations, In the imagination, it is possible to float up, to sustain this floating up and (o experienc the body of parts of it moving in an upward direction, The sensations that follow are ones of pleasure, joy, victory or eedom, The balancing sensation isa bit more elusive, because we ake for granted our perpetual stare of equilibrium, and only experi cence the sensation of secking the equilibrium in order to prevent a fall In raining we bring ourselves to che point of filling where upon we catch ourselves almost as if we overe tightrope walkers who must use all our powers to stop ourselves from plunging ‘our death. This is a very powerful sensation, a moment of revelation and strength. With practice this sensation can he sustained and we can prolong the feeling and use it as we need it. These three primary sensations is work on the vertical line ‘The horizontal line, with its directions forwards and back- wards, Is equally powerful, The sensation of fear is backward moving, a retreat or fight mechanisan that is quite easy to engage, and produces a curious eflect of doulx, uunidity, apprehension, concer, etc scan ane The forward moving sensation is one of a very ac will, confident, expectant, assured, resolute, etc The directions of purely right and purely left are subtle in their paychological meanings, If, however, we look at these dizec- tions as working simultaneensty, then something very interesting begins to oceur, We ean experience ourselves either growing or shrinking, This expansion and consraction ts fall of possiblities, and is at the very bottom of Chekhov's technique, It is possible ence them as to form these principles into gestures, or to expe sensations, also as umer movernents, lekhiov's technique is always striving 0 lead the actor to an. objective understanding of che human condition, These dings spoken of here are universally human, they belong to all of us, and when we contact them we have an immediate affinity for them because we recognize chem, But more importantly, when the audience warches an actor engaged with physical sensations, -xperience a sympathetic response. The audience declare taey were moved by the performanc se something in them was in fact moving, If they took the time to analyse what was going fon, chey would find dat the idiom they just used was simply true Exercise 11: Experiencing sensation as inner movement in a direction This directly from Michael few included in this book that comes Thekhov. He says that sensaion 1s the simplest and clearest way to access the feelings we need to express, BY appealing te the sensacion, whieh is 2 playsical dhing we aze on solid ground be ercise is one of suse our orientation is always with the body, Say to yourself, 'T want to experience the sensation bf defeat." You can trust that the body Ianowrs this sensation. Any time in your life when you experienced defeat, your body was 39with you, and your bedy recorded ft as a sensation. If you give yourself the time and space to experience this sensation afier you ask for it, you will experience it, It is simply the ability to lbten for a movement and recognize its ditection, You will fee thi of defeat as an inner movement that is moving sowawards,Itis pulling you down, so to speak. This ts the playsical sation and tls now awakens a feng, and this fing will give way to the emotion. The emotion is the outer esprtvion that is sect, by the audience, It is quite fantastic that you can produce this sensation by commanding it, even if it is not connected to any ireamstance, or any why. Simply by asking for It you can have it if you remain sensitive to what is going on with your body. You can repeat this simple comand, Sensation of’, and ty various sensations, The body knows them all, Here are some examples: ‘T want to experience the sensation oF, love, fear, shame, power, victory, freedom, sorrow, joy. standing in the moonlight, doubt, jedlousy, grief, pleasure, Ask for them and you will receive them, You want to experience the Piysicel saseton. Do not worry about the emotional aspect of it. IF the emotion presents ftself then go wrth it, but just live in the sensation, The sensations are stroag and they will lead you. What {is most interesting here is dati Is all somewhat abstract, without Justification, rimrmetsnce, ox cause, It your choice ay an actu, T want co experience the to have and use these things, Wher the imaginary circumstances ‘ofthe play ace around you, and the chamvtr is involved with them, then the chat will receive the sensation that is correct fox tha specific moment, These are simply sparks that will enflame the »ecessary entotional life. Ifyou are an actor, then the circumstance alone onght to be enough to ignite you. If they do not, chen you can find what you want in ehis way 11 CHARACTERIZATION: STICK, BALL, VE To create something good, itis best to have a clear foundation ‘o build upon. Ttis¢ very simple thing t read the play and een make 4 decision based on the frst reading. in doing this we have already begun to probe into things, there is no need to analyse anything yet. One idea and one image can take us into the play from the point of view of the character. We could call it 3 first bold stroke, and it can open the door o che mystery ofthe play To look at Hamlet as an example, by merely reading the play, ne appears to us as a thinkes, his thoughts touble his soul, ane nis struggle into action is the main conflict he wrestles with This simply makes sease and is completely jusifable. We can The picnmre of him is feel comfortable with this beginning ‘hich complete as a human being, and we have a container in to place the play. This view of Hamlet as: 1. thinking, 2, feeling, 3, doing character leads us to images that can evoke within real creativity. We can call him a chinker, because this Is the First of che throe functions he engages, This is an important distinction and delmeation in our search for dhe character 12 THINKING Thought as a fonction moves with a perciculay quality. Itis direct and it works to find its way to the target piescing through nan essential dings, separating what is auc from what is false, what will work Jom whar will not work, etc., much like an arrow moving swiftly Hough the air. This arrow is an apt metaphor because its structure i that ofa stick, Thinking ts a linear process and the stick is an amage that is ripe with possibility for us. If ngs sat to happen instanlly we apply it ro che body, interesting to our psychelogy, Exercise 12: Incorporating an image, a stick Picture a stick, and now imagine that your whole hod isa stick and the stick can move, To begin with, you must become a stick; completely forget that you ar> a human being, This is peculiar. aAt first it is a total body investigation of the tmage. You are educating your hody to know how itis to move like a stick, You will find that your movement becomes suf? and very rigid. Try in as large a way as possible, taking up as much space % possible. Do chs for a while until you feel that you have traly incorporated the image, and that the body understands it. Once this happens, itis now possible to allow the rigid movements time to shift your concentration {rom outer to inner, Lec the sifiess fall rom the physical body hut continue to move by dhe bod mn the outside; it is 5a stick with the life body. Do various activities that are real and practical, and pay attention to what ovetts with y psychology. Ask yourself if this is how you normally experience yourself, and then try to Identify exactly what you are experiencing, Tf you are working sn the right way, you will in to notice a shift in heing, This ‘snot a character per se, what you have done is opened the door ‘into what could be called the ‘House of Stick’. Continne to do sctivities that are real. walk, st, stand, lie down, pick up an abject, handle it, give i to another person, I te, Perhaps you notice a concentration of energy somewhere in the body, Hopefully you will feel different from your normal self, Lewause you ate moving with consciousness, and this is ak at things, touch abject, something we do not normally do, To move wich consciousness is very important, The image comes with information for the body to absorb. ft is quick and simple Now that you have created and entered the House of Sick, it 's possible to visit che various rooms within it. Yow can become specific about che type or quality of stick you wish to incorporate Lets say the stick is now a toothpick, This 4s a very special kind of stick, 1 Is pointed at both en very thin and fragile One could pierce and poke with it, but it remains thin and is easily broke Using the toothpick as the image, return to the 1 will find thar at is meh more spacific and ie gets closer to character, However, there is pot yet a complete character in your body, Other possible rooms that could be in this house are baseball bat, beautiful inlaid wooden chopsticks, police tuncheon, iron pipe, peuell, wee crunk, sword, haipin, ete, Any objecr that is rigid and moves in a stiff and unbending way could belong in this ‘house’, ‘The type of stick that belongs to Hamlet is of couse up t© you, and how you are able uo iunagine Hamlet or the qualities ‘which belong to him, Bringing this new way of moving and Delaving Lavo the rehearsal will lead you to make choices hat come out of your intuition and association and imagination, as opposed to coming from the rational mind. With a very simple image it becomes possible to begin without a plan, You will find many things for the character through this and as you proceed with your rehearsals, other finer images will offer themselves to you, almost as if you are a magnet and this inal, primitive vwork will become covered by richer and more sophisticated things, 13 WILLING If you were wo work on another character thar Is not a thinker bat a doer or willing person (let us say Romeo, whose first Impulse fs co do chings), chen you would need to visit anouier house. Ifthe three fimetions are put into their proper order for en he has feelings, Romeo we see that he first takes action, d and after thar he thinks about his feelings. The image te explore re is that of a ball, The ball hat rolls andl bounces, and would © 10 stay in motion, is sn appropriate image 1 could contin ‘or Romeo, When we imagine something like perpetual motion, we are led to the image of a sphere, like a planet in our solar system64. THE TOOLS Exercise 13: Incorporating an image, a ball Again begin wieh the picture of ball. Then wake a fall bod! exploration so that you can incorporate the ball, Ibis not necessary to get down on the floor and oll around, althouigh you can il you wish. Rather try to work with the shape and the feeling ol rolling and then bouncing. Roll into chings, bounce off them continue im a constant motion of doing. You will find that your movernenis are in fact coninwous andl I is alemost as tf you are constantly looking for something to take up your actention in an active and spontaneous way, Contiaue like tis until you feel as if your body has understood the essence af te ball, Now salt your attention to moving inwerlly like a ball. Let all the abstract kind of movement slip away from your physical body and begin to move outwardly as normally es is possible, You ate a human being now, yet the energy of the relling, bormeing Fall is leading you from the Life-body. Ask yoursell'if this is anything like your normal expericuce of yoursell If It 1s not, haw 38 it different? Begin to co various activities like you did wich th Stick, Involve yourself in activities anuch like che character worl lo, T ought ro become clear to you thst this is nothing like the stick. Still, it is not a character. This is only a way to lead yon ere, you ae now in the ‘House of Uall. IF you are only exercising this new way of ‘king at chings, then it is important to cteate and visit as many of the rooms of this house as you can, Some possible rooms are ping pong ball, football, billiard ball, beacl ball, medicine ball, egg, basketball, baseball, etc, What conneets thei o the House of Ball is that these objects roll and ounce into and off tings. Fach of these balls is quite different from the others, each has a particular way of moving, each has a different pumpose, and each has its own quality, Fach of these balls can express a different kind of will, and your inv as the imaginative aetor is to find the ball that's fit for Rorneo. ‘We can call Romeo a doer hecause this is his fist function, it THE TOOLS 65 pot as if he only wills himself into action, the play would not live without his feelings andl his thoughts. Tt is a very special ray of being we are locking for, and a way to transform from ‘our everyday selves into a character that is consistent. He is a vrilling type of man and the ball ean help to contain firm within this for you. 14 FEELING The next ype of person Is fling person, let could be seen drone, Hor elings ed ber tno action ad te action i then Frally considered. This type of eharacer needs acter image tude influences to move The vi aight tanshace pee of cloth, its 1 it follows. It stands inert until a wind blows, oF ic Is picked up and thrown of crapped, itis delicate and a the same time strong. IAs soft and its way of moving is flowing and indirect Exercise 14: Incorporating an image, a veil epeat once egein the procedure of a full body investigation of this new object. Allow yourself to become a veil through your movement, Ter go of the human for a while and just move as the object, Notice how you are moving now, and that the movements are flowing, soft, light, easy, yielding, quiet. Keep it up until your body has absorbed the information from this ‘object. Now begin to concentrate on the ife-body moving as @ vei] and the outer body becoming buman, Outwardly the moy ‘ment is no longer peculiar, ere is uothing that draws attention to it but inwardly the image is very much there, Once you have done this, begin t@ do real things, work with objects and relationships to objects, All the whule allow your inner body tc lead you, Ask yourself the same questions you did with the stick65 THE rooLs tod the ball I this how you normaly experience yous energy angwheren the bady? Have you transform) Reale and fee. Posie bjs tht blong tos hone ae soon sting thar belong to this house are coo pe, a cumin, a dei wet towel, 2 blanket, ete iron chain, a yolden thread, a r leather belt, ahings. One thing you wl imnedately now tha leanne move like asc. fs prectealy posible to imagine her at a sick, but you could be confortable with her moving se el ‘Which veil belongs to ats entry up to you The puupose of this work 1 realized When you mike a begin to rede that evry nage hes «psychology and every image can lead yout someting tat exits onside Four every Ife, but at the ve These three chet images laws dieely to ype, The ime time is farilisy, the world starts to open up, three types illuminated here diana. The type can contain the characters we work on, but w cannot rest satisfied with just a ype. We need 10 go deeper tnto Uhings from che perspective of the type, 5 CHARACTERIZATION: ARCHETYPE, THE PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTURE The dictionary defines archetype as the prototype, the type from which all types derive. One could say tat itis an encompassing image of something, It also contains caller ideas revolving ‘within it, Take for example the idea of dhe cat as an archetype. Lis easy to see that a lion, a tiger, a leopard, and a lynx are each different animals, but they all are cats, The archetype of cat is able to hold all of them colleccively, while noe diminishing the face that each is ar che same time individual Lf we were studying these animals, would make our work a bit easier to view chem first as cats then as Lions, tigers, leopards, and lynsee, ‘The pioneering psychologist Carl Juag had very much wo say about the impact that archetypes as collective images have on the human psyele, His work and dhe work of his followers is dense and illuminating. Suffice it. say chat these specific images have found heir way into the Lives of human beings across different cultures. The images reside within us in a place Jung has named the collective unconscious, Caltursl history has poured itself into this collective unconscious, it is a region within the ous control hhuman psyche that i active, yet hardly in our conse! The idess abour acting developed by Michac) Chekhov rely very hewily on this ea of collective energies. We find, through a expect specific responses to exercise and practice, thar we certain images. (f room full of actors is asked to create « lage movement of the physical body that coulé express the archetype of the hero clearly and suecincily, we would see that virtually are everywhere in history, in all the great literature, from David slaying Goliath, to Tuke Skywalker defeating the evil Empice. This image lives in us, and we do respond to it by meving the body. What is of particular tunpartance co us is the diction that che body is compelled to move in. ln che room of moving actors, we will see that the acual gestuses created by che actors will differ from each other. ‘This is the result of the individual actor making the movement; but all of these movements will be in a forward and upward direction, because this is a collective response to the energy of this archetype. The dirttiow the motemat suats coy Is the useful information for the actor, because he can, 6768 Ie TOOK rely on it as ¢ living uth, Tei firs wih, TCs fist, an impulse. If you move i hls direction, there is information for you to take si, Aas and use, 161 'e movement as a spectator, T understand something boat what Is going on. This understanding isnot conscious i By making a psychological gesture that corresponds to an arch your achievernents and failures, all you brought i being forgotten by you, or never mown to you hey undergo Process of Leing purified of all egotism they become feelings perse. Thus purged and transformed, they become part of the material from which your indivi iduality crestes the psychology, the illusory ‘soul’ of " character, (Michael Chekhov: To the Actor) To work en movere jovernent in this way has a few benefits: It leads the actor rowards making very defined and delineated movements which are aesthetically pleasing to wat ; h and to execute, it also a feeling for form, but most impostantly it rains the actor to move what Chekhov calls the © 1 cls the inner gesture, The Psychological gesture must in the end become an iner geste It is found with the physical body, 11 corresponds to the are and is archetypal in its form, This gesture is never shown to the public. itrmis heome an ine gotuce, an azchetypal image chat is in Chekhov's words, ‘a crystallization of the will forces of the character’, This is another application of the psychological gesture, TThe psychological gestures of action say ‘] do this now", The gesture of the archetype says ‘Tam’, The gesture helps us know ‘what this special quality of will is. Its the character who does things. ‘Tam doing this now’ To find the cartect archetype as a model for the character is very simple. Aristotle said that 2 man is the sum total of bis actions. You must read the play and make @ list of the deeds done by ehe character in the course of the play. 1 is dhrough what bas Deen accomplished thet we can understand an individual. Just stick to the facts given by the author within the finite world of the play’ ‘You ean call this the deeds done list. When you have the list of these deeds, you will be able to draw a defining conclusion about the characier. The archetype is the thread connecting these deeds one w the otber: The image alone is helpful, but you can get deeper into the syill you make a gesture of the archetype. If you. physically honour the impulse by giving ite form, thea che image will incorporated. The paychological gesture 1s the took tat sill fix tis any of wll your body. The talented actor concentrating, on this paxcienlsr tool begins to make connections with other tools that have been engaged during the rehearsals, I's 4 mater of applied energy travelling on different cucuis, each vibrating in syinpathy wich one source, Using archetypes as dynamic vibrating energies, or task 1t0 2p a condition within ourselves s0 that twe can have sympathetic vibrations to them. These are honestly felt things by the actor, real foed for artistic self-expression. This is how the Fourih Guiding Principle ts put iato ply The actor does not enter the stage screaming the archetype rather the character feeds upon it and easly reflect it in all his Liehaviour, Chekhov did not recommend that the actor present 6the archetype as the character. The image has too mach power; it is not a clearly defined individual, Actors presenting only aichetypes in their performance appear strong, bt general. They are a bit blurry and quickly lose interest for us because nothing cant unfold, It 1s merely force thrown out. Ik can be astonishine astonishing for a short duration, and can perhaps be useful in a stylistic or formalistic fashion. It is not the thing itself that interests us, bu Ue type of will f i wht the aor is ade ehscer yon eee behind the stn roa of his deeds. Tis aoponch os wea leat bell we ring forthe charates', Through rehearsal the energy Of he image becomes known diecty tothe hedy, heease body cents the pjehoogia gestae fore ari Bagging with the acheayp gives the erie india of A kind of bl will sound within, The nal pane ok aon thers al pupose of working With the achasype ist find «yes of she opa e ents before, Sneing mit hold tall togabes, one pot brincple one felng ofthe whole that makes it ose en Exercise 15: Direction and the psychological gesture To find the poychalogieal gesture that expresses the archetyp begin by standing stil and quiet, feeling bath fee on the fee Softly name an archetype, forming the word and speaking it Put your attention inside your body feel an impulse to men aiting for i, you will fe it. This impulse will be direction driven. You will fel hike you want ta move up or down, forwards or backwards, expand or Nicrsayng che me, fo Tf you are y in combinations forwarés/ contract, You also may want to mo up or Jorwards/down, etc. Ifyou are oriented in the six directions during the exercise, you will understand and expertence what you are looking for. Try this a number of times using different archetypes, Stand still and quiet, speak the name of the arche type, ssalt for the impulse and recognize which direction the impulse wants (0 go. Here are a few possible choices: the king, the fool, the loser, dhe mother, the hero, the slave, the warrior, the whore, the chief, che orphan, ihe soldier, the the vietim, God, the Devi the father, the gambler, the hermit, che outside: dreamer The psychological gesture is a large full-bodied movement that © This gesture must move, expresses the essence of the archety Because you know which direction the archetype moves im, Yor Know 85 per cant of dhe gesture. The remaining 15 per cent 1s to give form to this impulse using your arms, head, legs, hands, feet and torso, You alceady know the gesture. $0, 1-2-3 go, just make it. The doing of it will tell you if it is geod or useful to you, IFit speaks to you, and you feel the energy of te archetype then you have a gesture you can develop. If not, then abandon it and find another. When you apply yourself to this activity, you will quickly find your way Into a rich world of sensations mages and impulses, Yon can develop the gesture in numerous nent and you will, tof ways. You can change the quality of Uke nov receive a mumced experience. You can change the placer your weight andi willbe different again, Any litle modiicaion ‘you make 10 this gesture will give yon another shade of the archetype. It is possible to find a very particular quality of will by developing the gesture 16 CHARACTERIZATION: THE IMAGINARY CENTRE Its more than obvious that whea we ae thinking we are using ‘our beain. This thinking part has a very specific Ineation in thebody. We ean comforiably say chat the head is the thinking centre, Here we calculate, plot, scheme, dreatn, ce mine, analyse, rationalize, ponder, invent, accept and dismiss, With all active in the head aad if we can say that Hamlet is a thinking type then it would (allow that he is initially active in the head, Ic could he said that his life is centred ther and from there he proceeds with all the rest hese we an being 2 feeling person insalizes her life from a different place, Although 1€ is a poetic norion, everyone accepts that the Theat is the seat of feelings, Hearts break and heal, they soar and sig, they can be warm or cold, they can beat quickly in fear andl beat easily forjoy. An open heat is alvraysa pleasure to encounter, A closed heart isso diffcul 10 be with. We could say that the bear located m the ehest sour feeling centre. lle’ Ife begins there and froma there she proceeds wth all the rest. ur will, which is Iocated low in the body, is a result of on appetites and desizes. The entail, groin and upper thighs re all ignited by our desites. We could say that tht pelvis is the willing centre, iis from here tha Roxeo's life begins, and frown there he proceeds with all the res. When we start t observe the physical life of peop these things. Just by watching someone walk, itis possible ave ‘we notice quite easy (o see where their centre is, This centre Is a centre because everything comes fiom it and rerims to it, it seems to hold the organisia together in an efficient and comfortable way for the type We alreedy know the type, bectuse the author has indicated it 10 us by writing the character in a very specific way. We have explored the type by incorporating an appropriate image with our physical body. We can experience the world of the charseter now and make our way consistendly cowarck something particular which is held together by che type. The imaginary centre is a way 10 help us there, With it we locate the precise place in the body from which we will move This Is another variable that could be brought into the psy chological gesture for the archetype, Moving from a centre has a powerful impact on ow you will move the body. This is a building block in developing the pryehological gesture for the archetype. The imaginary ceatre isalso a completely effective tool 3 itself to define yor patient way towards transformation. character, It ig a sure and Brercize 16: Moving from the imaginary centre Stand with both feet ficmly if'to wave goodbye. Move with consciousness, know that you are moving the arm and ey to experieace the movement as if forthe first time, This will allow you to know what itis you are Going, or what i kes to move your arm, Familiar movements Tike this are almost alvays done with no consciousness. After we Jnow what its 1 move, then we ean move in a ery particular ‘way and have new and rewarding experiences from out move rents, Notice that this movement of the arm seens to begin in the shoulder or upper arm and it continues to its completion, Nowr imagine that your arm is connected directly to you head on the ground, Lift your arm up as anid It 1s possible to move the arm from the head, UF course the acm is not direetly connected co the head. If you experience your body as 4 unit, as one jacredible ching in which all the parts are , then you can do this. This connection Ieis not muscular, Once we connected to al the p s an imaginative and eneryetic one try it, we understand immediately that itis possible to move the am from the head. Notice how your sexe of waving goodbye hhas shifted somewhat from your normal way of doing it, Try it different kinds again with the other arm, and then try to d: of movements like touching an object, ar walking, 0 even speaking. Allow yourself to do everything as if une finger, tthe buttocks, the feet, or the volce were connected directly to the head. siting, oF34 Now try to wave gocelbye as if the arm were connected directly to the centre of the chest, This Tam sure you will uotice is quive 1 hit different from the previous movement, which was connecsed to the head. Try many different things, consciously beginning your movement from the centre of the cles 11 is good 10 repeat did when you moved from the head fh of self ‘Once you can really feel the cffevence, then begin to repeat the same aerviies, bat now the movement hegins in your pelvis and all the parts of your body, from your lite lips, are connected directly wo the pelvis. Moving from a ceatre produces « contintit finger to your y of being, every thing we do begins to harmonize around ¢his centre, it allows tis to find our way to a specific kind of behaviour and we ean return again and again to this same sense of being, because: the psychology is always reflected in the body Potting your attention on the imaginary centze is a very clear pail to defining the physicality of the character. To be able to move from the head, or the chest, or the pelvis is just the begin aing. Ar this point it is all simply mechanical. Once we begin to fengage with nnages, then real transtormation occu. -cercise 17: Defining the imaginary centre with an image Now shat you ean move from a centre, begin to experiment with different images within the centee, Imagine in your chest is, the sun, and that you can feel the warmdh and the power of this sum radiating from the chest up into the hese, and down from the chest through the trunk into the leys and feet, and actoss the shoulders and arms and inte m your chest s your centre and it touches every past of you, This cr any image vou choose 10 place diere will cause some kind of energy shif you, periap: your breathing will feol different, or the yay you make contact with the floor will fee] altered. Just note the shift, Now move the anm as you did in the previous exercise to wave, But allow the sun, which is in your chest, to move the IF over to it completely and trust that arm for you. Give yo the sun can, and will, move your arm. Tey other simple mov. sun in your chest to do the work will come of i sents, but always allow th for you. Something, which may ‘here is a freeciom and a pleasure that comes from surrendering, to the image. We give up the responsibilty to something that sarprise you, is not our normal selves, and we open up to the glorious possibility of transformation. Let simple gestures give way to ‘more complicated chings like walking, talking, sitting, standing, running, ete. 11s alyrays the sua doing it This exercise can continue a: long a8 you are gesting pleasure frei tt. This way of wansforming is so easy and fice. You ean change images and change locations. The imaginary centre can be anywhere you choose, Change the image of the sun to its polarity, a bl Place the ice in the head aud move allowing the ice ¢ move you, then place it in the chest, and then again mn the pelvis, The image and dae Location work together ology, but you have not beer to lead you direeily to a clear ps thimkang at all about pyclialugy se locations of head, chest and pelvis are not the Limit of your choices. The imaginary centre can be anywhere you choose fo putit. [suggest placing the centre in ce head, chest aul pelvis to begin with, because of the obvious connection to thinking fesling and willing, Its even possible to have the centre outside of the body, abit above the head, or behind the hack, orn fron of the chest, et 37 CHARACTERIZATION: IMAGINARY BODY Procezding fiom the standpoint that the psychology and the bod! are one thing, we easily discover that the type of body a person 7516 as usually determines a great deal about his personality, The form that the human body takes is always the satne, burt the size and proportion varies from person to person, The difference: onalices, When we read the plays of George Bernard Shaw, we get very vivid pictures of his characters because he describ in detail, but when we read Shakespeare we get hus, $0. help to form some them to us ery little of them, Chekhov suggests that ry and first ty to imagine what the character looks like, andl haw the play would be acted. When we read the play we read th lunaginatively, we see the characters going through the actions. Something happens when we imagine the chat cier in the play, asa character, separate from ourselves, Doing chet simple thing sets up for us a fantasy that surpasses the limits of our lives, W: can imagine things described as belonging to character, bur that we do not possess. IFT am myself all the time, Ido not consciously feel my hody. [seem to know who Tam, because of che form T have. When I get sick or experience my body in another way, then I don't really “feel mysell", 1 feel someho like a different person and I will continue to fee! like a different person until] get well, and ouice again take my body for grantee Sq changing evmerhing about the bedy will inanedliately give me a different sense of self. This sense of self Is what 18 meant by the use of the word psychology in the Chekhov technique, Changing the body will alter the psychology. Changing the bady sounds hike an impossible process, but it 1s simple, easy and enjoyable, We are always working with the same principles and the same kind of activities: we pust fine new configurations for them. The prineiplee of Imagination, Energy and Form go into creating the imaginary body ‘There ate inany s 10 come up vith the image, but only €0 create the imaginary body. It is one more sep in eating the vessel far the will foree of the archetype to enter into, This vessel helps to refine che power of the archetype into a specific character. It does this by having « tremendous effect fa how the movement of the psychological gesture will happen The images you choose should serve the character and the unagination in his way, you part of play. If you begin 1 fallow eb can, for example, physically experience the hump that is Richard II's body. You will ina sen costume, f a hump on his back. (tov have @ real influence on how you will earn the right 1o wear the suse you will adestan the psychology ofthe man with seduce Lady Anne. Exercise 18: Changing the body ~ the imaginary body From: a standing position, bend at the waist aud touch. your wes. Hang over like that for few seconds, Continue to breathe and your muscles, Touching your roes ach chem, It doesn't matter, Relax anc not critical; if you cannot peeathie while you are bent over. Slowly begin to roll up to 2 stancling position. While doing this, tell yourself that when you come co siancling you will be 3 metres tall, You will be 2 perfectly proportioned person who is very tall, Begin co walk through the space, Sic in a chair. Get ‘ont of the chair, Do various things, all the rime experiencing cal yoursel a being 3 mete ull, You cannot sch your ply body into this size, but you ean transform te energy of the life- body into that sie After a while, bene over again and relax. As you slowly roll up again, ell yourself that when you come to standing you will be one metre tal. Do the same kinds of activities, and notice how diferent your sense af soi i compared to a few moments ago, how different itis from your se of self 1c is possible 19 change any part of tne bady unto any size or shape. tis always a forming of the lfe-body. Keeping thar in rnind, ciange your neck ime the neck ofa bull. Now move your head with this new neck. ven by changing one part alone, you already begin to experience a new psychology, Change che nec 7B again into the neck of a baby, Play around with different images of your ows. See someone who las a body that in no wa resambles your own. Imagine that your body is that be can try to chany ‘ bang de whole body, you ca forse deta For example, fecus on the hands and ch nge your hands, As soon, you change the hands, you must use them as hands, 50 you can fr} dhat you have new hanes, Imagine that your hands are made of fine crystal gl move thet and as tard Teak hough yeu pecker or button your shirt with your new hands. _ the if you can sec the hanels of the character you will play, and also the nec and the lips, you will go fix in finding a completely new psychology. Because we have 10 use our hands to do the things we do, and we have to use our necks to move che head and you have (o use your lips to speak, a truly new person will emerge. It will still be you, but it will be you in a creative state Yon will be able to do things and believe things about yoursel that fit the character you are playing. You are completely free in this and it is a great deal of fin to take on new and different forms x8 CHARACTERIZATION: PERSONAL ATMOSPHERE If you think about an old friend and uy « describe that person in a few words, the chances are good that your memory and eseriptioa of this person will be abe 1 their personal atmosphere. Aunosphere ref 0 dhe spice that sounds. In the ase of ersonal Atmosph e ;phere, icineans the space surrounding the person. i cane deveribed in any numer of was. Crain ways of lescribing people make it clear how they deal with the world, The age-old picture of the person whose glass is aways half filled, or the other whose glace is half empty i another way of describing a personal atmosphere. We can imagine it as kind me 00s 79 of bubble that surrounds the person, and inside dhe bubble we fan put anything we like, We could &ill the bubble with laughter for example, so that the space within this bubble, surround ughing. This does nor necessarily cause ing the person, is con to langh all the time, but this person is more likely the pe to find things fanny than not. For another person, the space ould be filled with tears, The actor engaged with an image like fis is not looking for a way 10 cry. but fs using a poetic and imaginative approach to the character, an approach to a pomted sadness, This bubble, filled with laughter or teays, acts like a filter beuveen the character and the world, What comes to the huaceer from outside cous through the filter, and what the char. acter gives Co the world goes out through the filter Ie iy another means towards consistency; it holds together so many things about the characeer. Iris a great tool for activating the fourth guiding principle Exercise 19: Personal atmosphere and the four tastes We often describe people as being bitter, or sveet, or som. We ate not saying that they taste this way, bus ave are saying some- thing very specilic and clear about cheap, Tt is @ shared under Mtanding, « way of perceiving those different people. IC 1s am agreement we have and che interesting dhing about itis chat these people will habitually be this way. This isso because of theie atmosphere, their bubble, ther filter Tinagine that the space directly in front of you is fille overtness, When you can accept this imagination, den cake a step into that space and fed the sweemess on you face and on your chest, Jest accept it, you do not have to do anything moze ‘Turn to the right anc! imagine Uhat sweemess is coming to yout Lift up your right arm and hand co-weleome into your bubble, 2 Te has its own vith What is the gesture that would grec: sweet quality, Fell the sweetaess on your right band and arm andBo shoulder. Now look ta the left and welcome this sweeaess into Your bubble, What is the quality of the gescure that would welcome sweetess? Without locking, just know that the sweet 2iess is poised above your head, Itis waiting dhece vibratin, then it begins to fon your head and shoulders like a swe sugar rin, Fe this sweetness landing on your heal and shonlles Then i€ comes in fiom behind and touches you on the back of the sweetness, and you will ae on the werld though the sweeiess, Allow this personal atmosphere to pty ym, es hee sweetness be the filter bet while, een you and the world. Afier a while, nected to the personal atmosphere, put your attention on the tip of your rongue. You do not need to try and taste anything sweet; this is not ehe point, Th int, The very tip of the tongue 4s the pare of the congue activated by sweet. This is trae fo a of us. To imagin ile 2 personal atmosphere of sweetness arcand Us Tres t to us, and then puting the attention on the tip of our tongue hooks It, so t© speak. Using the four tastes 1s a Savage bene re Of youl and Tad yt ins chasers noel ea sort Sten tater mabe ak mews ane nights irenasarncne seats ie Soc poetry ae the bick of the tongue, and salty on the middle. Once the tose Seed fitment neo oe take car of itself, and i has the power to colows sxetshin oe character does. Te should be anced that just because the ise the er is surrounded by sweemess, does not preclude the ‘lust Irom expecieneing or expresing any emotion or fel, ™ if it does not seera to ft with sweetness. A person with 4 sweet personal armosphere can become glum, or aigty, or sad and still have a sweet filter surrounding him. The same is cue of bitter, or sour, or salty, You can imagine how bitter person ‘would laugh. It is aox @ United way of looking at things, ic is imaginative and it is empowering. tg ATMOSPHERE: ENGAGING THE SPACE In our stdio we work with space. We begin by believing che space to be a medium that can hold various ideas or images. We then put these images into the space and allow thern 0 eome back to us. We always work on the body, making it sensitive 10 revelve impressions, impalses, sensations, intentions. When she mages come back to us, it the body that receives them, The surrounding space filled with an imagination of something specific, say dust, will touch the body. The body will receive this and react, We are not working to make the audience see the dust and say, "Oh J see the actors aze in a cust-fllel room because they ate coughing,’ No, We are working to make some inner, snore nuanced psychological connection, How i the psychology affect by this space! We have ined al kinds of substances and fragrances and qualities, heat and cold, orc. We then followed Chetnoy’s ideas of atmosphere and started (0 Gl the spate wi, feelings and moods and colours, This was all interesting to experience and interesting to watch, We enjoyed our discoveries, but we scon began to run into difficulties. The atmospheres ov they were led into Decarne seductive to the actors and some playing only the feelings or playing the atmosphere, and then all the fascination would disappear from what they were doing The improvisations and che eripted material becaune genera and Iris fital mistake t lec che actons go oa pleyng an atmosphere, because all real intentions and actions become secondary. Chekhov warus us about this, The catia to the atmosphere 1 \d be interested sm what we sh a82 THE 1001s What we did discover, as a result of all dhe other training to sensitize thie body, was that these atmosphere e perceiy es can be perceived by the ator 28 the apace moving pon the body in a very n. For example, the armosphere of disaster is lownward moving on the body, the air itself seemas wo be falling heavily upon the shoulders and head, This awareness became areal key co finding 1 reliable approach co working with atmo sphere, Return we took out the name of the {eeling, or stanospliete, and replaced i with the imagination t the space could move upon the body. This became ireeing and somewhat easier to work with, The 2 veluel ito ploying the mood of «ister bt were aed Simply to eet wo the space anoning downvvrdh ess upa other and wo phy the actions and cbjetves tht sre reared Of them, ad al ofthis done wile suicunded bya cyvamic and energized space, Movement the sce bacco reali an or gues of owes, witha he gh ho tipi thio notion. Thiakng sil stop things eons aeppenng ‘ pening Exercise 20: Being played by the atmosphere Walk forward in a decisive and commitied way. Know that you are moving in a forward direction. Tell yoursell that you are moving forward as you do this. The statement will help you become completely conscious of the irection. Imagine that as you move, the spice around you is also moving, it is enoving with you. After a few moments stop walking and begin to THE TooLs 83 Lis moving by you imagine that the space continues moving coming from your back t@ your front, Concentrate on this and feel une space moving Allow Jet your body become porous. Nov dough you, It is an imagination but it is easily done yourself to react to this force moving through you, Do simple things and let the space moving through you begin to play you Iris as if your body is a wind instrament. When the space moves through you in this direction, there is a particular tone that ts played. Once you are able to do this, yon will notice that it takes very little effort to keep this imagination alive. Soon it svill seem to be happening all by itself, the only effor: will be t stop 1 ‘ow ate i a position 10 react to it It when you need to, Now will nfuence the things you are doing, and also the way m which you are doing teat, Iris a way co feel what is happening around you. It is a way to create an intangible effect that surrounds the ‘events of a scene, The focus for you is to siay reactive. Then you are not plying anything but simply living in a space that is affecting you. It will not distract you from what you have to do, ‘twill allow you t do these things but specifically in this space made dynamic by che Forward direction, The same thiag can be done with moving backwares, In x Iaege open apace, wall backwards andl tell yonrself that you are moving backwards. Make it a very conscious activity. Imagine the space around you is moving backwards with you, After a Jew moments, when it is clear to you that you are moving backwards, stop. Imagine Ue space continues to move backward! ‘The space is moving from the front to the back; no matter which way you tura, it will always have this relationship to you. You must stay consistent in the imagination. Let your body become porous so that the space can move through your body. It enters ‘our back. You will immediately that this experience is nothing like the previous one, wher= ron from the front and ents om the space was entering the body from behind and exiting ovt che front. Accope te idea that your bodys a wind istraent34 THE Too and this is che tone that gets played when the space moves backwards. Feel what this is, and react to it, IF images and impulses cise up in a, follow them, Perlaaps you will feel as ome circumstance, Play with all of At, Welcome everything that comes to you. The dynamic directions a down, expan forwards and backwards, up and gand contracting, The key isto become conscious, of what it meaus to move in any one of these dire activity 16 to move the space, The focus is to react to Ul moving through the body. nice you lave experienced success with the exercise, you can then begin to play with locating the movement in a particular centre. While the space is moving, backwards, for example, let it pass only through the head. This is very specific and hus a dynamic all its own. You can also pass the space through the chest or through the pelvis. These variations are possible in any cone of the six dircetions, 20 CONTINUOUS ACTING Acting happens because we are acts, This is sullicient reason to set. Chekhov said itis ¢ mistake to believe that the day yom have a job acting you are an actor, and when that job ends you are no longer an actor until you find another project. This is an apcoductive use of time and energy. Believing this will kill ‘your abiliies and o yacities. It will dull your connection to your cecative individuality and your talent. The theatre requires ‘mereased life, anc! itis eritial that you continually exercise so that you can develop a sense of Increased life. We must develop his ailicy br reasons. Our actor's nature is the thing that is nourished by he techaique. Tt is possible to he always acting, because we receive such pleasure from it, IFwe desire to do this aul follow through, it will lead us eo new impressions, new approaches, o act without justification, without any outside cause new discoveries, and new ways of understanding the soles that ‘rill come to us. This ability to act conrinuonsty will prepare us to have the necessary confidence to be creative, ft is really & matter of playing with the technique whenever itis possible 10 give of ourselves. If we do so. Acting is essentially our ability t0 ddo not develop our capacity to give, then we will not know the generosity we need to work from, To work continuously means fb find some Way to exercise as an actor, Take some piece of the technique and play with it at times when you might be doing nothing but walking, or siting, ot waiting. If we are engaged swith onr work, we can never claim to be bored, because we can ~ ours stimulate our consciousness by acting always excite ourselves and stimulat vento wa, sing the eting of Eso exec cur aie fo act, Doing this takes us out of our normal dll consciousness i i ic generally sleeping and offers us a connection to the richness Seithin us, By exercising like this, we are now doing something wwith a consciousaess that is creative, We can also do erands while we play with he Imaginary centre or the imaginary body, We can become the world around us by concentrating on the things we see, and feeling the ‘character’ of the objects in our world, The Chekhov technique is a grand 100] for creative sanrichment, because when we use it correctly then we are being Jed out of our normal sense of self, We put ourselves in contact ‘with creative povrers that will always support us. Syerything will change, especially the way we see the material of the role we vill work on5 APPLICATION this vechnig can dsteact ut. is easy to lose dhe wa on to focus on one thin, when the etude is about something « ed The work provakes aay possibilities and te students need o earn where to foes their attention. TI i in their research, If we know what to look for a 0 fin ‘it, Once the basics are roote ogee eae within, then the students ean play and choose what they want to take frcan the echnique. The following section is presented as a way to mse the teck pique in a practical way for actors, teachers and d u sachers and directors. The tle of presentation diffs fram the preceding sections in chat am working directly with actors, giving instruetion and dire It reads differenely pia saat é teromy md so Lge ts vy bit eedeon most of the words, but there are abo questions an re. Tspeale d comments apruicarion 87 n by the acrors in the course of the workshops. The many given by P y oices that speak up in the course ora workshop or rehearsal are istilled into two, my voice and that of the student (S). 1 WARMING UP Let's stand in a ciscle and play a ball game, so we ean warm up ‘our bodies Here is a ball, please imagine itis very hot to the touch, Simply tose the ball to the parmer on your right = don't make your partner work to catch it, aim for their heart. You must catch the ball and toss iton in the circle, Be clear about your giving, Acting js about giving and receiving; this game is a metaphor for acting, lease be sure that you take the ball iaro your hand, then toss it to your partner on your right, Now we will add a second Vall, just Keep It gol hot. You must catch st, ane throw it. Now a third ball is going, Dut in the oppesite direction. Please don’t allow the balls to drop to the floor. Wake np to what Is happening. All chree balls are in the cizcle from ane to another. It is also moving quickly Ter’s stop for & moment breathless and It is geting panicked. People axe becoming touching the tense, Slay in Contact with the floor, feel your f floor, and then you will he here and notin sone panicked world, Aung cequires presence, and this game also requires presence. You really have to be here or the game falls apa. We wake up the hody to acting with thi That was eter, Now stap. Whoever has the ball, hold onto it, and recetve the hrear into your hand — just receive it and allow yourself to xespond to the heat, Let your muscles be soft so that you can receive it nothing good will come from tension, Obviously itis not really hhot, but # is an amagined heat, receive the imagined heat, Now start the game again8B apPLicATION 50 we will start and stop randomly, { will cal lt, and whoever has the ball just receive the heat into your hané body express this discomfort for a moment, Tl sa Tet your rele. The bey al you have itis your esr express EXPANSION, NTRACTION Using your physical bodies, ery tm become as big as 8 y y gas you eam, then as anall as you can, Begia the movement fic ent fiorn a squatting small curled up ball, thea grow up and out using all of your ody. You are moving now, so listen to your information that is coming to you gesture, Tell youself you as expanding You ae growing, Mase ty eo fel hat iis 0, Listen and et the body talk to yous Now from where you stared your expan 4 postion atthe end, but about the jouraey of The rel y of i, The + dynamian of isin dhe epi othe ect Lisa gesture and gesmires imply movement * Try tobe ave that you area thiee dimensional being, that you have a top, and a bosom, and a from, and a back tend to forge that we have a hacksde, and 0 you kep 7 vo you keep geting bigger and more open inthe font, but you evenualy Sate. contact in your back and ge tese there, or the neck beesuse yo ate sing your heads bac. IF itis abou get bg a you cat gat and know tha you are Rashed th the geste, hat physi you ent do any longer without geting salle i some oer pat of you body feeling of case. ey Y AppucaTion 89 ‘What happened to you! When we are talking about how you felt, nothing is wrong, Jeould see chat different things happened to each of you iL The smilness fs lke © hibernation 2 Law is espansen ard contraction is sad 3. One time J fac sary nd Summ, anther 1 ws tefl as 1 contre 4 Tid’ eve to apalegie for taking up so much spect 5 When Jes en anny chest was exes LA unsafe, Wie contrctat ek sefer. "The different information for each of you comes from the differences in your gestures or the quality in which you did them. Many of you are thinking too much, Check in with your bodies Try to expund and connact like the air blowing up a balloon [Make it a consistent flow, 2 spherical growing. Arrive atthe end of your gesture of expansion, then leave the lfe-body there, and physically wal away from It We developed new eyes in our shoulder blades in a previous ‘das, Do you remember? Just imagine that you have these eyes in your shoulder blades and you can “see” with them, Use these new eyes 10 stay connected to what you are leaving 1m te space ‘With your new eyes in the shoukler blades, look at the energetic gesture you left behind as you walked out of 1 Repeat that sequence Utee times. Stay eonnected to it, It Chekhov said, Repetition is the growing power.’ .. what you get from each repetition will grow. - ‘Walk around the room, do different things with this expanded energy that is ip you right now, Say yes t0 even the liter hing that happens to you tonay ‘More wil cote fiom the yes. More will come as you notice ‘what it is, ane hovw simple and powerful itis. More will come When. you become aware of che connection berween being and90. APeLIcATIOn moving. This s a psychobgica gesture, the first one we will invos. ‘gate, The psychological gesture is dynamie because itis moving aud therefore useful to you as an actor Now do you remember the ‘artiste frame tis a very special ‘ay t0 move and explore the psychological gesture. The artistic frame means th fements have Chee part to thern. The autistic frame is a learning 4 we use it in class, nor in Performance, It fosters for us a new awareness af moving. because it requires us (© nove consciously and completely 1 We begin the movement with the life-body 2 Then the physical body joins the anovement until 1 can ne longer do it physically, that is when we have reached the end of the gesture 3. Sustain the gesture out into the space using the Life-bo this is called radiaung the movement As the Tife-body is radiating the expanding gesture, now is the time to walk away from itso that you are leaving some there that i sill moving: you ate not leaving a frozen salpuone or satue, but a dynamic gesture and you look back 21 it wth the new eyes in your shouller Nhdes, Own se. Then you can take something from it Accumulate the egy af expendi, dene leave empty-handed. Take i, Moke it yon. When Wwe use the arsic ame, we ain the lfe-body te now how to make the gesture, Then later you will be able te experience this gesture as sn inner mo to make it without the physical body As you wall away from i ment, You will be able ay, “Tan”. Speak the tuth of this Really use the artistic frame Be ax Now see if you y re of the three parts, estce of expanding only with the life-body. 2et it happen and see what comes of it How da you feel? Se 1 saci, 2 Adie, 3 Hypy 4 Genre Now that you can make this gesture as an inner gesture, ay to do something else wih the physical body Do some outer thing as you do the inner gesture Shake someone's hand as an Outer activity, aud expand as an inner activity at the same time What do you discover here? ‘With the right concentration, all do, Te is much easier to do it than co ca really worth alling about before you have the experieace of it It is all about having an experience. After that happens, then we theses things are easy 1 i about it, And it is not can ull about rhs an ner event, the paychologl gesture, This inner event stand into an outer expression, thekand shaking To shake someone's hand in this way is very specific, and it giv Stn peng yowr sph ie ian we don’t have to ‘do’ the remembers evaything; in performan Energy a¢ form can be placed in the sps to work with the psychological gesture, A very particular space fon stage can be charged with a gesture so it will resonate. Tris something known by your body, because you made the gestur Knowing has been put energetically Luo the space, you can ive its force, You cam leave it precisely where you need it te 12, This is one way be in che scene, Te vibrates dhere. Ia aut ntaginative way itis still fill of its power. You can walk through, roving and is there fi and re-experience it when you need it S: What if yu hp the gees with you? The ing bal ne kee grag itd iggr and big Ten ke vo cary on much Baga o92 APPuieATION is fine to have the gesture folla you around, Is whet ne Tak you wil ind tha if a hy ms pe. te no eah one phys expand i three know this contracting gesture insiie and out sn he space Say "ye! toa as you leave these conteacttons has changed in you Accept what has happened, Play with it Live in i — Bxpress it Now make the commactng gesure only with the lie-bod Shake hands and do the gesture imtdly Realy be tn: encounter and really mae the gaze ele pondbe ede bane A once. This wt Chelhey seg tenlgat ieee nea tobe wad ae, be of an im: a an image or a gesture kay, retum to the first expand capending gesture as your inner ges tne, Moke le awardly and follow the in 7 «si les that come Jo befor: ” the freedom. , ue lay ae Follow the impulses ht aise within you. Try not to second auc, Jost spy flow wh 18 going on in you, Usten to your body, try to forge! your rational thinking, it will only serve to distiact you and to fill you with doubts, 5; J vs renting to the psn [shook hands with, If he was expanding T found st very eilealt wo cana sympathetic person, so you naturally follow You area nice an the signals that are given to you, this is a fine things it shows sensitivity and you are connected to your partner, that you have a the character has .o hace tke person shaking his But sometim hand, and co he could inyrardly contract during this encounter (Or sometimes we may hate the other and at the same time lie about it, because itis necessary ro disguise these feelings in che play. We have to know what we are going after and then we can find ic easily Having a technique meaus that we can do certain required ings. If we eannox do ther consistently, then we do not belong in this profession, Doing them well and consistently is a cause pleasure, Acting for actors always bsiugs us pleasure. for ge real way that itis possible Please try to understand in a very to say both yes and no with expansion, yes and no is also possible with contraction, This is a very important point that needs the real dynamism of these Tbecomes lat and static investigation, If you miss this, riovements dissipates and the outcom Tove is an expansion and so is sage, Iris simply a qualitative diff 3 IMAGINARY CENTRE All of us have a centre, All of our movesnent impulses begin fom a centre, The cente is located in the body; it could be any pact of the body, As actors, we can choose any part of the body to be the centre Tet’s begin with this image Imagine the sun is in the centre of you the sun radiating up fkern the chest into the sun is an ideal wonderful image chess, You can feel yead and doa into the legs. Th 3