Process and Technique

The Connection

The method actor creates from convictions, instead of paying homage to a technical work of voice and movement: the actor finds the source of inspiration in himself, in his life, his experiences, that recreates the moment and the connection to the other actor.

Expressing One’s Self

The Method sees the actor as a creative artist who must express the author’s ideas, intentions, and words in a lively presentation. In this presentation, the meaning of the word contains the importance and the sensations and emotions.

There are Two Ways of Teaching Acting, Traditional Teaching, or The Method.

To be real (the true self) is not to be “natural”, as we generally believe. For Lee Strasberg, the natural is “vulgar” or trivial for Stanislavski; the “natural” actor becomes tedious for the viewer because the actor is the same character in all roles; he never surprises.
The search for the truth: for this, the actor must have total control: physical, mental, and emotional (relaxation exercises, concentration). The actor must recreate everything that he must play, and react accordingly.
Ken Loach said: “You have to get the actors to act as if things are happening. The principle is that the actors react instinctively, that they let their guts do the talking” (that’s The Method, organic).
Art is based on truth and cannot be stimulated from any other place: one cannot create reality from any other than reality itself.

Anyone can learn these techniques…

The goal of the technique is to free talent.
And the difference is in the total involvement of the actor in the role (daily exercises that develop willpower and concentration)
And this only comes from the actor’s training: Method Acting offers a real practice of the actor, his instrument (that is to say, himself), and precise techniques.
Instead of paying homage to a technical work of voice and movement, the Method actor creates convictions. He makes personal on all the realities of the role (techniques): he finds the source of inspiration in himself; at the moment, it’s visceral and spontaneous at the same time.
A Method actor must relive, feel everything that the role is going through; the emotion must be real and not pretend. It must be there and not indicated; the actor of the Method reacts with his impulses to the other actors and to events taking place on stage depending on the circumstances of the scene…

The reality of feelings, thoughts, and action:

Work on oneself: Your own being, before your role:
The actor’s fundamental training begins with the work on himself, the relaxation with the exercise of his will, his concentration, and his sensory responses.
If relaxation is the foundation, and sense memory is the backbone of the Method’s house, concentration is the mortar that bonds the frame to its foundation. Without a highly developed power of attention, you will achieve close to nothing as an actor, will not have any substance (it is the instant remedy for stage fright).

Relaxation is The Foundation

If relaxation is the foundation on which the Method house rests, sense memory is the house’s structure. Without it, this house would be just a transparent frame sitting on a solid foundation. When an actor can control the physical aspects (relaxation), he has mental and emotional control; it’s a daily job of interior and exterior work on oneself. From the first relaxation exercises, we begin to develop willpower, self-control, thoughts and tensions, being in the moment, on the senses, and the art of recreating with “sense memory.”
Our work guides us on what to focus on: during relaxation exercises, sense memory exercises, on stage or in front of a camera – whatever the task at hand.

Works on Oneself and the Role.

Method Acting aims to make the actor capable of creating whatever needs to be created, to allow him to share with others an experience that he is creating for them. At the same time, it enables him to bring to life, through his imagination, an experience that is not present on stage most of the time. We are talking about objects of sense memory.
Sense memory is the most vital component of the Method; it is also the most controversial by some professors who claim to teach the Stanislavsky system. Many professors prefer to eliminate this primordial part of the work for extremely varied reasons, coming from their inability to understand its importance. Without these exercises, it is hard to create the stimuli that will provoke the objects’ reactions on stage in a believable and real way.
“The Method is the process by which the actor opens the control of his instrument, the process by which he can use his emotional memory to create reality on stage.”

The problem is not in words but attitude; reliving the given circumstances, the senses give us an organic response!
Two of the essential sense memory objects are developing your instrument, training your senses to be alive and receptive, and developing your ability to create the realities you need.
These exercises develop, among other things: concentration, relaxation, imagination, willpower, and Sense memory exercises. The present moment in parallel to work on the capacity of the actor to feel and express what he feels, to connect with himself, his feelings, and follow his impulses. This develops instinct and imagination, the conscious and access to the unconscious: The creative state.
It can be therapeutic, they accustom you to being on your senses rather than in your head. React while in action in a sensory way rather than an intellectual one.
The technique can give the actor a real experience while in action, but that experience ultimately springs from his talent and human nature, not from his approach.
Method Acting aims to make the actor create and share an experience that he creates for the audience.