Saturday, October 1, 2011

Movement Training for the Serious Actor

By Maggie Flanigan


Movement acting classes are essential for any serious actor and physical technique is important. Any serious actor looking to add an improved physical technique to their craft has this kind of training. Movement classes are important to serious actors. These classes help actors improve their physical performance technique. Physical movement is a key part of acting and actors must be aware of their physical space and their own movement during a performance.

The Meisner technique, which is about creating imagined circumstances that are truthful, benefits greatly from a movement class that enhances an actor's physical awareness. A movement class also helps the serious actor to physically remain loose and open, rather than becoming tense and closed off, which often happens. As a physical artist, a tight, closed off body and face affects the quality of the emotional responses of the actor. No serious actor can afford to allow themselves to be closed off to all that is happening around them, especially physically.

It is rare to find a person who is totally in tune with their environment physically, who is open to everything around them, and can truly use their physical self to communicate authentically and well. Meisner actors are intent on reaching a state of full physical openness to their physical surroundings a technique of the movement class. Everyone has ingrained physical reactions that become habits, based on our default emotional states. Tense bodies result from anxiety, and our movement is affected. A movement habit, such as this, impacts the emotional depth of our interactions. It is prohibitive as the Meisner actor tries to practice the craft of acting. Meisner actors benefit greatly from work in a movement class that helps to break their pre-existing movement habits.

It is important not to define the phrase movement training in too narrow a sense. Movement as it relates to the craft of acting is complex. Movement technique is about becoming more aware of the physical relationship to people around you and the surrounding space.

Physical movement of the body is not the only aspect of movement. Movement also relates to the face and its expressions, the messages sent by the body and sound awareness and control. An actor moving around a space, the voices of other actor's, your sound as you inhabit a space can also contribute to a great performance. Working with the voice is also part of movement training, how it fills up a space, how other actor's hear it, also effects the quality of a play as it is performed.

A voice can be easily constricted if the physical self is. An expanded voice quality may not be the best thing for a performance and physical constriction can help produce the correct voice. Learning these types of nuances in terms of movement and how it relates to the emotional preparation of Meisner acting, can set an actor apart as exceptional. Actors trained to use their physical selves with movement training can enhance their emotional performances, making them more human and authentic. Only by working very hard to develop an awareness of movement and using to great effect, will the actor be fully present and authentic in their performances.




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