Lee Strasberg often described Method Acting as what all actors have always done whenever they acted well. What Lee Strasberg meant was not that The Method had always been around, but rather, The Method came into being as a way of giving an actor the means to achieve the type of results that had moved and captivated audiences across time. Lee was in pursuit of a way of training that would consistently produce the moving results of these great performances--performances where it appeared the actor was authentically re-experiencing the life implied by the given circumstances of the story. This can be a helpful method to learn as you begin your career in Providence.
Lee Strasberg developed the Method as a good means that would allow for teachers and experts alike to be able to train actors to be able to achieve a really moving performance that channels a vibrant inner life and allows the audience to experience the character on stage like for the first time everytime. Legendary American actor, Laurette Taylor, writing in 1914, described the work of the talented actor both brilliantly and simply:
“You see a queer little child sitting in the middle of a mud puddle. She attracts you and holds your interest. You even smile in sympathy. Why? Simply because that child is experiencing her creative imagination. She is attributing to mud pies the delicious qualities of the pies which mother makes in the kitchen.”
Relaxation is one of the key focuses of this method and is also doubling as a starting point for this method in a place like Providence. The students of this method are taught a series of exercises that aim to teach them how to let them rid themselves completely of all tension in their body. Once the student has learned to completely relax their body they are then considered more receptive to having the opportunity to feel true emotion. The actor or actress can use this true emotion to add layers to a character that they are working on portraying and helping them to really understand that character on a deeper level and making them more realistic to the audience.
Ultimate relaxation can be a challenge to master, but once mastered your instructor will then have you learn techniques that will help you with memory. Most of those techniques came from Strasberg’s teachings. One of these exercises is called the “coffee cup”. They are asked to relax and then recall the simple action of drinking from a cup of coffee. When practiced over and over, recollection should become easier with time for the actor. When the actor has learned recollection using their senses, they are then taught about emotional memory. Emotional memory can be pretty unique in of itself but it can allow for the actor to really tune themselves into the character they are portraying. Learning about emotional memory can really benefit a beginning actor in Providence.
This method uses the actors skills at recall to have them recall how they felt, the emotions that lay behind a certain moment or event in their past. The method has the actor use an indirect object that they can recall and happened to be present during that exact moment that they have been asked to take the time to recall. The best example of this would be the light switch in a room during a heated argument they had. This is done to help the actor recall the emotions of that event. Once properly trained the actor or actress will be able to use this method of recall to summon up certain emotions to use with a character they are portraying. While this method may take a lifetime to perfect, it is also one of the more believable techniques that helps actors use recall right now in Providence.
Another interesting acting technique that you may find good to look into would be perhaps the techniques taught by Michael Chekhov when you start looking into the various methods used and taught around Providence. Chekhov’s technique is a “psycho-physical” technique that draws the physical actions of the body to the mind and develops a sensual approach to acting. With the Chekhov acting technique, the actor focuses on the internal problem the character is experiencing, rather than the outward-facing expression of the emotion in terms of movement. The actor physicalises the internal need, allowing the physical expression to be performed on an unconscious level. This method brings out a lot of truth and realism to the character. Fun fact, Chekov was actually a student of Stanislavski’s and Chekov’s method of acting has been added to the Stanislavski system.
You may find that your instructors in Providence actually ask you to take your time and take a look at the different acting techniques out there. They are looking to make you aware and hope that you find something that will help you get the best out of your education with them. It certainly isn’t because you are being ridiculed or anything like that. They simply want you to find a style that is going to work for you and make you a better actor or actress in the long term. You can even use a combination of techniques, the main point is to find a method that will help you as you continue down your path to what will hopefully lead to a successful acting career.
