"The more I demand from
you, the more you'll give me."
I had the great fortune to study
at the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia during the summer of 2009. The voice
teacher at the school was working with one of my classmates and the student was
getting upset because she wasn't performing how the teacher wanted her to. Soon
the tears started flowing and the teacher had to stop her lesson to console the
student. The teacher described that she wasn't being malicious; she was merely
trying to push her to greatness. "The
more I demand from you, the more you'll give me." The student took a
deep breath, worked past the tears, and pushed herself to a new level of
performance.
This lesson had a great
impact on me as a student and, subsequently, as a teacher. There's a tough
balance to follow when you are in charge of young minds. You have to be
supportive and nurturing and encouraging. But you also owe it to them to push. Students
want to be pushed. Need to be pushed.
I've spent 23 years as a
student and even though I'm not in school now, I'm still learning. School taught me how to learn and because of
that I’m able to teach myself new things every day. So if anything, this
teaching philosophy is a reflection of my life as a student. My best work
always comes when my best work is demanded.
When it comes to actor
training, I don't prescribe to one particular method. I was trained with a
large dose of Stanislavsky, but I also had Meisner, LeCoq, and Chekhov classes.
Like most everything in life, there isn’t a cookie cutter method that works for
every student. Students should be
exposed to as many different methods so they can decide for themselves which
particular method, or combination of methods, work best for them. When I
approach a role I use a combination Stanislavsky, Chekhov and Meisner, but I
also utilize little nuggets of information that picked up from various teachers
and directors. Anything that can help
me understand and portray the character I’m going to use. And as I learn more
about theatre and acting, I’ll only going to add to the list
Thomas Edison once said, ”I
have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." The
classroom is a safe place where it should be firmly understood that failure is
perfectly acceptable. For beginning actors, the classroom should be a place to
rid themselves of their self-consciousness. The so called "third eye”
killed the actor and the sooner you can rid yourself of its gaze, the sooner
you begin to grow as an actor.
As actors our instrument is
our body. Therefore, we must make sure our instrument is in top condition.
Students would sweat in my movement classes. We would work out at the start of
every class in an effort to get in shape. Students would learn to control their
bodies and their minds. Exercises
would focus on stretching and pushing the body to be more flexible. When the
body is pushed, the mind must be trained to follow. Master the mind and your
body can do things you never thought possible.
When it comes to vocal
training, an understanding of the vocal tract and how to safely use the voice
is paramount. Students also need to learn that in order to be effective on
stage, you must be heard. I was trained with a combination of Fitzmaurice and
Linklater and I would utilize many of their techniques in my own classroom. The
release of tension in the diaphragm, rib cage and throat combined with proper
breathing technique and support will free the voice to project to the back rows
of a theatre space.
Acting is hard. There isn’t
an actor out there that hasn’t struggled with new concepts. But the goal of
education should be to make acting easier.
Every methodology, no matter how complex, can be broken down to simple,
understandable concepts. It’s my hope to make each and every student understand
these concepts and reach their full potential as artists.
