Words, Words, Words... An Actor's Journey: Week 5

One of the best things about participating in the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's Apprenticeship program is the Master Classes. We are fortunate to be working with professors from colleges in and around the Boston area such as Emerson, Brandies, Boston University and others as well as successful acting coaches and actors in this area.

Week Four had us working with Anne Gottlieb, a wildly talented acting coach and successful actress in Boston. We worked on the technique of Michael Chekhov, nephew to the celebrated Anton Chekhov. For us, we were basically introduced to this technique. It, in its most basic form, is a psycho-physical approach to acting. The actor, through this practice, applies archetypal, broad human conditions (such as fear, hate, sorrow and love) to the individuality of the actor. The work is based in imagination, rather than personal experiences of the past. It is more physical rather than intellectual. We began by focusing on the rhythmic impulses within us; how they change and their relationships to our emotions. Anne then taught us about our Centers: head, heart and will centers, as well as our Directionals (front, back, right, left and of course up and down --- and how they can symbolize many things such as past, present, and future, heaven/hell, etc). We worked on archetypal gestures such as pushing, pulling, lifting, smashing, and penetrating. These are used through what is called the "inner body" and they can connect to the character's objective when applied to scene work. We began by physically performing the gestures, and then internalizing them, but imagining that we were still doing them. My gestures for Kate in our Henry IV scene was a penetrating sort of poke. After internalizing it, it gave me such an urgency as Kate. The scene took on another layer of intensity that made my skin tingle. It was an amazing experience. 

Anne was such a great teacher. She really pushed us, and was genuinely curious to see where we could take our work. She took the time with each of us, and I could see from the beginning that she was 150% committed to teaching us something that we can take with us. I had dabbled a little in Michael Chekhov technique in college, but had honestly hated it then. This workshop completely changed my perspective! I loved working with this technique and could see it becoming a part of my work as an actor. I intend fully on pursuing further training. Anne's passion carried us through the class and inspired me to continue throwing myself into work like this.

Our fifth Week we worked on the Elizabethan World; studying the Elizabethan people themselves, what their beliefs were and how it effected their perception of alignment, and many other things to introduce us to their world. Sarah Hickler, of Emerson College, was our instructor for this class. She was such a joy to be learning from. Which is perfect because one of her main points was reinforcing Joy in our playing. Something that will stay with me as I continue my career pursuits. She began by explaining how Elizabethans related the alignment of their head, heart and feet with, well, the universe. For them, your feet were planted on the ground, beneath which was Hell, and above the head was heaven. You are suspended, as it were, between the Heavens and Hell and living within the horizontal plain of the world of man. So interesting! We also worked with beautiful images and the sensation of "expanding" beyond the limits of our limbs, and different dances which were groundbreaking for our scenes! We explored a Reverence dance to celebrate Kings and Queens, a Promenade of sorts, as well as a beautiful, prayerful dance celebrating the Moon, Sun and Stars, all while keeping in mind the world in which the Elizabethans inhabited.

My meager post can never fully capture how inspiring these workshops have been. As I said, they are highlights in our time here in the program.

"All's Well That Ends Well" rehearsals are moving forward as we draw nearer to tech and moving out to the Common. And the "Shakespeare On Love" performances have been wonderful, and we continue striving, my scene partner, Will and I to create and deepen our performance. (More on SOL and AWTEW, later).

All the best,
Micah