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Battle of the Brits: Our Picks For Awards Season 2015
Happy New Year! We hope that you all had a festive and relaxing Christmas, and are raring to go for 2015! The arrival of January can mean only one thing for the cream of the acting crop – awards season! With the Golden Globes just around the corner (11th January) and the Screen Actors…
Read MoreThe Unconscious – Saturation & Character
“At times I thought he was me” Eddie Redmayne When talking about his portrayal of renowned scientist Stephen Hawking in the upcoming Oscar contender The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne encapsulates the essence of a tried and tested method acting technique – saturation. While he had some documentary evidence and a short audience with Hawking…
Read MoreUsing Your Body and Voice
“Actors should…wear a costume, adjust the volume of their voice, achieve physical transformation into the character they portray, allocate their muscular energy efficiently, and model themselves into anything in gesture, voice or musical speech.” Yevgeny Vakhtangov Movement and, unlike our mime artist friend, voice, are important parts of an actor’s training. The body…
Read MoreFreeing Your Instrument
“It’s your own self-serving stuff that gets in the way. You get out of the way of yourself to be able to express what it really is. It’s all about getting back to being free of yourself.” Al Pacino Where a painter has a paintbrush, a violinist has a violin, you, as an…
Read MoreJack Garfein at the BFI | Director of the Method Generation
As if the BFI “Birth of the Method” screenings throughout October and November weren’t enough of a treat for anyone interested in method acting, they have more in store for us at the end of the month! On 27th November, gifted veteran director of the method generation, Jack Garfein, will be in person and…
Read More“The Birth of the Method” – BFI Method Acting Screenings in Oct & Nov
The BFI is staging a series of screenings in London throughout October and November to celebrate the birth of method acting in Hollywood. For past, present or future students of mine, or for anyone interested in Method Acting, it is not to be missed! The Birth Of The Method In the 1950s,…
Read MoreIs The Method Too Much For Actors?
In a recent article in The New Yorker, Richard Brody asked whether method acting is destroying actors, citing the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Shia LeBeouf (pictured) as examples. Brody argued that the act of linking experiences and emotions from our own lives with those of a character, and playing a…
Read MoreMethod Acting Exercise – Sense Memory
“An actor’s job is to “feel on cue.”” Backstage Every great actor uses their own lives to the full, and constantly exercises their emotional muscles. One of the most daunting and challenging parts of being an actor is portraying extreme emotions on cue. In auditions, on stage and on screen we are called upon to…
Read MoreMethod Acting Exercise – Affective Memory
“Act with your scars” Shelley Winters “Affective memory” technique is probably one of the most well known method acting exercises. It is widely used by Hollywood actors, whose extreme interpretations have been well documented. For some critics, it is genius, for others, dangerous. ‘Affective memory’ is the act of delving into your own…
Read MoreBringing Real Life Into Your Performance
“The secret to moving passions in others is to be moved oneself” Aristotle We were reading recently about how Tom Hardy brought his real life experiences into his role as a troubled ex-marine-turned-cage fighter Tommy in the critically acclaimed film ‘Warrior. ’ “The action drama is a paean to redemption and the power…
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