“Method acting is what all actors have always done whenever they acted well.”
Lee Strasberg
To train in method acting is to really get to the foundations of acting. As the founding father of the modern method, Lee Strasberg, put so beautifully, “method acting is at the heart of every convincing performance.”
Method acting cuts straight to the heart of character.
Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket?
While many acting schools will teach the method as one element of a comprehensive acting portfolio, we concentrate exclusively on teaching the method.
Why?
The method approach asks performers to draw on their own experiences and emotions for an interior understanding of the part. Rather than becoming inspired on cue, or summoning an emotion, the method teaches you to channel your own experiences to add more authenticity to the character.
Critics, however, have written that training exclusively in the method is a hindrance, and is equivalent to putting all your eggs in one basket.
However, when 80% of all Best Actor Academy Awards have been awarded to method actors, and the only person to win three Best Actor Oscars is devoted method actor Daniel Day Lewis, we think it’s a pretty good basket to be in.
“When the imagination frees itself, you have no goddamn idea what’s going to happen. So it’s not a constrictive or restrictive way of working – quite the opposite.”
Daniel Day-Lewis
Proven Record
“The difference between a movie star and a movie actor is this – a movie star will say ‘How can I change the script to suit me?’ and a movie actor will say ‘How can I change me to suit the script?’”
The method is used to some degree by most successful actors. It allows them to achieve the intensity and emotion required in emotional scenes. While the method has been ridiculed for extreme examples of actors living in the woods or walking on broken glass, it is at the heart of most great performances.
We are not implying that only actors who studied the method are good actors, but rather that method acting should be recognised as a solid foundation of training. It will serve you well in any role, and in understanding any character that you may play in the future.
It does not shackle or hinder actors in the way some critics have argued. It is as good a foundation for a career in acting as any classical training.
In fact, actors who have come to us off the back of classical drama school have found that the method unlocked new, untapped areas of their performance.
Our method acting classes are comprehensive and affordable, held predominantly on weekends to allow you to work around your studies. As well as teaching method techniques, we also cover more practical elements of the industry such as auditions, marketing and promotion.
We offer training in the method that is relevant to the modern industry and is a solid foundation for any accomplished performance. If you are interested in our method acting courses, but aren’t sure if they’re right for you, why not take a look at some of our testimonials from past students?
Want to know more about our method acting classes?