methodology chekhov

8/3/2019 Methodology Chekhov

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MICHAEL CHEKHOV

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL GESTUREAn Acting Methodology


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ll tch^e CheKl'"u,>17ch""rytcoQ"f"*, ono(he Tk^Ktry #"^rtfloyd Rumohr

first encounteredhework of MichaelChekhov sa firsl'yeargmduatetudent tTemple niversityin 1985.My eachet evin otter,adsuch pfofoundmpxct n me hxt beganmmediatelyoapply hework. within only wo weeks, wasspellbound y ts effectivenessnda bit awed y ts

ease, aving reviouslyeen ubiect nly o fie internal ufferings f he Method ctor. rvondered hyI hadnever eardofa "psychophysical"pproach efore.By 1988, hadappliedhe echniqueo criti-cal acclaimn several hiladelphiaerformances,hich esultedn a few equests ymypeerso teachthem.Mth more experience s a practitionerhana teacher, wasn'tquitesurchow o goabout t,though thought mightaswellgivet a try Myhandftl of students t hat imeevolvednto a six-monthwaiting ist by he irne arrived n NewYorkCity n 1990.Theif confidencen meprovided pportuni-ties o mprovemy eaching nd est ome f my deas.

Asdemandorprivate oachingncreased eyond apacity,stflrggled ith a cenlral uestionrhatam haining hese rtistso do?Havingecendy raduatedfom a world-classonservatoryrogram ndlanded nagentwhowasprimarilyocusedn elevisionn theNewYorkmarket, realizedhatmybestyearsn the heatef ouldquite ossiblye behindme. wasn't good noughinger r dancerbrBroadway,nd hehandful f classicalheater ompaniesn Nev Yorkpaidvery ittle, f any hingat all.So,was to spendmy ate wenties oing ommercialsor chevrolet, hichpaidmore or hvodays'workthan maden an ntircyearn the teater?

I struggled ith his da.Was to "train"actors erymuch ie way vas rained,whichultimatelyconstitutedverkill,giynhat reallydidn'tnedhat evlof rainiDgo do commcrci'alsr daltimeTV?what was training hem or?To be unemployed?owait ables?ftera im, found t difficult o taktheir moneywhen knew heywere trugglingo surrive.

some f mymore mbitioustudentspproachedeaboutorming r ensemble.his oundedikea gooddea,but wasnot so sure hat NewYorkCiryneededetanother ew heater mong he hreehundred nd ifty that already xisted ff- and ofi-0ff-Broadway.ur emphasis n thework of MichaelChekhovould ertainlyistinguishs,but wasnt onvincedhatwould eenough.

Aftersome iscussion monghactors, rawing poll mysixyears f expedencet Theatreor aNewAudience, nd urning o Mr Chekhov'suggestionhat heoeativespiritgrows tronger iftin uswhenwe do hings or othe6withouta"selfish ote n it," wedecidedo offerartist esidencieso threeNew orkCity ublic choolsree f charge.ollowingraining orl$hopshat evlopedhir eachingskills,6e actors isited heschoolso teach esthetickillsand ehearsal trategisn partnership ithpublicschool eachers nceeach eek or seveml eel$.Thepilot projectwas uch successhat t hasevolvednto oneof dremostcomprehensivendsuccessfulns-in-educationfograms u[endy n theUnitedStates,eaching earlyour houszurdeachers,hildren, Lndheir amiliesn all fiveboroughs fNew orkCity, ithpilotactivityn Florida d Pennsylvania.he rogrn, calledStqcsof ,cffning"',"wlLsnspired v llr Ch0khov'srlistic rilrciples ndemploysf(ists ridnedn hisxpl)r(,x(ll

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MR. CHEKH0V NDHIs TECHNTQUEAny pprcacho acting,letlone psychophysicalpproach,lendstselfo misinterpretationr confusapplication,articularly hen hat applications dedved rom hewriftenword.For his reason, willfocus n hemeaningf"psychophysical"nd ts relationshipopsychologicalesture, hich s an unalgamhatembodiesearly ll of the separateomponentsf te Cheklov echnique.ot o say hatwhayou eadhere s beyondnteryretation, utmy nteftion s to cladt/oul terms, rovide n overall ramcwork orpsychophysicalevelopment,nd ttempt wrilten escriptiono anapproach,hichs indispensableo agoodeacherPerhaps neof heaspectsfMr Chekhov'sork hat s hemost ompellings thathewasanactofirst-not justa good ne, uta great ne. n a 1993etter o rne,Bobby ewis escbedhimas thcgreatestctor ever aw."He s known urently n theSoviet nion s theacting enius f thecenturyMr Chekhov,consummatectorwhoexpedncedheebb nd lowof successnddeprivation,ougto "goheyond"heplall[rightand heplay o embodyhecharactern themostprofoundwal.s.

Michaelhekhovoined onstantinl.anislavsky'soscowrtTheatren 1912, t heage f wentone, ndwithinmonths as rvited nto heFirstStudio, here eappearedn tvalk-onsnd ater nmajor oles.Behveen9l3 and 1923,Chlihov'seputations a creative nd ndepndenthirkcincreased rarnaticallv

In 1923, hel''hovecamehe director f theSecond tudio f the Moscow 11 heatre poStanislavslqi'sequest.Soon,his innovationsecame threat o the Soviet overnmnt,nd hc wir"dcnouncedn 1927 san idealist"nd nystic. oscowewspapersited hel,.hovs asickartist".ln"alienand eactionary."n 1928, irectorMa{ ReinhardtNitedChelhovo emigrateo Germany.'orsevenears, hekhovwandered"rinustria, erlin,Paris, atvia,ndLithuaria,ursuingis ifelonquesto ffeatehis own roupeandmethod f actor raining.Upon he nvitation f SolHurok,Cheklmc'.uneo Arnerica, here metBeatrice fnight,whogenerouslyuppofied hekhov'sision.

By1938, hekhov'sethod ad een slablished.n fie fallof 1941,heChekhovheatrepeneaNewYorkstudioon56thStreetn NewYorkCiW. ut n'asunableo sustainlslfwithoutt finmciilassistancf Beatrice tmight.

Between943 nd 1954,Cheklov tanedn nineHolllwoodilms. n 1945, fter eceivingnAcademyward omirutionor his oleas hepsychoana.lNtn Alfrcd itchcock'ASpellbound,Chresumedeaching is echniqueoyoungHoll),woodctors.MariltnMonroe,ackPalance,uldAnthoQuinn ere rnongisstudnts.n 1955,Michael hekhovied fheaft ailuren hisHolllwood omcToday,heraredozens f organizationsxploring is echnique ll over heworld.

Ir Chekhov'.sechnique,h intemal"and extemal" re nexorablyinked, omuch o hatscp,,l!.ling hemvould emoreanacademicxercisehan'artisticxpression.uch eparation ight enecesslfordiscussionnd raining, ut hestage areshe nevitablerutheveryime: f dreactor annot econcithe nificationf he imer"and outef," isactings ikelyobstflrined,nimaginative,nd lat.''Psychophysical"referso he oilicationfthebodywith ll hatieswithir t,lhought rray l )pcllat irnes, nd ndcedl canbc ruc, hathebody ndsoul anbe rdependent[ erchothcrThe so lis hat ntangiblceservoir ithin s hat cquiresxpedencesthev anbe magincd,xntght boul, litcluitllvxpeliencccl.ike s1lory l0N,hqsoul cquiresngredicntspr-rnvhichhe pirit vill voIk.' lhe spiril s hu lNhich scshc odvo iLkcction, rrwingpl)nhe csourcesl hc oul.lt trl)irll xtrxlA:lrrr.llt.r,lrnrhtrtr. trtrllr 'urrsr'rx:llr\rrnrs,rlI(lt hcsrrrrl' :rrrrrItrkr.

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For actors, he soul,spirit,andbodyare n constantnterplay,nhabiting achother n sptce,nei-ther onebeforeor after heother, ike seawavesippling lto ftat whichcamebefore ndall thal ol-lows.Thesoulandspirit equire hebody o expressheseipples,whichwemight efer o as "/tsotlotoffwlings

chekhovwouldsuggesthat movement wakenssensations"f feelings. ensationsfephysicalresponseso stimuli,ikeSooseumps.he ooseumps allup eelings,omerom realhfeandoth-ersrom the maginatloz.These ensationsrawout eelings. he elationship etweenensationuldfeelingmightat irst seemnsignificant, utnothing ouldbe unher rom he ru6.

on slage,movements sometimesisible,eachingheaudiencehroughheireyes.Other imes,hemovements invisible nddirecdy enetratesheirhearts,uchas n the case f sensationshat larc outbeyondhestage. he ,,Ltters still movement,venf theactors notvisiblymoving. his s sobecauseheactors "radiating" t everymoment. orexample, hen itting,he actors not a foozen atue,but ivingwithin hatshape.\s th actor ives n space, ausesecomeoaded vithvavsof maginativempulsesdcher hanany inglememory ouldprovide.naginea characterjttingnan cy comon death ow.Thepossibilitiesor sensations,nnergestures,nd adiations renumerous ndpossiblynnmte.

Thebody s capable f expressingn affayof psychologicalaluesf we nvolvet from he nside,evenf drese alues resoplentifulheyde& ntellectualnquiryandanal)6is. uchnquiry mplis pos-sibledistinction etweenhe"inner"and outer"-at least n the beginnilg. hen pmcticing taccatomovement,hich is shar!, abrupt,we should ry to experiencehisqualitynwardly, ven houghwebegint outwardlywhat s it like nwardly o experiencenypartofyourbodynoving n a sharpway?what s it like psychologicallyo changehought attems brupdy r think n a black-and-whiteay?Perhaps tartwith one bodypart,suchas a handor arm.Thesharymovement ill eventuallywakeninner dloughts nd mpulses ppropriateo thatqualiqa'?ventually,he wholebodymustbe nco.po-rated.New eelings ndsensationshould ot be imitedonly o hoseareas f fte body hatafe alreadywithinyourawarenessnd n ninewithyour magination. oumiSht ave habitofpracticing staccatoqualityn yourarms ecauseou're ood t t or becauset feels e most omfortable.hat'sine ornow,but eventually,ounust awakenhisqualityn youl wholebody f youwant o have ccesso thewidest ossibleange f expression,hich ncludesnner r "psychologica.l"esture,hallmark f hechekhovechnique.

Great ctings comprisedf movement,r "gesture,"tevery oment,utyouneed otexplicitlydevelopesturesor everymoment r ess ouwant o.This s becauseouare ntuitively lready oingthernwhnyouareacting t yourbest.Anygoodpedormances ph)6icallyrliveat everymoment;hepe!'formers radiating nergy ven vhen t rest;as Matha Graham aid,we are still dancingnwardlyevenwhenwe are still. Generally,sychologica.lestures,r "inner gestures,"rehelpftrlwhen ou getstuck na momenthatust sn'tworking r the haracter'sores elusive.he core" mergestom hequestion,V4lo s thischaracter?"heanswersuallyies n fte arche[peof thecharactr.

ARCHf,TYPESND PROTOTYPESArchettpes re olms,s],rnbols,r rnageshathave niversal eaningandnspirean originalmodel,orprotoq?e.he rotome,n thecase fan actot s hecharacterecreates.

Archet!?esppearDourdrearns,orks f art,and istoricallynaspectsfourculture, speciallyin su(h hingsrspi nli|lgs.ilcmture,nd cligiurscDrescntations.h0 ncicDlireckool./f(tJ.'tttt',tDsll { ,*,^-^t /, , A.htl l l , . A - , / A , t t . " . t " . , . i . t , i , . . / ; . t ^ o . , , , ^ / t A . / 4 , ^ / t , r l h ^ , / l ( l

"the irst," T!pe"meanso "imprint r mpress" r "pattern."hesempressions,s ie psvchologJung iscovered,rise pontaneouslyrom heunconsciousn the ormofimages.Becauseteyaplcarasunivrsal, olleclivelywnedmages,heirslrnbolism vokes imilar eelings,aises irnilarssucs,ndconstellatesimilar ehavior hereverhey rise ndenternto he ifcof an ndividualr a culture,"notes obert . ohnson.Imagine,or example,ie archetl?e f theVarrior Wemight ee r imagemmediately,venf wchave oexpericnceithone, l most .5f t were lprinted nourconsciousness.heWaxriot dsoncandSkeptic.arcrpes, uthuman eingsremad p ofcombinationsfrypes, aking smany-faceta-sn the ollowingxamplerom ohnson:

Yearsgo young raduatetudent ameo work on hisdreams ithme,anda masculineigurebcgaao appearepeatedlyn hisdreams. hestudent pontaneoly nventedis orvnmme orlhis riendlymale ompanionhatshoweduniversalharacter ecalled im de tribalbrother"Thedrearnerndhis ribalbrotherivedamong t|ibeof Vikingsn ,n ancientgen lurope.

In some rerms e andhiscompanionerewaffiors ndwento bnttleogethexn others,lheywere e^lers.none hey iscoveredradiiurtuldmagical oman[ awhite obewhobecamethedreamer\ onso(Together,heywent hrough rll hestrugglesndnumerousiscoveriesfyorngmanhood.hedreamer'sriendship ithhis nner igurewas oclose, nd eltso eal, hathe elt onelywheneverehad ogo or many ays ithout eeingim n fusdreams.4Thisarcherype,s widl all of them, s psychologicallyomplex. or he actor,axchetl?esm bc

powedrlools o nspire characterrotomand ts nner ife, ecauseuch rcheq?esill spontncouslv wakenensatonn the bodla hesnsationsrc what hebody emembers ndcan epeat-leelingste ess eliable nd ardero ecreate.ou an ry ocorrumndouNelfo experienceeeli0on thestage, ut he esultwill probably e nanistc and na4inally uccessfultbest.Butyor ciur lskyourmaginationo show ou hearchetlpef dreVanior Often,he esults (l) a strongmagehadcscribeshe outer,"2) sensationsesonatinghroughouiourbody hat ill the inne!"ald (3) acharacterrotoq?ehat s uniquelyour wn.5 therexamplesf archetes ncludeheStatMagicituAddict, over, rostitute, rophet, rd Clown. n ofder to awaken ensations,ouwill have o pfncticimagininghem-ar exercisehatwill become ore un im laborf youdo t oftcn nough.

Yourmagination ill respondf youcanaskquestionsn the spirit ofplay.A,sk ourself, Vho ismycharacter?" emember,ouaregoingor fte character t ts core.Thc Prisoner n deathory forcxample, ightuvea way frv'.rlkingr mzurnerismhat spadcularohispersonaliryrchet'?icaihc s te Pdsoner lemeDtsfbehaviorndpersonalityiLn eaddedater t's mportanto begin iththcchnractert s corerhc oot, h mpulse.hinkof t as heoriginalmpression[ who ie pers(is.Bccarcful f ayeringnpersona.lityraitsoosoon, ecauset spossiblehat ouwill iDit hc huFNctclopreconceivdotionsomofhabit atherhanmagination.he,re4&?rc?fthe yofk s npoltlulthcre: tart ith hearchetl?end henayer n hepersonaliry

Itegin y ookingt he irsl hre r our hingshe hru-,rctcr/oesn he cript.lomco,brexanrl)l. Stuysut.dlnighlwithRosaline. (if('('lshc iilr in the xrly x)rnirg ndprolcssesis ovc. llr.rrorrrrr'r 'sti:. rrc rl ir:.lrlirr(p rr r.r' irr11.lltlit1I J )ilftt


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Theunfonunatrap hatmany oungRonosall nto s thatof theLover-a dull andunimagina-tive esponseo the acts hatShakespeareives s.At a recentworkshop n archemes, everal f myethnicallyive$ecolleaguesarne p with he ollowing ossibilitiesor Romeo:

. Alley at. Tomcat\lhat wonderfulesponseso a character ho hasbeenaroundor four hundred ears! oyou,

some f themmightbesterotlpes, hichareusually reconceivedndove$implfieddeas f thechar-actedsticshat '?iry aperson r thing.Don'tbe alarmedf you hhk in stereomicalerms,but seek ogomoredeeply efore oustart o make hoices boul hepersonalityf hecharacter oumay ot agreewith the above esponses,ut irLt'sokay.Yourunique magination ill create ornethingntirely ourown fyou et t. Inaginethe\itchesn Macbetb. hey ppeaqail,cook,conjure, rdpredict-arnongother hings.Yhat oyousee? ertainlyh Prcphets amonghepossibilities-quitea different irec-tion hanwhatwr might hink of asa nore sterotlpical itch.

onceyouhave sense f who he characters (thearchetJpe),magineourself s he character,andwalkaround hespacesking,vhat do want?" ay lose ttentiono what ourbodys doing. et'simaginehePdsonersyourbodyopening, losing, lutching, ushing?Ynh smallest ovementsfthe inge$ hould e considered.oeshemovementuggestom onof apush, s f thearchelpewanlso escape?whateverhebody s doing hould e avored verary discussionf the opic.Don't ry o abelortalk oomuchaboutwhat s happening.f it's apush,hen t's apush.Kept simple.Behavioral ove-ment, uchasscratching,moking, tc.,canbe ayered n ater t's hepurityofyour nitial mpulse hatproducesnnerSesfure.

GDSTUR[onceyouhave n archetlpehat eels ight oyou,andyouhave sense f whatyourchamcter ants,then ourbodysprobablyheadyrying o llyousomethhg.fyou'renotcarefl , howeve!he sneak-ing andsniffing"anal),tical ind,asChek:hovautions,ouldputa stop o t andkill sensation.

Mlat is the sneakingndsniffng"weaselhatChkhovefe$ o? t's arlthing hatklls yourenthu-siasmor creativelay-a thought r impulse, rcbably ornof somenhibiting abit, hatpreventsoufromexperiencingewsensationsnyourbody.tsporver veruscanbe strong, uggestinghoughtsike,"t'mnotgood nough,"That ctors sobad, ndbecausefhim, can't oncentmte,"r "Mybellystoobig,and hope obody eest." This ide fyourpsychologyanplay major ole f youareunableto focus n hepositive,he maginative,hat ou ike about hisor thatactoror yourselfnstead f whatyoudon't ike. tnsecurity ith anypartof the body an esult n enough elf-oiticismo inhibit he cre-ation of your own character romqpe-klled foreverbecause f a critical mpulsearising tom anagendahat s anl,thing ut creative.

The Higherntellect,"6schekhovoints ut, sbornof heheart nddoes othavehedes[uc-tivequality f he cold, alculatingind." his thinking eart"s hecompanionf hecrcativepiritrnd should lwavse nvitedop,uticipaten theprocess.heHigherntellects curjous,clpflrl,mdsuppoflivc.ls aDdvsiss exlctingi utgcntlc, efering o hcs!'nthcsizingowcr flh0 cr('iltilc l)ilil.

. Gambler. Businessman. A Playa. Salesman

. Snoop oggy og. Peacock

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chekhov everntendedor our acting o be brainless.n fact, f it were,ourchoices ould ack clarity.But he ntellectmusthave supportiveualityn order obeeffctiven our creative ork.7

Assuminghecalculatingind hasbeen ubdued,n favor f heHigherntllect, eginmoving boutthe space, uided y he mpulsetom whatyou char"cterwanti.A teacher r pla)'rnates padicularlhelpful t hispoint,becauseouwill need eedbacks o howard n whatwaysourbodys respondinPay afticularattentiono those eemingly eaninglessitde movernentshatmightexprcsshewant.Asnall opening f hechest reamight uggest,or example,hatyourcharacter antso expose isor hcrhea11,l to "open."magine uch n mpulse oming romour archetlpal risoner. ere,wewouldhavca chzLracterhoperhapsas ommittediolent cLs ndyearnso admit r revealomethingll fte dcq)-cst ecessesfhissoul. ctn't helpbut be eminded f Sean enn'sxqdsite efiormll:cetnDeadMsnWalking,Nhenlmagjnehearchet)?ehisway. tll erploration f he mpuls ill provid ouwith hcinformationouneedo determinef "opening"s theartistic hoiceoryouf portraFl.

V4 le working n.4,4fi&ummer ight'sDreamwith woactors f theChekhov heatre nsemblfor example,lskedhe ctresslaying elena hat hewantedn order o nvokehe nner esture.hcprovided ong anddetailed nswer,oingon andon until eventuallyuststopped er and said, Alldut mightbe rue,but ell me n onewordor lesswhatshewants."Herbrain,havingoiledovera com-plicated ntellectual nswcr,didn't have enough nformation o be succinct.Her body,howeve|espondedmmediately,pontaneously,ndvisibly. t cast o m.

ller arms nd ingers ere learly ulling-the movmentsere ery mall,but heywere here.Atfirq she idn't nderstandow he inist ulling fher ingersad rlthingo dowi6 Helena,ntilshrcalizedhatHelenawantsemetrius-sheeeds emtdusomuchhat heAddict ameomind sanarchet]?e.maginehatlHelena s heAddict.'m suremost eople ould otmdidonally pproachtthatway, ut f youpenetratento the coreof who she s,youmightdiscover ut dreAddict ouldbc apossibility,ependingnhow our irectors hinking fher n he ontextf h eproductionsa rvhol

Now,heactresseededo experiencehssencefpulling im oward er, utnotwith ustherlrnqers.

The ask efore snowwas o developgesturehat mbodiedheessencef "pull" n herwholbody. ler feet cmainedlat on fte ground-importantso that he shape f fie gesturean easily rrcpeded ithoutoing ff-b'alance.e tartedhemovementn heoppositelace fthe pull" n ordcrto liveus hegreatest oladry.3erarmswrepushed uh{'ardlv ith her orso ull ftont. Her cctwcrrrbout hree nd half eet pa(.Slartingron this osition,he henpulled" ithherarms, hiftingcrweightnto erbackoot, sshe cleasedsound:A,trhhhhhhhhhhhhh."efter bit of side oachinshe lentuallynvolvedhewhole ody,ncluding erhead.10

when he ventuallyadagesturehat eemedght o her,wewofked n heshape,empo, nl


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Repeathegesturet easthreimes, ausingt h eend f each epetitiono allowhe adiationsto low hrough ou.walk aroundhe oom,see ourself oinghegesturenwardly,ndnow, peak omeofyour ins.You night iscoverhatdoing$e gesturenwardly ecomes orepowerfirlhrLnhysicallydoing t. ImagineHelena sdescribed bove: s he Addict, nwardly ulling,professinger ovwith aneed hatbums--{uite a different nditionhanwemightexpectrom a s}'l'Llpyover

once heactorgenratedheessencef "pull" through epetition nd adiation f her8estufe,hearvakened desperation ndurgencyn the characterhat wasas amusing s t was heartbreakingAllowing leath o relase ith each ubsequentull, heactress volved ntosolidsound rldeventuallyspeechhrough ergesture. er esulting erformanceas emarkablyomplex ndemotionallyich-all energingrom ie embodirnentndsimplicity f "pull." The pull" wasa distillation f morecom-plexelements.

\rlhenher"pulliug"Helena as ombined ith he pushing"Demtdus, ewereable o stagehscenen forty-fiveminutes. heactor'smaginationreatedhe nner ife, andher bodyawakenedensa-tionsof feelingshatwerecomplex ld compelling. ecausehe actors adapproachedheunderlyingpsychologyf the scenehrough esture,ather handLrough n ernotional emory r personalubsti-tutionapproach,heywereable o stepout of theplayandback nto heir everydayiveswithoutharm otheir rsonalsychology.'r

Thisapproach erved swell whenwe hadonly our weekso stage(lt g lear, whichsome chol-arsconsidermpossibleo stage, venwidl an ofiniteamount f reheaNa.lime.Notonlywas t possible,fte Ensembleeceived n Off-ofi-Broadwayward,whichcited he outstandingcting, rnong therdis-tlnctions.

Bydistilling haractersr scenicmomentio heircoreSestures,oucanachieveerfonnanceshatare sopsychologicallyomplexhat t would ak eamsof paper o describehem. n Helena'sinalmomentsn hesceneefore ernetriusejects er, hactress diated ope, espair,esperation,oss,rage, onfusion, nddecisivenessn hr letingmoments,swexperiencedefyearningeed or himwere to ask herto feel all of these hings, heprobablywor d have ailed-not to mention hat heprocess ouldhave een sunpleasant.St wouldbe neffective,

GETTING TUCKThe nvadable uestionrises henw0rkingwithmovement:hat'swrong f mygestureoesn't wakenanlthingn me? here re wopossibilitieshat have een ver heyears:l) thearcheqpe,esture,fldrhlthms, empos, r otherqualities eed o be modified ntilyou eel some ort of inspi$tion, or (2)youarenot suflicientlyin yourbody" o experiencehegesture,ndsome reliminary'orkneedso bedone.

The omer is easir o dealwith, because few adiustrnents,ftenminor,could awakenou nentirely ewways.f youarn't in yourbody," herecouldbe a stiftlssbrought n byyears fhabitualuseof thebody. this s true, hent is too soonor you o engagn psychologicalesture: eleasingextrareousensionn thebody hould epdotityone.There remany ood pproacheso do thisthrough onventional ovementrainingssuchas Alexanderr Feldenkrais), hichmakewonderfulintroductionso hebasic xercisesfMichael hekhoYveryffort hould emadeo nhabityourody,or "be nyour ody," hile oinghebasic xercisesr engagingn othermovementraining

"ln yourbody"mcimshat vcrv qrect fvour nnerworld oc\ists ithevcrylsp('(:lf-vt)llr)tll('r

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world.Thebodys constandycquiring nowledge,xpressingeelhgs, ndawakenhg ensationn thcwhole ody:oes,eet, ack f egs,nnerhighs, nd heoblique uscleshat reofteneglected. urrvorldhasbecome o civilizedhatwe often orget hatwe nhabitoul bodiesor onlymoments n dtespectrumf ime.fyouspend otof ime itting ovnwith,vouregs rossd,indawayohang psiddown ndpretendo bea bat.

BAsIcBnRCISES'fhebasic xercisesressntia.lo establishingndmaintahing q'choplqAicallignment. hey ncour"age he maginationo strsain hrough hbody, wakeningreas hatmightbe stiff or notpanicularlcxprcssiye.savisual rtist'salctteontains any olors, o, oo,mrstanactor!body nd oice orn'p sea palene f "psychologicalalues."ithout hiskind of psychophlsicalevelopment,heacbrnright all victim o, "ButMr l)ireclor, 4m feeling he nner ife of the character," nd he directorrespondJ,ButMr Actor,hatb otwhafs oming cross."

Theactor'sob s not o ee|butn express nd embod!dl xspectsf charactern a heatrical on-text. low canhedo his f thecharacterantso moven a egato ayand heactor s onlyable o expreshimselfhrough taccatoorms? otonly s t impossiblc, ut nterminablyfr.rstratingor actor, irector,xndaudience.

Basic xercisessed t heEnsembleo developsychologicalaluesnd est nablener gesturinchrdel

. Staccato uld legato . Expansion/contraction. llving, loating/florving,r' olding, adiating . Ease,orm,beauty, nd hewholeIlecxusehebasic xercisesndatmospheresre horoughly r?lainedn to tbeActot Md irs s]b-

scqucntncamations,will describehe ollowirg xercisesn order oproviden dea fourparticuhxl)proacho drem.

/foccot"llcgjn ymoving ne artofyourbodyn a sharyway.nvit notherartof hebody o oiDin, iurd henanother, ntil he wholebody s involved. link he eyesn a staccato ay;wistthe orso, eachwith hearms, pen he egs, rd engthenhespin. reatheud releiuscsound. hat s heexperienceike?whatsensationsnd eelingsccompanyhemovement?Vhat irtlsofsoundsome utofyou? ariationsnclude ddinganguagen mprovisationalcircInlst'nnces.

/ ertofolJ(' l l iDynroring nc )lrt of v()uf o(lt n r srlooth nd ciu cs swlvri lDlite.rDothcrirf lofth cbrrrly ntl hcrrLrrothcr,Dli l hr \tolr l i (xly s 0vol!c(1.i l i Ik th(' v('sna (li l towx\; wist


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the orso, eachwith heanns,opn he egs, nd engden hesphe.Pay anicular ttentionto the owerbody, rd invite t to move earnlessly.reathe nd elease ound.whatkindsofsounds ome utofyou?adationsnclude ddinganguagen mprovisationalircumstances.

Qot fic.cfton o1 /en1ofionMake ourbodyas smallasyoucanbyplacing our orehead n the loor, armsandhandsflopped o the side.'7magine ourself s inyasyoucan.Allow bread ntoyourbodyardrelease ound.trhat s it like to beso small? /hat ensationsreawakenedn yourbody?

E (7"+,y on o1 /tn1 ofio n''Make ourbodyasbigdsashining ar-arms, legs, nd ace pread part.Allowbreathntoyourbodyand eleaseound.what s t fike o be so arge? hatsensationsreawakenednyourbody?

(ontr"rfto n/ fry a"n1on c"1Qe1lureThis ime,beginwithyour wo eet lat on the loor; weight istributed o hatyoucanmovewith ease.Make ourbody malln a way hat eels omfortableor you.Allow hesensationsof contractiono awaken, ut do not squeezeourmuscles. hen, rowde body nto expan-sion, and end hegesturewith the sensationsf expansion.oucanplaywith the empo,rhlthm, andofter qualities. ry t slow ast, taccato,egato, eary ight,andso on.Howdothedifferent ualities ffect ou nwardly? epeatheexperience,ut staxtn an expandd ayandmove o a contractedhape. owdoes hemovementf "closirg"affect heexperience?

It is mportantor me o reiteBte hat heuseof breath nd oiceevolvedver imeat heEnsembleand s a departuretom Chekhov e have ound hat,withoutan ntegratedpproach,ctors re oftenable o ftrlf ill dre charactern the bodybut not thevoice.The esulthasbeer hatvoicand speechprocessesave ad o "catchup" to reflect he complexsychologicalalues evelopedn the body-adichotomytat is frustrating ndavoidable. erhapst is helpful o thinkof thevoiceasemergingromacomplex rrayof muscles,omeof whichare smallandmostof whichare ntmalbut no essabsentfrom hewholebody hananyofter panof us.

FINALTIPSChekhov ever ntended or psychologicalesturco be performed nstage. ik the technique f[. Matthias lexandera contemporaryf Chekhov),sychologicalestures intended[s "meims-whcreby"0 nablche ullest ossiblexpression.'3Ihis"means-whcrcby"sparticrlilrlvnrfln1xnlo. l r ll,*t-va/ /,,t 7lh'r1 l . l , ,A , * l A , t t ' " . t i . t , r " t . 4 , , " lG , t t " " , , . " / tA , lA , , ' / " " 1 h " ' l

note:Ultimately,ny echnique hould iberate ou o be brilliart and nspired.t mustnever e used sr substituteof your alent, ut, ike anygoodechnique,mustbeused o etarl" it. Yonmight ind hereme roles hatyouplaybrilliandywith httlesuchdevelopmenl,utyouwill needa tech que o inspire]ou for roles hatare essaccessible.venhen, ourgoa.lhould e oplay hecharacteqhescene,hcplaya^s eautiftrllyspossible-withaudacity,magination, nd healricalrulh-using the echniqueocnable uch xpressionrd never .s substituteor t, which sperhxpshegreatestxample f hepart-nership etweenhe inner" nd he outq

If youaregoingo undertakeie chekhovwork, t will benecessaryo tlain with a good eacherMost rtists amotderive l l thal hey eed o ffom book, notevenMr CheL:hov's.hat aid, ornehingsto kccp n mindwhen o*ing:

. Approachhdractff hrough rchetlpes.t is ikely o ead ou o a uniqu rotoq?.. Domovementstomthe nside.what sensations,eelings, nd mpulses re awakened ithinyouwhen ouaremoving? se ourbody n entirely ewways.f it feels trange r odd, henyou'rcexplodngew erritoryiust on't urtyoursel0.. Releasercath ndsound. houghMr Chelilrovrecludedoice ndspeechromhiswork untilhiscollaboration ith RudolfSteiner ur work at he Chek:hovheatr nsmbleasshownhat nte-grited breath warenesss as mucha partof thepsychophysicalrocess s anyoder partof thcbody.Do not orcebreathout, manufactureanguage,f indulge n mpr se o mrke the eleascaudible: reath hould. treamout ofand through he bodyas a rcsalt ofthe nouement,simi-larly o thewaya sighcomes ut tom an mpulse f relief. t rnight e agooddea o do some lyourChekhov xercises ith a voicandspeechacher ith whom ouhaveworked o seewhathcor sh as o sav boutt.l'sychologicalestureshould:

. llc archetlpal nd rvolve hewholebody.. (icnerailynvolvewo eet lat on h loor.. lle wcll-shapeditha sensef beginning,iddle, ndend.. lnvolve reath nd ound.

. limbo(bhe hancter sa whole, ragmentf t, or a mornentn the cene.. llc Delformednwardly he[acting.. lJr epeatedhreeimesn successionith adiationetweenachcpetition.. Inspifc ou.l[ vour sychologicalestureosninspireou, hanget orget id of t nntilyou ind ontethin

rhtrtl(x's.'lxywith ts hlthms,empos,nd ualities.oumight iscoverhat hesame hapc ra0lali|ullr chrLngcsnpsychologicalalues ith he mallestdjustment.

.l.ctyolrinllginxtionsotlrbovecommonbounds,butdonotexteDdyoursclfbcyovhichrucun lo withu ccling [ r1|"sc.ou'rc otcompcting.. lrrrit( 'vorrlilhcr nl(' l l( 'ctnlo hc )r'o('ssohclp orDl (e rrlistichrliccs.

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methodology chekhov

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