Alexander Technique for the Actor II

The Alexander Technique offers a set of skills and insights about how we think, move and breathe by connecting us through our senses to our thoughts, feelings and actions. As actors and performing artists, we can use this method to invite more ease into our preparation instead of stiffness or tension. We can experience confidence in our posture, our gestures and our voices; our overall way of being. Alexander Technique is useful for unloading the habits we unknowingly carry into our acting. An attitude of curiosity and experimentation opens us up, making the resiliency of body and mind more accessible -- this is the essential core of Alexander’s principles.

Through guided experience, the Alexander Technique brings you into a collaborative, playful relationship with your natural design for movement -- freeing up your creativity and releasing tension. Body language is an essential aspect of how we communicate. Postural tone, for example, tells us so much about ourselves as it reveals our inner dialogue to others. Use of the Alexander Technique can heighten awareness of our responses to thoughts, feelings and the meaning of the words we use.

As you learn more about your anatomical design for breathing, you will gain key skills for sensing changes in your breath as reflective of your thoughts. Insights into patterns of behavior and emotions are revealed through awareness of breathing patterns. The Alexander Technique offers ways to free yourself from habitual patterns without forcefully manipulating your breath. As you develop a dependable sense of center you will strengthen your breathing coordination naturally. The Alexander work is particularly useful in preparation for using your voice in a healthy manner. You will learn to confidently speak on your breath.

Classwork will include:

• Continued exploration of the principles and practice from Alexander Technique, level I
• Further development of sensory awareness and observational skills
• Improvisations to highlight and build playful resiliency and confidence
• Speaking more freely on the breath
• Preparatory work toward character transformation
• How to effectively use feedback when making adjustments in scene work
• Individual attention and hands-on guidance.