Movement... Duh. Uhm... What Is It?

Movement is a type of therapy that is also one of the three pedagogues of actor training, the other two being acting and voice training.  Movement is used to help the body become more free.  For example, if a person has slumped shoulders with her head jutting forward, she will not be able to play royalty until she creates the option of upright posture.  Often, habituated patterns do not allow for the body to simply spring up and be upright if the pattern of slumping has been in the body for a long time.

What do you DO? 

First, I like to understand your goals and what you want to address.
  Past clients goals:

• behavior awareness to succeed in the workplace
• opening of the body because of limited posture (like the example of slumped shoulders)
• increased breath capacity
• fuller range of motion throughout the body
• enjoyment of each area of the body rather than disliking one (belly, legs, arms, etc.)
• to decrease anxiety

What might we do as experiments in the session?  Second, applied learning might include:

• behavior examination and practice
• guided relaxation or imagery
• gentle range of motion exploration with all moving parts
• sensory awareness experiments
• passive and active stretching
• mask work (so you use your body to communicate rather than face)
• field trip to mall to observe and discuss behavior

If you would like to try Movement, which I call Moment Awareness Development, I am offering a workshop on Saturday May 15 from 9:30am -1pm in Altadena.  If you would like more information, please visit my website www.BodybyHeather.com.  Class size is limited.  Cost is $30 - space will not be reserved until payment is made.  Or feel free to email me or call me at 626-421-6296.

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

 

What's My Part in Health?

There's been a lot of talk in the past decade about the body-mind connection and how any psychological distress might link to a dis-ease in the body. Some will go so far as to place blame on the person who is sick - as if being diagnosed with a condition is not enough.

Who needs blame? I propose we work within compassion: for ourselves and others. I propose we seek out support and health care providers we trust prior to any diagnoses. I propose we do what is in our power to remain in health: body, mind, and spirit.

We are inundated with information about how to be healthy. Some ideas that make sense to me are eating whole and organic foods (when I can), moving around to make my body feel good, and working with a talk therapist when I feel I need more tools to address a situation.

Bottom line: "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

Find a Character through Time

When you are hired to play a person living in another time, though we share the trait of being human, that person moves differently than you do now. I am sure you are aware of the fashion discrepancies decade to decade, let alone in another century, so how do you allow these differences to inform how you re-create the world of that time?

Necessary To Do List:

• rehearsal clothing that mimics your costume(s)
• research on undergarments, clothing styles, and garment materials (wool would feel very different than silk - how would that inform how you move?)
• research on that town/area to learn standards of living, culture, belief systems, and where your character would fit both truthfully and most interestingly
  
• what sort of secret might your character have with these given circumstances?
• what sort of props would your character use and how can you create relationships/personalize those props?
  

Your dramaturg is your best friend. Great information will be had through his or her research. Regardless, do your own research prior to your first rehearsal so you can go in with questions, ideas, and fun secrets with which to play.

If you find yourself getting bogged down with the era of the play, you might find tempo of movements free you up. For example, tempo can be the inner rhythm through which your character operates. If you're playing Hedda Gabbler, you might consider her tempo to be that of a persistent heart beat. How would that inform what you do given the time, place, and garment restrictions?

Rehearsal is the time to play, play, PLAY! Use your fine imagination to live in the world of the play; use your intelligence to inform distinct choices about that world.

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

Are You Living Wisely?

How do you know if you're living the way you'd like to live? According to Kornfield and Walsh, three major questions will help "motivate us to reorder our priorities, to live more fully and authentically, and to heal our relationships. Careful reflection on our life and inevitable death is a powerful means for developing wisdom.

• Given that we will all die, what is truly important in life?
• If you were to die tomorrow, what would you regret not having done?
• What relationships remain unhealed in your life, and how could you begin healing them?"

Find a quiet place and reflect on these questions. Allow thoughts to roll around in you and let the answers be grand. You can always pare down what you determine and create forms of your grand thoughts IF THAT'S NECESSARY.

We live but a moment. How will you spend yours?

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

What's the deal with a demo reel?

What do you look like? How do you move? What is your range? How do you get cast? These are some of the answers a demo reel should fundamentally cover. If you don't have a demo, you should make one. In the age of flip cameras, you have NO excuse!

Invite a friend or two over with a camera and play. Learn how to edit, almost all PC's and Mac's have the capability now to do simple editing.

Determine a scene where both of you want something from the other that the other does not want to give, conflict. Determine if you want the scene to be funny or straight/dramatic. Think about where you can shoot it. Think about the place that has the least extraneous noise. Then ACTION!

I have a friend who locked herself in the bathroom at work and shot a funny video in there as if she were talking to her best friend. Do what works for YOU! And then get it on your website (if you don't have one, GET ONE) and get it out to agents and managers and casting directors.

The only way to get work is to make sure people know you can and do work!

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin

Myths About Actors

1. Actors cannot have a family and success as an actor.

Though the pressures of traveling, regional theatre, always looking for the next job, and self-esteem can put pressure on a relationship and family, countless actors you've never heard of enjoy the stability and love of creating a family. Actors have always had to think outside the box to succeed; enjoying a family is no different.

2. Actors need to be unstable to be really talented.

On the contrary, more actors get fired due to irresponsible behavior, including stars. Having or exacerbating a mental illness will not insure a stable acting process, it will make an actor a time-bomb of misery. Actors are sensitive and aware of their emotions and how to access those emotions. To enjoy life, an actor needs to tend to her wellness so she can be resiliant and dependable on set - and off.

Do you have some myths to add? Let me hear about them!!!

Copyright 2010 Heather Corwin