Basic Relaxation

Relaxation is the Foundation

Many experts in the field of acting have painted the role of relaxation so strongly, and there is no exaggeration in it. As it’s often said, relaxation is the foundation upon which the “the house of method acting” is built. If an actor is devoid of relaxation, of course, tension will fill the void. And as often ascribed to Stanislavski, tension is one of the occupational hazards of an actor; as you would found out in the course of the training that without relaxation you can hardly think or feel.

Tension Can be A Problem

It might be challenging to understand relaxation when you have not fully grasped the concept of tension. Tension can cause muscular stiffness, which in turn inhibits emotional expression. It goes beyond muscular tautness but also affects the mind and the imagination of an actor; it could arise in the mind of the actor, it could come as stage fright, and sometimes it could be caused by an act itself. Imagine you are to act alongside someone you dislike, this is a kind of tension that arises from the act.

Relaxation is in the CORE of Acting

Because relaxation is at the core of acting, some method has been devised to make an actor identify where tension is and its causes; there are equally techniques that can be employed to ease this tension out. There is a need to synchronize body, mind, and imagination for an actor to make a character as real as possible, and only when you are in a relaxed state of mind can you pull up such magic.
In the course of this training, you will go through Strasberg’s technique. This relaxation method and other similar ones are not magic, but if you follow the program in this training rigorously, you will be able to tap into unwanted tensions in different parts of your body and transform them into useful energy.

The Goal is to Give You Control

In some of these relaxation techniques, you will be asked to take a position that you will most likely be in when sleeping becomes absolutely necessary, and there you can begin to locate where tensions are very intense. And if you have not fully grasped the technical term for tension, the course will take you through its concept, origin, and its applicability, relaxation precisely.
Whatever the method explored in this training, the goal is to give you control and make you a conscious observer in your own reality and equally build a habit of it such that the ability to relax become part of your subconsciousness and eventually becomes something you do with ease even when you are physically and mentally exerted.
As Constantine Stanislavski has put it, relaxation puts an actor in a creative mood. The series of exercises that he has developed is designed to do just that, relaxed and concentrated, and this is one of the methods that will be explored.

Yoga is NOT in the Context of Acting

Why not Yoga or any other mediation methods? Well, Yoga is a generic relaxation method, and it is not developed in the context of acting. Acting is a technical field, as it were, and only methods developed within its context can adequately capture its scope. While Yoga and other similar methods focus on the forms, like the positioning of the legs and arms, the relaxation methods in acting are more about content. Unlike Yoga, there are no rigorous positions to maintain except the ones that help you achieve your goal, which is your ability to sync your mind and body’s movement to create a character and thereby convince your audience of its authenticity. Therefore to a degree, Yoga and similar methods are designed to keep the mind at bay.

Set The Mind Loose

In contrast, the methods as explored in this training are designed to set the mind loose to be in rhythm with the body and the imagination in the sensory memory. Needless to say that Yoga’s core goal is not necessarily to identify tensions. However, the relaxation methods in acting are specifically designed to identify where tensions are locked in different parts of your body and transform them into energy that will unleash your creative prowess.

High Degree of Concentration

There is nothing wrong with an actor indulging in any meditation methods, but you obviously cannot swing into meditation mode whenever you feel tensed on stage or in the middle of an act. Strasberg methods, for instance, can make an actor identified a tension where it is located and even while an act is in progress and ease it out of the body without being seen by the audience. The goal of any relaxation is to achieve a high degree of concentration; this is necessary to create your character and sustain it until its expiration or the end of the act. These exercises are not going to be easy, neither will the training, all together, be devoid of tediousness.

Basic Relaxation is the Pivot of Your Training
Therefore, whatever method you will find fascinating, either the one espoused by Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Stella Adler, or the most popular one, Constatine Stanislavski’s method, the aims is to create a strong need to relax such that an actor can be in a creative mood. And it is undeniable the impressive work of Lee Strasberg; this method, the basic relaxation as it is often called, will be the training’s pivot. And until you, as an actor, see your body as an impressive tool of great and diverse uses. Until your motivation come from impulses that polish your artistic skill. And until the series of exercises that you will rigorously go through percolate into your subconscious mind; thus your artistic skills become refined, responsive, and captured all relevant minute changes in an act and your life on the stage or in front of the camera. Until all these conditions are met, you will be distracted by fright and become a victim of your drama. Your body will inhibit you in your creativity and imaginative endeavor. Hence, this is one of London’s few acting courses, where you can effectively train to relax.