The Empowerment Blog
Actors, don’t get trapped in the triangle of hell!Â
So many actors have “The imagination” and “The Thinking Channel” and can be very alive.
This is how they act - in relationship between their imagination and their thoughts and then you get emotion and you've got this triangle of hell because it's...
The inclusion of the body is the game changer, because it's not about the content, it's not about the words.
It's actually, as you know, it's about something that's beneath them and the layers of resonance beneath them and what they have to do with the past and the future and the expectation and th...
Actors, we're moving out of intensity into complexity.
So what I mean by that is intensity is where the thoughts are racing and the images may be very abundant, but actually the body is in fight, flight, freeze or fawn.
I saw this a lot when working with actors, where the eyes would be very intens...
Acting isn’t emotional, it’s sensational and it’s about the senses
For one emotion, you can have a dozen sensations.
Sometimes if we feel, it’s only alive when we have the emotional connection, instead of it’s as alive if there’s your image, and your senses are on board, it’s just that it’s a less...
Actors, the body needs a really trusted space, not a safe space.Â
We don’t want to create a “safe space” because for many of us “safe” means stay the same and “stay safe” can mean “do all our own habits” because the body is going “oh I feel safe if it’s just like it was all along”.
It’s not a “saf...
Artists, when you share your voice, the room becomes safer.
We’re in a world where silencing creates fear, and being silent creates fear. As artists, we’re also in the practice of the sharing of a voice that is messy, vulnerable, chaotic, because that prevents fear and silencing.
It’s very important, ...
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Are you feeling the call to reconnect with your creativity, deepen your craft, and nurture your whole self as an actor?
From September 7th to 11th, I’m thrilled to be welcoming a new group of actors to Connemara for our next Acting Retreat — a transformative and embodied journey into performance...
The most challenging thing for an actor to deal with is rejection and to be constantly going for auditions.
If the focus is on getting the audition, you’re going to find the career of an actor very hard.
But if the focus is on, I go into the audition, I’ve already been cast, and I’m just going to pl...
Actors, stop end-gaming your creative process!
A self take class is not going to teach you about acting. It will teach you how to self-tape.
Playwrights, script writers are going to teach you about acting.
Going to class is going to teach you about acting.
Reading the whole play, and the whole script is...
Actors, resting is really important!
You’re meant to be unemployed.
You’re meant to have periods of time when you’re not working, cause your job is different to everybody else’s.
Who wants all of us be working 365 days a year?
You are artists, you don’t need to do that.
You are using your whole body...
Actors, what you’re being asked to do is be vulnerable and sensitive to the story while being put in circumstances that can be very intense, very clinical and very technical, while at the same time as you’re being asked to be the heart of the story, the heart of the experience.
And this can be very...
Actors, it’s all about relationships.
And your job is all about relationships and life is about relationships, that’s where intimacy lies.
Your job is intimacy in front of strangers. Intimacy with strangers. That’s what acting is. Public vulnerability.
Most people don’t want to be vulnerable or intimat...
Actors, we are not looking for “flow state”.
Because that’s a kind of state of oneness and kind of calm and ease or I’m moving fluidly and easily from one thing to the other.
You’re human.
You’re not Gods or Goddesses or kind of made of fully water.
You are human and there’s jagged things inside you, an...
The integrated actor is essential for effective collaboration with directors. Rather than relying solely on intuition, actors must become conscious of their unconscious processes, sensations, emotions, and imagination. Before a scene, they need to understand their inner experiences and how they rela...
Our journey towards deeper humanity involves exploring the art of change and transformation.
We must work on ourselves in relation to our environments and the people in our lives.
The phases of this journey include building ego strength and navigating relationships.
Blue care (ocean) and green care (fo...
Image and imagination play a significant role in our perception. When we encounter an image, various parts of our brain are activated, and signals are sent throughout our nervous system. These images are connected to different associative networks, evoking sensations, emotions, and insights. It’s im...
Foster a relationship through your senses.
The only way, the portal, the doorway to the here and now is through the senses. The only way you can do that is through the body.
Sensations are these pebbles, different coloured pebbles, 10,000 different shades of different colours. Emotions, you coul...
Actors, when you start to notice the ordinary, like a serene pond, and truly experience it in a way that feels alive, it's akin to planting seeds. These seeds gradually grow, little by little, and they deeply nourish the soil of your heart and soul. This richness and the ability to embrace the small...
Humility is The Artist's Way
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It takes huge humility to be the artist.Â
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To really be the artist, so much of your craft, of your practice and your process will go unseen and will go un-applauded.Â
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And not only that, so few people will really get experientially the life you live, the choice...
Actors, when emerging from numbness or freeze, you may experience a profound sense of hurt and pain. However, as you gradually move beyond this stage, a new level of resilience emerges—the fight. It is during this phase that you begin to regain your agency and determination. Of course, it is essenti...