I want to talk about actor training from a mind, body, spirit (M/B/S) perspective and explain why Actors – and all artists – should incorporate M/B/S training in to their ritual artistic development.
This post isn’t coincidental. It’s part of a new campaign that invites all performers to engage with us on Facebook and Instagram, share M/B/S training tips and work together to become a stronger, more thoughtful acting/artist community. More about that later…
But first, there are many theories (and opinions) around “good” acting or how to be a “good” actor. While I don’t want to take time in this post to weigh the merits of one training style over another, I will state emphatically that it is a disservice to the art of acting and to the artist if one does not:
- invest in strengthening the mind through education, mediation, and exercise of thought;
- exercise the body regularly to understands its efforts and limitations, to know how to use the body as an instrument for story telling and character creation;
- connect with the universe in a wholly personal way – this may look like walks in the woods, prayers in a church, lifting your voice in song, painting pictures, a meditative practice like yoga, or taking time to fall in love with the Being that is truly you.
If you’re thinking this all sounds a little “woo” – it is. And it is the type of training every actor should invest in from the their first acting class through their retirement (and probably beyond, but we can discuss that another time). I will argue, an actor cannot authentically show up as a character in a show if they cannot authentically show up for themself.
Many artists agree that what makes their art important, impactful, and unique is that it is first created from within their mind, heart, and spirit. Art is a reflection of our inner selves and of our humanity in the moment. Like our inner selves, our art can shift and change when fed new information – this shift in and of itself is an argument for M/B/S Actor training – we can’t improve in our craft is we’re not improving our instrument! As actors the mind we use to access emotion, the body we use to convey and react, the spirit we use to authenticate those reactions – all are linked and all are improved when we engage in focused M/B/S training.
If you’re thinking, “but Autumn, all an actor does is memorize lines, wear costumes, and ham it up for an audience”! (oh boy…) Okay, I won’t argue that there are some entertainers who deliver fun performances with little investment in refining their acting tool box. Having “phoned in” a performance or two, myself, I can attest that these types of performances leave the artist feeling unfulfilled, depleted, and a bit like a failure. It isn’t work an artist wants to stand behind – and it isn’t the type of process the creative team at Treasure Valley Children’s Theater wants to promote. We seek to empower youth through the transformative power of the arts, and that starts from within – with Mind/Body/Spirit Actor training.
You’re invited to join us! I hope you’ll engage with us this month on Instagram or Facebook and share your own #actortrainingtips with our community.
At TVCT we strive to create a place for young performers to discover their unique talents, to harness those talents to make an impact that could change the world. Those talents are rooted in the discovery of who they are and who they want to become – it isn’t training done in one acting class, it’s a life-long investment for the actor – and one that the whole person will benefit from.
