Alexander Technique and Acting
Alexander Technique and Acting
How did the Alexander Technique Start?
The Big Picture
Stanislavsky, Chekhov, Hagen, and Adler all write that an actor's Technique must address a significant job demand: perpetually being aware of and balancing our internal (mind-body) worlds in response to external (play) events. F.M. Alexander writes that each human's ability to negotiate constructively between internal and external stimuli is essential to our individual and communal thriving.
Actors or not, people come to the Alexander Technique to address something they wish to improve or change in themselves. If pain is not an issue, actors typically come to me to address voice/breath, TMJ-syndrome, stage-fright/ anxiety, emotional blocks/connection/ availability, and how to address bodily tension that may distract in performance and auditions. From an AT teacher’s perspective, such “problems” typically have one thing in common: they can be addressed by the actor putting attention to their awareness of their own sensorimotor system in action in everyday Life, developing an embodied sense of how they use that system vs. how it is designed to work, and developing a more accurate awareness (and constructive control) of “how they do” everything.
Two Gentlemen of Verona (V, iV)
The Backstory = a metaphor for our story
Young Australian actor F.M. Alexander faced a serious, concrete problem that had to be solved to save his career: While performing, he kept losing his voice. A big deal in 1892 when you have no mic, a passion for Shakespeare, and aren’t flush with cash. Strangely, voice-loss doesn’t seem to have been an issue for him in any other area of his life. Talking to friends? No problem. Acting? Problem.
When Alexander followed medical advice (vocal rest for two weeks and prescribed medicines), his voice would return, only to disappear again during the next performance. Although doctors could find no medical explanation for his difficulties, they continued as long as he continued trying to work on stage. So Alexander hypothesized that his voice issues might stem from what he was doing while acting. He began observing himself in mirrors while rehearsing and noticed a complex pattern of unnecessary tension from head to toe (the pattern included: pulling his head back and down, lifting his chest, depressing his larynx, audibly sucking in air, and contracting his legs) This pattern was similar to a reflex, and was triggered the moment he simply had the idea to speak a line.
This observation told him two things:
His “vocal” problem on stage was merely a SYMPTOM of a visible, whole-body pattern of chronic, habitual tension that he’d never noticed because it gradually had come to feel entirely “normal” to him. Yet when he looked in the mirror, he could see his sense of normalcy didn’t match reality. His awareness of his body was inaccurate and unreliable.
Because this pattern started when he got the idea to speak in performance, it was just as much a “mental” issue as a “physical” one.
What Is The Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is an educational method. It is as much a high-level awareness discipline as it is about your body.
It is not:
🦴physical therapy
🦴a treatment (like massage or chiropractors)
🦴a cure
🦴a form of exercise (like yoga, Pilates, etc.)
🦴meditation/ relaxation
🦴psychotherapy
How Do I Learn The Alexander Technique?
Because each person’s brain, life-experiences, learning style, and body-voice is so unique, group Alexander Technique classes unfortunately cannot compare to a course of private Alexander training. Good Conservatories offer individual Alexander classes to supplement small group work.
Let’s get real for a second:
To the detriment of the learner, budgets of even well-endowed Higher Ed programs with impressive mission statements have been (are being) slashed. We currently see Courses fundamental to human movement in thought and action and emotion and voice (like AT) reduced to a Semester (or less). Such Courses often are led by someone who has not engaged in the 3-years/ 1600 hours of in-person teacher training work required for Alexander Technique teaching certification. So make sure your instructor meets the minimum certification requirements to facilitate your application of AT principles to yourself while living your Life on (and off) stage. Don’t waste your precious time and hard-earned money.
Analogies: just because I took a lot of stage-combat classes and acted with a stage-combat-focused Theatre company 30 years ago does not mean I should teach stage combat. Also, I sing in musicals and take singing lessons; that does not mean I should be teaching singing.
Research what you believe you are signing on for vs. what actually is being offered. Ask questions. Take hold of your own education and development. Figure out what “success” in learning looks like for you. What’s your 1-year plan? 5-year plan?
As The New York Times details, the average number of private lessons most people need to be able to use the Alexander Technique well for themselves is about 20-30 (each lasting 1/2 hour to 45 minutes). Depending on their goals, some people need fewer lessons; some more.
Some actors choose to continue taking Alexander class throughout their lifetime because of the joy self-discovery and development brings them, their understanding of craft, or the demands of a role.
Should you wish to study privately (and I encourage you to do so), give your prospective teacher 3 lessons – you’ll know by then if you want to continue with Alexander classes and/or if you want to find another teacher.
See my Resource Library for more quality content about the Alexander Technique.
Conclusion
As actors, we are called upon to be observers and masters of our selves (emotionally, physically, mentally... actually, pretty much all the Lee’s😀).
Mr. Alexander’s technique is an invaluable tool we can use toward attaining that mastery: It can help us prevent vocal and other physical injury and increase our career longevity. It improves our breathing and stamina. It can help us begin to notice and address emotional blocks. It can help us gently peel away the layers of the onion to find a truer “neutral.”
From there, we can make more informed choices about the tension we choose to use for the characters we play, thereby granting us a greater emotional range, casting potential, and physical ease.
Don't know about you, but experiencing that kind of empowered freedom every day brings me incredible joy.
What's your experience been with Alexander Technique and Acting?
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