The Actor's Mind - Expressing in Balance. Power Connection Acting Exercises for Mental Flexibility Copyright, Neva J. Howell This is the acting exercise section of acting lesson number 5, of the Power Connection Online Acting Class. If you have reached this page directly, from a search engine search of link, you will need to start with acting lesson 5 - whole brain acting first. It may also be helpful to start at the beginning of the power connection acting class, complete the intro and preceding acting lessons before doing this one. Whole brain acting should be the goal of the actor. Relying on conscious mind choices can make a performance dull and predictable. While there is nothing wrong with research, scene analysis, beats, etc. they can destroy a performance if that's what a performance is based on entirely and intuitive response in the moment is not allowed to mess with that analysis after it is designed. Ignoring spontaneous inspiration, the domain of the subconscious, is what I consider an acting choice that is very limiting and which results in less powerful performances than could be possible. CONSCIOUS VS UNCONSCIOUS MIND IN ACTING Featured Performance Enhancement Program: Activate Your Creative Genius I have no exercises for increasing awareness of the conscious mind in performance because, in years of teaching acting to hundreds of students, I ve never met anyone who needed more training in that area. Without exception, the reverse has been true, and the conscious mind was too much in control of the acting process. I have taught many students and worked with a few actors who spent no time at all on research for period or culturally significant productions and this is not something I can teach with an exercise. Know your material. Read through the entire script, not just your scenes. Ask questions Make character choices Discover relationships Do your homework daily Then, send your head to bed; time to play! The Subconscious Mind can be likened to a treasure chest of jewels and priceless gold. That part of your mind does not bear the limitations you have placed on yourself in growing up. We all do that, you know. We go from being free, unhibited children whose imaginations can create an entire world around us for the purposes of pure amusement to hesitant creators. We hesitate because we no longer believe in our own power to manifest. The big secret: your world as it is right this moment is the sum total of what you have thought about yourself, your world and your potential. Reaching the subconscious mind can allow you to remember more of your potential, help you to create more positive thoughts about yourself and return you to a time of innocence where you knew you could anything, so you did! So, how does one get past the rigid, sometimes even stodgy will of the conscious mind to find fresh choices on lines that have been memorized for weeks and a "first time I've ever done this" sensation on movements that have been rehearsed over and over? One excellent way is to meditate. Meditation can be seen as some mystical type of experience that only a few can have or it can be seen as a natural part of life. We stop We breathe We release thought We are still In the stillness is great magic. So, if you don't meditate, start now. Even if it's only five minutes, set that time apart to "not think". Don't do. Just be still. This will increase your intuitive sensing, which is a function of the subconsious levels of mind. Another way to invite more subconscious input in your life is to experiment with what you know and what you have come to think you know. What I mean by this is that your past programming can throw your conscious mind into a response to a situation which is not even remotely in tune with the present. Let's say you ordered a steak dinner at a certain restaurant and it was ruined. Then, let's say a few weeks later, a friend invites you out and suggests steak. You rebell, saying that oh, no you don't want steak. Is that true? Or is it the conscious mind memory of the past event coloring your present decision? Learn to watch yourself and your responses and you may begin to see how much your "learned" behaviors from the conscious mind are controlling your actions. Continue to Lesson 6: Tips for Believable Acting All Acting Lessons for Level One. Best done in order. Lesson One - Introduction to Acting Lessons Lesson Two - The Actor's Body Lesson Three - The Actor's Voice Lesson Four - The Actor's Emotions Acting Lesson Five - The Actor's Mind Acting Lesson Six - Believable Acting Tips Free Audition Tips and Info on Ebook for Acting What Makes Good Acting |
