THE ACTORS PRESENCE
Actors must practice the art of expansion in order to create presence in their work. How does the actor practice expansion? First consider this: love expands / the ego contracts. Acting that is born and bathed in love will be expansive, full of presence, and universally connected. Love connects us to our deepest place of soul and truth. It is the portal into egoless work and to the universal which connects us as artists to all of humanity.
“The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion”
– Tchich Nhat Hanh
CONTRACTION IN ACTING
Contraction creates dullness in the actor. There is a sense of negativity accompanying the actor in his/her energy field. The actor appears small. Train yourself to expand rather than contact. This doesn’t mean you reject the contraction. What you resist won’t leave you alone. It will just create an underground movement and act out subconsciously in your work. Let it be there at the same time, make space for it and wrap the love, the acceptance around it.
In our Toronto acting class, acting students practise “expansion and contraction” in their preparatory work.
Do not try and feel love because it may not be forthcoming. Instead “Will” yourself to give to the work, and from that giving love will arise. If you don’t like the word “love” then try “acceptance”. Acceptance works just like love because it is essentially “Peace”.
EXPANSION IN ACTING
See, hear, smell, taste and touch the world around you until you feel yourself expanding. Give of yourself. Service the work instead of your individual ego needs. Start by listening to how often you talk about yourself or others talk about themselves so you become aware of it in your-self. Try making it about something outside of yourself and your individual performance.
This does not mean we disown or reject the contracted ego. It is an important part of your work as an actor. It means we acknowledge the ego contractions and give them an outlet through our characters. And we engulf it in love. We bring it into the light to be held in consciousness. Learn to love the soul in others and accept the ego.
Deep inquiry into who am I until you drop beneath the ego selves is a portal in to “Presence.”
Michael Chekhov was a proponent of working with presence in the actor. Read his book, On the Technique of Acting.
Cindy Tanas Actors Studio teaches acting classes for Theatre and Film in Toronto and the GTA, Collingwood and Southern Georgian Bay.