Self-Use in Actor Training

Abstract

For the actor, the right use of self is the only sure basis for the expressive use of self.Such a statement seems to me to summarize a trend in actor training in this country today. Soon after the Second World War, the Stanislavski “methodists,” led by Lee Strasberg, taught us important lessons in creative process, quite transforming our acting style. We crystalized a technique built on creative responsiveness, the mark always of good acting. Presumably these lessons are now an unforgettable part of our training.However, those of us who were students of Strasberg—or some of the other great acting teachers of that time, like Alvina Krause or Sanford Meisner—and who went on to teach another generation of young actors, sooner or later found ourselves facing more fundamental problems. These dealt with what is usually called voice and body work.