method acting

As a method acting coach, I am often asked this question. The thing is, there has been so much reported on the technique, that it can be hard for the untrained eye to understand what the approach is all about.

What is method acting?
Author: Brian Timoney
As a method acting coach, I am often asked this question. The thing is, there has been so much reported on the technique, that it can be hard for the untrained eye to understand what the approach is all about. Many years ago I was discussing this with my old mentor who described it as 'the reality of truth brought into performance'. Nice quote, but how on earth is this achieved? Well, in the main, the actor has to do a challenging acting training which involves acting courses focused on bringing the authentic 'you' into your work. Many people think that Method Acting is all about being 'natural'. This isn't quite true. It's all about being 'real'. Ellen Burstyn, co-president of the Actors Studio in New York, described the difference between being 'natural' and being 'real' as the same as being 'asleep' and being 'awake' respectively. When aspiring actors go to drama school or acting school in the UK, they are predominately taught a technical approach, an approach that is focused on representing the truth rather than recreating it for real. The Method is about recreating the reality of real life as accurately as possible. It is about capturing humanity in its fullest, most expressive form and turning it into a piece of theatre or a film. The Method also takes no prisoners. It's not the easiest of techniques, but then again, most things in life that are worth having don't come easy. They generally require hard work, but the rewards are there for those who are willing to commit themselves. Method acting classes bring together the inner emotions and experiences of characters together with the external elements. By 'external' I mean, predominately, how the character walks and talks. Some say that The Method is an emotion-only technique, but that's untrue. This sort of opinion is usually propagated by people untrained in the technique who form their own opinion based on limited knowledge. The Method covers all the acting bases and is about creating full and varied characters which are grounded in reality. If you are someone who is obsessed with acting excellence, then there is only one technique to consider.. and that's Method Acting .
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/what-is-method-acting-1129163.html
About the Author:
"Brian is a Acting Coach with over 18 years experience in the industry and is The Leading Expert on Method Acting in the UK. He has taught actors appearing in London’s West End shows to high profile films. Brian recently appeared on the BBC2 programme ‘Murder Most Famous’ teaching TV Actors; Sherrie Hewson (Coronation Street/
Emmerdale) and Angela Griffin (Coronation Street/ Holby City) Method Acting techniques. "