A Personal Journey

At some point or another, every actor will embark on the amazing journey of discovering how to open up their emotional life. They dream of effortlessly unlocking the flood gates as the tears spring forth. The fact is, every actor has their own unique personal history. Gaining access to the emotional life may be easier for some, and more difficult for others. Either way, a practical application of the craft can help all actors access this sometimes elusive aspect of the process.

Don’t Chase It

In life, we never reach for emotions, but instead, our emotions surprise us as we experience events in our lives. When actors chase the result of the emotion, not only does it look fake, the authentic emotion most likely won’t materialize. In acting, it requires a combination of patience, relaxation and concentration.

Exploring Sensation

The exercise called “Affective Memory” was invented by Constantin Stanislavski and adopted in the US by Lee Strasberg of The Actors Studio. When I was beginning to study acting in NYC, I came across this wonderful book, “On Method Acting”, by Edward Dwight Easty, which provides a deeply practical understanding of the process of sensory work. On the subject of Affective Memory he says, “You must realize that no emotion can be created by trying to recapture the emotion directly. It must be taken in steps with complete disregard for the end results.” I return to this book often as a refresher. It taught me that we can find the door to our emotional life through focusing on our five senses.

Lifting To Art

Every actor must find their own path to opening up their emotional life. Also, the actor cannot forget their responsibility to the character. It’s not just about truthful emotion. The actor must also honor the given circumstances of the character and allow the imaginary world of the material to transform their raw material into art.

All my best,

Greg Braun

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