Alexander Technique and Acting

Why Alexander Technique is helpful for acting

● There are a number of problems resulting from bad use that can impact your ability to
perform, such as vocal issues, over-conscious, restrained, or unwantedly habitual
movement, and struggling to stand for long periods of time.
● Stanislavski recognized that unnecessary tension in the body was counterproductive to
acting: in An Actor Prepares, he noted that “as long as you have this physical tenseness
you cannot even think about delicate shadings of feeling or the spiritual life of your part.
Consequently, before you attempt to create anything it is necessary for you to get your
muscles in proper condition, so that they do not impede your actions."
● Alexander Technique can also help open you up to your scene partner and more
effectively listen to them. Andrew Wood from the Andrew Wood Acting Studio teaches
that “we need to be emotionally available to the impulses being directed at us by our
scene partners, and the armor [that] chronic tension outfits us with obstructs this
process”. The idea of end-gaining can also be applied to acting: you cannot focus on
what you will do next, just on how you are getting there - i.e. the tactics you’re currently
using - or else you won’t be fully in the current moment with your partner.
● Some characters may be nervous or stressed in such a way that, if they were real
people, they would likely hold immense amounts of tension in their bodies. However, we
as actors don’t have to actually hold all that tension when we play the part, or else we
might risk hurting ourselves over time. We can still use Alexander Technique to reduce
all but the absolutely necessary tension, and maintain our use. The “tension” that the
character holds can be expressed through quality of movement rather than through how
we actually use ourselves. It’s similar to the difference between real and believable that
we learned about last semester in acting class.
● Alexander Technique also paves the way for actors to escape their habitual movement.
By focusing on the control that the mind has over the body and its movement, breath,
and balance (psychophysical control), the actor can recognize the habits they have
learned and become more open.

Exercises to help
● To increase the power of your voice, you can think of your voice as rising up and over
your head from your neck or coming out the top of your head, imagining that the top of
your head is like the wide part of a horn that sound comes out of.
● Something that I greatly struggle with is standing for long periods of time. There are
exercises to help with this as well, using “monkey position”, which is known as the
“position of mechanical advantage” in Alexander Technique. Monkey position is a partial
squat with bent hips, knees, and ankles, while maintaining good use in the head, neck,
and back. Similar to what we observed when we practiced sitting down, many people
tense up their neck when they bend to pick something up. Practicing monkey position
and releasing your weight down to the ground helps you to gain support from the ground
and stand strongly without unconsciously locking your knees.
 ● Another way to learn to more strongly support yourself when you’re on your feet is to
practice focusing on the floor and pay attention to how it’s supporting you, recognizing
that it is hard and motionless beneath your feet and releasing unnecessary tension.

Bibliography
● Vasiliades, Tom. “The Alexander Technique: An Acting Approach”. Published in Soul of
the American Actor Volume 7, No.3 - Fall 2004.
https://www.alexandertechnique.com/articles/acting3/
● Vall, Leland. “Acting & the Alexander Technique”. 2023.
ttps://freeyourneck.com/acting-the-alexander-technique/
● Wood, Andrew. “The Alexander Technique: An Actor’s Guide”. Backstage, 2023.
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/alexander-technique-acting-exercises-1052
/
● Barker, Sarah. “The Alexander Technique: An Acting Approach”. Theatre Topics, Volume
12, Number 1, March 2002, pp. 35-48. Johns Hopkins University Press.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/35251/pdf