How to be Private in Public: Private Moment for the Actor Exercise

Normally you would do the Private Moment Exercise later during your training, unless there’s a specific problem with concentration and self-consciousness. Creating a Private Moment roots you in the present, providing a freedom of movement and thought by eliminating the pressures of performing. As a result of carrying out the exercise, you’re able to unselfconsciously accomplish all that’s required physically and emotionally for a part. Some people are already unselfconscious, committed, and engaged in the moment, so this exercise may not be critical for their development. Strasberg told us that he devised the Private Moment Exercise from Stanislavski’s comment that one of the necessary conditions for acting is to be private in public. The Private Moment Exercise demands a specific kind of intense concentration so that you can deal with the problem of distractions. You will choose a private, personal activity that you would never do in front of anyone. Some activities you may normally do when alone don’t qualify as Private Moments for the purposes of this exercise. For example, memorizing lines or rehearsing by yourself, writing in your Journal, or cooking may often be done when you happen to be alone. However, Strasberg emphasized that one of the elements that constitutes a Private Moment is that you would never admit to what you’re doing. This system of attention requires our inward thoughts. Actors like to write in their diaries as a Private Moment, but most of the time it isn’t that private, because they wouldn’t lie about doing it. If you fanatically hid your diary, then it could work. It’s preferable that you have a good grasp of the sensory work before approaching this exercise. Over time you can try several different Private Moments, which you can add to your inventory of exercises meant to create particular values and intensities. Your teacher can usually tell if the required level of privacy is created by how you come out of the exercise. There are many different reactions to facing other people after being so private, ranging from embarrassment to hysterical laughing to crying. Remember which objects and senses created the feelings of privacy for you. There are moments when you’ll be totally alone in a scene, revealing your inner thoughts or behaving in ways you would only normally do in private. The audience must feel that they’re privy to a never-before-seen reality. It’s a specific kind of heightened moment, where the audience is drawn into the character’s private musings. Your job is to reveal the intimacy of those moments that enlist the audience’s support and empathy for the character. #acting #actress #actresses #actor #actors #theatre #theater #studio #conservatory #conservatoire #masterclass #lesson #lessons #class #classes #education #history #theory #practice #improv #improvising #improvise #improvisation #adlib #creativity #creative #creator #creators #development #skill #skills #skilful #talent #genius #exercise #technique #art #craft #mastery #advanced #level #training #lecture #course #thespian #thespians #drama #action #film #cinema #stage #scene #miseenscene #blocking #relaxation #sensememory #sense #memory #emotional #emotionalmemory #feeling #sensation #animal #overall #characterisation #concentration #leestrasberg #strasberg #actorsstudio #stellaadler #adler #sanfordmeisner #meisner #robertlewis #stanislavski #stanislavsky #boleslavski #boleslavsky #ouspenskaya #ouspenskaia #teacher #teaching #teachings #teach #ivanachubbuck #ivana #chubbuck #utahagen #hagen #violaspolin #spolin #bertoltbrecht #brecht