Strasberg’s sense memory is a great way for actors to become more connected to their emotions. Sense memory was an exercise created by Lee Strasberg, the creator of The Method, in order to help actors connect more fully to their emotions. While it is a highly debated acting technique, I feel it can be a useful skill for actors to explore so that, if it works for them, they have another tool in their toolbox.
Most early actors think you can produce emotion simply by focusing on a memory that was emotional for them in the past. This is not true!
Did you know that by focusing on an emotion and pushing ourselves to feel it, we can actually make it run in the opposite direction? Strasberg knew that, and he found a way to allow actors to coax their emotion out so they could use it in their performances.
This technique, known as affective memory or emotional recall, involves recalling personal experiences to evoke an authentic emotional memory.
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Here is my guide for practicing Strasberg’s sense memory, and how it can help you to connect to your emotions in a performance through sensory exploration and emotional recall.
Relaxation
To start your sensory memory exploration, you should start with Strasberg’s relaxation exercise in order to get rid of any tension and focus your mind. These relaxation techniques are key for emotional health and openness. I recommend just doing this part of the exercise for a while. This is so you can get used to it before moving on to the sense memory.
To start this exercise, sit in a chair with a straight back and no arms. Once you find a comfortable position, begin exploring for tension. To do so, raise your arm above your head. Then move the muscles in your fingers, thumb, and wrist one at a time. Ask yourself where the tension is and release it by willing the muscle to “let go”. Repeat this process for every muscle in your body.
Release each area of your body one by one
Go from your hand to your arm to your shoulders, moving the muscles separately and releasing them. Move through your toes, your legs and your hips. Raise and rotate them in order to explore where the tension is. Lean forward in your seat in order to release the tension from your back. Rotate your neck to release the muscles there too.
Make sure to pay special attention to your facial muscles as years worth of tension can be held here. Release your jaw, your tongue, and your lips by moving them around and relaxing the muscles there. Very gently massage the muscles around your cheeks, nose, eyes and forehead and move your eyebrows up and down. Imagine two still pools of water behind your eyes and relax the muscles here too.
When you have gone through your whole body, scan through again. See if any tension has returned to any areas of your body. If so, return to moving this area and release the tension again.
The more and more you do this exercise the more in tune with the areas of tension in your body you will become. Then, the easier you will find it to release them.
Sense Memory
You should now be fully relaxed and aware of your body. You are able to move onto the sense memory part of this exercise. Choose a memory that is older than seven years old, following the seven year rule that Strasberg recommended to avoid being overwhelmed by recent trauma.
Make sure to choose something that is a strong memory in your mind. When you are just starting out, try not to pick something that is too traumatic or upsetting. It is best to take baby steps while you learn this skill and strengthen your emotional connection.
To enhance the Sense Memory exercise, concentrate on the sensory state and aspects of the memory rather than trying to force any emotions. Any emotions that should arise should be completely authentic, allowing for emotional authenticity and truthful representation.
There is nothing like focusing on your emotions to scare them off! There is no wrong emotional response to this exercise, even if very little rises up for you. Just allow whatever comes.
Be specific!
Try to be as specific as possible when you start to explore your memory. Describe the room where the event took place. Think about the clothing you wore, the objects around you, and the time of day or season.
Engage all your senses to recreate the memory. Recall the smell, the sounds, and any tastes and touch you can remember. Paint them vividly in your mind’s eye as accurately as possible. Be detailed and specific.
Note that unexpected emotions can arise during this exercise. So, don’t be surprised if you experience a different emotion than expected. A memory that we expect to make us very upset can make us laugh. A memory that we expect to make us happy can make us feel upset. Any response is okay and natural, and there is nothing wrong with anything that comes up for you.
Simply make note of it, don’t judge it. Continue to focus on the sensory elements of the memory you are working on.
Using Sense Memory For Scene Work
It can take a lot of time to practice this exercise in order to be able to use it for scene work and character development. Feel free to explore different memories, or revisit ones that you discover are particularly powerful for you. It is all a process of exploration and creative expression.
Once you have practised this exercise a lot, you make want to use your discoveries in order to trigger your emotions for a scene. Note that sense memory should not be prepared for every scene you do, and only be used when you really need it.
It is designed for scenes of high emotion and is only called upon when the circumstantial information you have prepared and your investment in the scene is not bringing the required emotional response forwards.
As you go through your sense memory exercises, make a note of which emotional response is brought up with which memory. Due to unexpected feelings being brought out by certain memories, it is always good to keep a record of which feelings a memory actually, truly brings out in you.
Also, think about which elements of the scene triggered this emotion the strongest. It may be the feel of your clothes, the sound of someone’s voice, the smell that surrounded you, or a specific item that you saw. Pick out the strongest and most powerful thing for you – this can serve as an emotional release object.
Sense Memory In Performance
Now, you should be able to recall that specific element of your memory and it should easily trigger the emotion associated with that memory for you. Lets say you have a highly emotional scene and, despite all your other prep work, you are struggling to connect with it emotionally.
You should be able to recall the specific sensory details of the element of the memory and bring forward the emotion.
Don’t linger on the emotion. Once you feel a spark of it, return your attention back to the scene and your character. Allow the emotion that has been sparked to feed into your character and scene.
Feel that emotion as your character in their circumstances. Allow it to grow or shift as needed, and you can always go back to that sensory item if you need to reconnect with it.
Remember that you need to remove the tension from your muscles in order to allow emotion to flow fully, so the relaxation exercise can be useful to do before you perform.
With more practice, you should be able to identify and release areas of tension quickly and easily, so if anything creeps in while you perform and you feel that it is hindering you, you will be able to release it then and there.
What If It Stops Working?
It can be a problem with using Strasberg’s Sense Memory, that an element you previously found reliable stops working. This can happen through overuse, or the feelings we have towards that memory can simply change.
That’s why it’s a useful idea to constantly be exploring new memories, so that the catalogue of content you have to rely on is constantly growing. Feel free to go back and re-explore memories you haven’t gone back to in a while, even if they didn’t work too well for you before.
You never know how things can change. You can even go back to the same memory and see if a different sensory element of it can bring up the same emotions – or even something entirely new.
It is something for you to constantly explore and play with in a way that works and serves your creative process. Don’t fall into the trap of the misconceptions of affective memory that it is a one-time emotional recall bonanza. It requires ongoing sensory work and exploration.
Hear David Strasberg Talk About Sensory Work
Check out Lee Strasberg’s son, David Strasberg, talking about the use of sensory work with a student. This will definitely give you some useful insights into the process.
Conclusion
So, as we can see, simply recalling a past event is not enough to trigger emotion in us. Trying to force an emotion, or focusing on our emotions too much, is a surefire way to squash them down when we need them most.
We need to have the ability to focus on something else that will coax them out of us, and Strasberg’s Sense Memory exercise is a great way to do this.
By engaging in sensory exercises to recall a prior moment, we can naturally evoke authentic emotion memory without falling into the traps of Pavlovian conditioning or forced reactions.
So, have fun, play around, and be kind to yourself. Use these techniques as part of your rehearsal process and performance preparation to help actors connect emotions in an authentic way.
I hope you’ve found this post helpful in understanding what is sensory memory, what is emotional memory, and how to use emotional memory Stanislavski techniques like those of Constantin Stanislavski and the Method acting approach.
Please feel free to message me if you have any other questions about imagination, memory cast, or affective memory in acting.
