There is lots of debate within the acting community about which practitioner is best. Who had it right? Who truly had the best technique? It can get quite competitive, leading to squabbles on methodology and who knows best.

Well, I think that’s all pretty silly and I’m here to tell you why. I’m also here to tell you why. I’m also here to help you find out which practitioner might really be right for you to work with and how to tell.

Why There Is No One True Technique

The secret is that no one person is right – and everyone is right. Let me explain.

Every single human brain is different. While we may have many things in common, our brains also differ in many ways. We also have different skill sets. Whether that’s due to nature or nurture is not necessarily important, just that there are some things we are better at than others, or certain things that come more naturally.

Every single acting practitioner has lots of experience, knowledge, and insight into the acting process. There are many things that all acting methodologies have in common, and are useful to all actors. However, what most specific schools of thought do is lean into specific strengths an actor may have, or give the actor tools in order to overcome their particular struggles.

That is why one technique is no more true than the others. While it is great to learn about all of them, as they all have something to teach us, it can be worth identifying which techniques actually work best for you.

Methodologies that specifically speak to your skillset, your struggles, and the way your brain works will help you to create better work. That’s all there is to it.

So, how do we know which one is right for us? Let’s explore some common struggles actors face and find out which acting practitioner may have some tools to help us out.

For the actors who get stuck in their head

Do you feel self-aware on stage? Do you feel like you can’t react on impulse? Maybe you overthink everything? Or do you feel doubtful and restricted on stage? Do you feel that you can’t properly connect with the other people on stage?

Then you should definitely check out the work of Sandford Meisner.

Meisner’s exercises are all about being present in the scene and focusing on the other people in the scene. You come in with an intention and then let the scene play out, reacting authentically in the moment.

This can be a great technique for those who can’t get out of your head. In fact, that’s this technique’s entire purpose – getting you out of your head and into the scene with the other person.

You can start off by reading the ultimate Meisner book, Mesiner on Acting, but I really, really recommend taking a class. I promise you, that actually cracking the repetition exercise will change your entire outlook on your work.

For actors who struggle to connect to their characters

If you struggle to connect with your characters and really relate them then it can be a great idea to learn more about Lee Strasberg and The Method.

Ah, yes, the infamous method of acting. There are lots of myths about method acting but, don’t worry, you don’t have to live as your character for weeks on end to use method techniques.

In fact, a lot of the Method combines concentration and relaxation with the ability to find yourself in the character. Being able to connect to your character in a real and meaningful way is what this technique is all about.

To avoid misinformation, it can be a great idea to start out with Lee Strasberg’s book A Dream of Passion.

It also can be worth remembering that there is now a lot of debate over emotional memory and it’s effectiveness. However, there is plenty more to the Method besides this and provides lots of helpful tools to get under your character’s skin.

Learn more about Lee Strasberg and The Method in my post.

For actors who struggle to create clear physicality

I’m one of these! Sometimes, I really struggle to create a physicality as an actor. My physicalities used to often feel vague, muddy, too small, and disconnected from the character. That all changed when I started working with these acting practitioners!

It can be really tempting when we’re struggling to work with acting practitioners who lean into our strengths. Unfortunately, while this may be more comfortable, it doesn’t actually help us to improve. So, if we’re struggling with physicality, we need to engage with all those wonderfully creative movement practitioners!

The first I’d recommend is working with Laban and specifically the Laban Efforts. These give a clear methodology in order to create a character physicality that is simple, truthful, and linked to the character’s psyche.

Check out my post on Laban here.

You should also look into Michael Chekhov. His work explores linking the internal experience with the external experience and creating a continuous feedback loop so they both are able to work in sync. This can be very, very powerful work if your inner and outer life feel disconnected.

Check out my post on Michael Chekhov’s psychological gesture here – a great place to start working with this practitioner’s work.

For actors who struggle to connect to the stakes

Sometimes you can understand how serious something is for a character and struggle to really emotionally connect to the stakes in the scene. Part of this is realising that your work doesn’t exist in a vacuum and has an impact on serious issues that viewers may connect to in their own lives. Your work is important, real, and serious.

Bertolt Brecht is a great acting practitioner in order to connect with how our work can make important points about the world around us and how it can influence people’s perspectives.

His work is built off of the rise of fascism in Europe in the 20th century and how we can overcome it. Connecting with this can help us to see the importance of our own character’s struggles and what they represent on a larger scale.

Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed is another great methodology from a great acting practitioner to study. While not technically an acting technique, this will again help you connect with the impact performance can have on people’s lives. Studying the life and work of Boal will enable you to truly commit to the power you have in your acting work.

Finally, you may also wish to look at the work of Stella Adler. In her book the Art of Acting, she talks a lot about our responsibility to connect with issues wider than ourselves and the universal human experience.

Combining the thoughts of these three great practitioners with a more structured acting methodology can help us to raise the stakes of our performance.

For actors who feel restricted

Do you feel like you have all the right ideas, you understand the character and yet you still feel restricted when you get on stage? Maybe you feel scared or like you can’t full express what you want to express?

The first person to check out is Keith Johnstone. He revolutionised improv technique – and not just as an art form itself, though of course it is, but as something to incorporate in all acting work.

His techniques will help you to let go of the ways you get in your own way and hold yourself back. If you need to quiet that little voice in your head telling you to hold back, then this is the acting practitioner for you.

Another great acting practitioner to check out is Joseph Chaikin. Inspired by the avant-garde exploration of 1960s, Chaikin’s work is filled with ideas that can propel us toward creativity, finding our own rules and breaking the mold. If you’re looking to break out of your restriction, this is another great acting practitioner to look into.

For actors who struggle to engage their imagination (even though it’s normally really powerful!)

Do you ever feel like you find it easier to emotionally engage when you’re watching a play than when you’re in one? Perhaps you find yourself sucked into books or stories in a way you find it hard to replicate in your acting? Do you sometimes spend time imagining scenarios to the point of experiencing very high emotions?

Then you need to check out the work of Stella Adler. So much of Stella’s work is about working with imagination, and allowing our imagination to move us. Sometimes it can be hard to fully engage with a role to the point where our imagination gives us everything we need.

Stella’s work gives us the tools we need in order to fully engage our emotions when we work on a scene.

Check out my post on Stella Adler here.

It can be a great idea to check out the work of Sandford Meisner too. He works with imagination in order to get the actor to the appropriate emotional state before entering a scene, so that they are then able to be present and react as needed.

Read more about the work of Sandford Meisner in my post here.

For actors who feel stuck, uninspired, or boring

When you’re feeling uninspired as an actor, it can really take a toll on your self-esteem. We can feel like we’re just not interesting enough to be actors. We keep working harder and harder just to do things right, to do things better.

Do you want to know the secret?

You need to rebel. That’s right! Stop trying to get it right. Dare to be different, break the rules, and challenge everyone else’s idea of what “right” is too – alongside you’re own.

Rebellion and playfulness go hand in hand, so to defeat this blockage we need to look to the clown practitioners.

I know, okay. You want to make serious, meaningful work. Clowning is silly, it’s embarrassing, how on Earth is this ever going to help? Just trust me on this one.

Jacques Lecoq was a movement and clown acting practitioner, but his work actually encapsulates so much more. Lecoq aimed to create specific techniques in order to open his students up to the concepts of openness and play.

Check out my post on Jacques Lecoq here.

By engaging with these techniques, you will be able to break free of the ordinary and bring some excitement, imagination and interest back into your work.

The king of the bouffon Philippe Gaulier, brings his anarchist spirit to his work. He sees performance as a potential way to challenge ideas through play, rebellion, and humour – even to the point of revolution against radical ideologies. This absolute commitment to naughtiness is sure to free you up and help to unblock you.

For actors who feel emotionally blocked

It is really common for actors to feel emotionally blocked. After all, we live in a society that prefers us to be as unemotional as possible, thank you very much!

Many actors who struggle with this turn to Strasberg and emotional memory. However, a lot of times, this can end up being unhealthy when dealing with an issue like blocked emotions.

The one thing that can most certainly be helpful in Strasberg’s work when it comes to this problem is the relaxation exercise, so it’s definitely worth checking that one out.

In fact, one of the best ways to open yourself up emotionally is to release yourself from physical blockages. As discussed in Van Der Kolk’s book on trauma, The Body Keeps The Score, often we end up physically hanging on to emotional challenges even when we have processed them psychologically.

Where to start

A great place to start is actually with Kristin Linklater, who works with freeing the natural voice. In Linklater’s work, physical and vocal blockages are released in order for emotion to flow and be authentically expressed through the performance.

This can be a wonderful, safe, and compassionate place to start when healing emotional blockages.

The second acting practitioner I would look to is Jacques Copeau. Copeau worked on removing insincerity from the actors in order for them to reveal authenticity and truth. While this may sound judgemental towards an actor’s inability to be sincere, it is actually a very understanding methodology.

It acknowledges that we are all conditioned into being insincere or wearing a mask, and the journey away from that can be extremely difficult. This acting practitioner can provide tools in which to remove shame, reconnect with ourselves and express ourselves authentically.

Finally, I would make sure to check out Michael Chekhov’s work. He worked on creating a psychophysical approach – meaning that the actor is able to access his inner experience and align it with his outer expression.

This means that whatever emotions become freed within you, you will feel safe enough to express them authentically on stage.

For actors who struggle with script analysis

Script Analysis can feel daunting for many actors. It can feel boring, and pointless, and all you really want to do is get up and do the acting.

Firstly, it is a very good thing to be able to perform physically and be creative in the moment so do not think that this instinct is a bad one. However, engaging in script analysis is something that can help us take our performance from good to great through deeper understanding.

For those who find script analysis difficult, I’ve collected a few acting practitioner techniques that will allow script analysis to feel more accessible whilst also making it simple, straightforward, and a practical skill that you can immediately put to good use.

Simplifying the process

The work of David Mamet can be a great source if you want to keep things simple and straightforward when it comes to script analysis.

He believed in a no-nonsense approach and believed in simply doing what was effective for the performance. Rather than filling out long character bios, he stated that there were essentially only four things an actor needed to know to understand their character.

Find out David Mamet’s Four Step Process in this post.

Another way to approach script analysis is through the work of Patsy Rodenberg – especially when it comes to Shakespeare.

Despite being a voice practitioner, Rodenberg’s work includes a lot of specific techniques in order to break down a text and use it in a practical way in your performance. If you want to start creating character and performance straight away, then this is a great place to go to.

Finally, Maria Knebel’s Active Analysis is exactly what it sounds like. This technique involves getting up on your feet in order to physically explore a scene, reflecting on it, and then physically exploring it further.

Proven to be a highly successful rehearsal technique, this was originally designed to be used within a company of actors. However, learning her methodology will absolutely inspire you to work in new and proactive ways in your own personal practice too. If you want to get up on your feet and analyse through doing, then this is a great practice to look into.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 4 basic acting skills?

The 4 basic acting skills include concentration, relaxation, imagination, and action. The combination of all these things makes the foundation for a great performance. It is your choices that then make your performance what it is.

Are Meisner and Stanislavski the same?

They aren’t! While Meisner built off of the work Stanislavski did, he was especially interested in developing one part of it – communion. This means that Meisner has a heavy focus on your relationship to other actors and being present and responsive in a scene.

Which actors use Stanislavski?

I would go so far as to argue that all professional actors, at least in America and Europe, use the work of Stanislavski – especially those who work in realism.

This is because he was the first person to write down his observations on the craft and then use them to build a specific system to create performance. All of the other practitioners in this article have been influenced by the work of Stanislavski!

What is emotional memory Stanislavski?

Emotional memory is where an actor uses a memory in order to spark emotions. In recent times, this technique has been questioned more heavily in regard to it’s reliability and safety.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different practitioners who work in many different ways. All of them are equally as valid and valuable, and you simply need to find the one that speaks to you, who you are, and the work you want to make.

While this list discusses the ways these practitioners can help us to solve things we struggle with in our work, please understand that these methodologies are not simply a cure or a medicine for a problem an actor may have.

They are full and complex ways of working and span many different viewpoints and ways of doing things.

It just so happens that some have a way of working that may be more helpful for people with a certain skillset than those who have a different one.

At the end of the day, it is well worth your while getting to know every single on of these practitioners – and more!

While there may be some you mesh with more than others, they all have important work we can learn from. Referring to their many years in the profession means that you won’t have to waste time reinventing the wheel.

An important part of the process is learning how to apply the techniques of these practitioners to your personal practice. Make sure to read my post on building a practice to learn how to do this more effectively.

So, get out there, get reading, get to class, and then put what you learn to good use! You never know what’s going to resonate with you so make sure to have an open mind and give yourself the opportunity to become greater than you ever thought you could be.