Download TaPS MASTER CLASS RESOURCE P ACK: Sense memory

TaPS MASTER CLASS RESOURCE PACK: Sense memory.
By Rachel Ollagnon
October 2010, London TaPS
Sense memory - Rachel Ollagnon
ISTA TaPS resource pack, London TaPS, October 2010
Basic overview of the sense memory technique.
Example of a basic exercise
Resources
Biography of Rachel Ollagnon
Sense Memory
Sense memory is a technique of training and rehearsal for actors developed by Lee
Strasberg and based on the ideas and training of Konstantin Stanislavski. Sense
Memory is part of the method or method acting. It was developed in the United States
beginning in the 1930’s by Strasberg and his colleagues, after the American tour of the
Moscow Art Theatre in the US. Lee Strasberg began developing his theories with the
Group Theatre in New York and eventually at his own training institute, The Lee
Strasberg Institute of Theater and Film, which continues today.
Sense memory training exercises are meant to break down the actor’s barrier
between life on and off the stage and use the actor’s true emotions to bring
genuineness to the life of the character on stage. These exercises are both physical and
psychological and are intended to bring realistic emotions to the actor that can then be
used. Sense memory is a process of remembering with the five senses impressions
experienced in life. These impressions are stored in a person’s subconscious and can
be recalled by using relaxation and concentration. Finding the senses that most strongly
connect to a specific memory, feeling or situation is part of sense memory training.
Relaxation is the basis of sense memory. Sense memory technique begins with
relaxation and the actor allowing his emotions and feelings to flow freely. An important
goal of this acting technique is to rid the body of the muscular tension that keeps the
actor’s instrument from being free. Lee Strasberg believed that actors who can relax
their muscles reach a higher state of concentration and responsiveness. The actor
develops concentration through the sense memory exercises. Sense memory can be
used to recall sensations – for example, heat or coldness, as well, as emotional events.
This should help the actor believe in the given circumstances of a script. These
techniques can be used for characterization, action and help the actor to develop the
character and the character’s relationships to others in a play.
Sense memory is often referred to as emotional recall. It is a training tool that
helps to develop the dramatic imagination or what Stanislavski referred to as “creative
fantasy”. The ability to create a sense of truth around the make-believe or “given”
circumstances of the play is an essential skill in the method. Connecting real sensations
or feelings to the imaginary world of the play can help an actor make the play seem real
or realistic. Sense Memory training helps actors create physical conditions that can
allow the emotional release of memories. Sense memory exercises train the senses to
respond on the stage as they do in life. By concentrating on the stimuli associated with
a sensory experience, a response should follow. And that response will be real, not just
1 a simulation of the response. If the actor believes that what he is doing on the stage is
real, the audience will also believe that what the actor is doing is real. Creating real life
is part of what the Method approach is all about. Since the author of the script has
created the circumstances of his story from his imagination, the actor must know how to
make those imaginary circumstances real to himself. Sense memory exercises are a
key to unlocking the door of imagined reality.
Sense memory example:
A basic exercise
(from http://www.theatrgroup.com/Method/sense_memory.html)
The student begins with a coffee cup as his first exercise.
The idea is to find a simple coffee cup at home, fill it with coffee or your favorite morning
drink, and explore every sensory aspect of the cup in minute detail every day for at least
fifteen minutes. Let your mind ask the questions, and your senses provide the answers.
When you have done this, you are to recreate the cup without actually having the real
cup as a reference. If the exercise is successful, you will actually "see", "touch", "taste",
"smell" and "hear" the cup and the coffee, as though it were there right in front of you.
Your senses will faithfully recreate the cup and drink for you.
1.) First, get in a chair and do a relaxation exercise.
2.) When you are relaxed, begin exploring the cup with one of your five senses. I like to
start with the sense of sight, because for me it is a very strong sense. As your eyes
view the cup, your mind should answer every detail about the visual aspects of the cup:
how tall is the cup? What is the diameter of the cup? What color is the cup? Of what
material is the cup made? What are the dimensions of the cup's handle? Are there
ridges on the cup's lips (what dimensions?)? Is there artwork or ceramic design on the
cup (what shape, color?)? Are reflections from the lights in the room visible on the cup
(where, what color?)? When do I first see the coffee inside the cup as I approach the
cup to look in? Is the cup glazed? Are there flaws in the cup (what kind, what size?)?
3.) After you have exhausted every possible question your mind has asked your sense
of sight to answer, move on to another one of the five senses, such as "touch", and
explore in the same deliberate exhaustive manner.
4.) Repeat this process for each of the senses, so that you should be able to ask the
same questions and get the same answers when you no longer have the cup to refer to.
There is no rushing through this exercise. The more time you take to explore, the better
the exercise will serve you in your work as an actor. When you recreate the
"imaginary" cup, it should not be pantomime, but an actual sensory exploration. You will
find sensory elements of the cup appearing and disappearing as you work. This is
2 normal.
The idea is to keep your concentration 100% focused on what you are doing. Because
the bottom line is, if the actor has not developed extremely strong powers of
concentration, nothing he learns or attempts to do with his work will succeed. For the
actor, the powers of concentration and observation are much more highly developed
than for his non-actor counterpart. It's our job to study humankind and the world it lives
in, and to bring the results of that observation to our work in a realistic way. For us,
that's the "art" of acting.
Bibliography/works cited/resources for further study
The Lee Strasberg notes - Lola Cohen
On method acting - Edward Dwight Easty
The actor's studio: a history - Shelly Frome
Strasberg at the actor’s studio - Robert Hethmon
A dream of passion - Lee Strasberg
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“What is sense memory and how should you use it”, by Susan Giosa,
www.backstage.com
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute http://www.strasberg.com/lstfi/
Theater Group http://www.theatrgroup.com/Method/sense_memory.html
Method Acting http://www.acting-school-stop.com/method-acting.html
The Actors Studio http://www.theactorsstudio.org/
The Group Theatre http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/grouptheatre/about-the-group-theatre/622/
Assembled and compiled by Rachel Ollagnon
Biography
While, I was a student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, I attended the
acting school at Circle in the Square Theatre for three years. My own understanding of
Sense Memory and the use of the technique was developed during this time. I had all
different types of theatre technique classes and many wonderful, inspiring and
extremely demanding teachers there. One series of courses was in Sense Memory. For
this, I was lucky to work with and study under Jackie Brookes and Therese Hayden.
Jackie and Terry are two grand dames of the New York theatre world. They have
worked with and taught the Method since its early stages of development and have
coached and taught students for over 40 years. My days, weeks, months and years
spent in the classroom of Jackie and Terry are ones that have left a huge imprint on me
– on my acting, teaching, and understanding of theatre. Sense Memory is a fascinating
technique and one which serves the actor and helps develop his or her instrument for
use in multiple theatrical settings.
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