Act Acting » Acting Coach » Private Moment Exercise
Private Moment Exercise
Question:
Hi All, This private moment thread is a bit old but I just found it and maybe I can help. Robert Ellermann (remember me?)
Of course, I do, Robert Ellerman. And I’ll pick it up on Jon Oak’s group where we can have fun with the theme. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio
Response:
Thanks
Response:
you, but to break down a wall and allow you an attempt to recreate an experience that you normally do in private. Just look at yourself and what you do when no one else is around, what are you doing? Thanks for the prompt reply. Among my fourteen attemps has been sleeping, getting up and saying daily prayers. Yesterday I took a sponge bath – no clothes on. I had the radio on and sang along with it. I got credit for a very good try but did not pass the requirements of the exercise. Any ideas? I cannot do anything more embarrassing than what I did yesterday
I think you may be missing Jim’s point, Elliotu. Unless your acting coach is playing head games with actors, the purpose of a private moment exercise is to re-create in detail through your five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing) an activity which you ordinarily do alone. The challenge is one of focus, what Stanislavski calls the "small circle of attention," in which an actor’s commitment to the task is complete and TRUTHFUL, even though the actor is being observed by an audience. Stanislavski explains the concept in "An Actor Prepares," chapter five. A good "read" for you would be Uta Hagen’s "Respect for Acting." Check out her several chapters on something called "The Object Exercise." (I’ve been coaching this exercise for many years with great success.) There is no way anyone reading your experience can judge whether you are not "getting it" or whether your coach is being manipulative. But if the coach is experienced and plays fair, my guess is that he/she is being honest in acknowledging your commitment, but is also trying to tell you that you are not being truthful in the moment. Ask you coach for more input. Also ask you coach if the two readings I mentioned describe what he/she is looking for. But also question your own understanding of the exercise. It’s called a "Private Moment Exercise," and you keep on fixating on this "embarrassment issue." What we do in private, we do, because it’s personal and we only do it in private. And we either feel good about it (drinking milk out of the milk container, because, by God, it’s your milk container and not Mom’s) or we feel bad about it (masturbating as a Catholic and knowing that you’ll have to confess it to your priest). But guilt is not the same thing as embarrassment. We only feel embarrassment when our Mom catches us drinking milk out of the milk cartoon, or we are caught in the middle of masturbation. Don’t perform your private moment exercise for an audience. Indulge in re-creating the sense memory of the experience. And by all means, if you do a similar exercise, keep us posted about the results. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio
Response:
Thanks for replying and clarifying my point much more eloquently than I would have.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – you, but to break down a wall and allow you an attempt to recreate an experience that you normally do in private. Just look at yourself and what you do when no one else is around, what are you doing? Thanks for the prompt reply. Among my fourteen attemps has been sleeping, getting up and saying daily prayers. Yesterday I took a sponge bath – no clothes on. I had the radio on and sang along with it. I got credit for a very good try but did not pass the requirements of the exercise. Any ideas? I cannot do anything more embarrassing than what I did yesterday I think you may be missing Jim’s point, Elliotu. Unless your acting coach is playing head games with actors, the purpose of a private moment exercise is to re-create in detail through your five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing) an activity which you ordinarily do alone. The challenge is one of focus, what Stanislavski calls the "small circle of attention," in which an actor’s commitment to the task is complete and TRUTHFUL, even though the actor is being observed by an audience. Stanislavski explains the concept in "An Actor Prepares," chapter five. A good "read" for you would be Uta Hagen’s "Respect for Acting." Check out her several chapters on something called "The Object Exercise." (I’ve been coaching this exercise for many years with great success.) There is no way anyone reading your experience can judge whether you are not "getting it" or whether your coach is being manipulative. But if the coach is experienced and plays fair, my guess is that he/she is being honest in acknowledging your commitment, but is also trying to tell you that you are not being truthful in the moment. Ask you coach for more input. Also ask you coach if the two readings I mentioned describe what he/she is looking for. But also question your own understanding of the exercise. It’s called a "Private Moment Exercise," and you keep on fixating on this "embarrassment issue." What we do in private, we do, because it’s personal and we only do it in private. And we either feel good about it (drinking milk out of the milk container, because, by God, it’s your milk container and not Mom’s) or we feel bad about it (masturbating as a Catholic and knowing that you’ll have to confess it to your priest). But guilt is not the same thing as embarrassment. We only feel embarrassment when our Mom catches us drinking milk out of the milk cartoon, or we are caught in the middle of masturbation. Don’t perform your private moment exercise for an audience. Indulge in re-creating the sense memory of the experience. And by all means, if you do a similar exercise, keep us posted about the results. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio
Response:
Hiya robert – the post just went into my arsenal.
::Hi All, :: :: This private moment thread is a bit old but I just found it :: and maybe I can help. Lee Strasberg developed the exercise in :: the mid-1950’s when he was re-reading An Actor Prepares and :: was struct by Stanislavsky’s phrase describing the actors’ :: state of being when acting as one of being "private in :: public." Strasberg wondered if he had done enough in the :: development of his exercises based on the principles of the :: System to address this fundamental of experientially truthful :: acting. He began asking actors who seemed to have real trouble :: physically expressing impulses, thoughts, desires, emotions :: that they obviously were experiencing if there were things :: they did in private that might be richer behaviorally than :: what they usually did in public or on stage. :: The power of this approach was first brought home to Strasberg :: when one actor said yes and brought in an exercise based on her :: private behavior. She was a rather uptight vanilla personality :: and she brought in several "hot" Latin dance records and :: proceeded to let it rip. The Studio members were stunned at the :: sexual vitality that came out of this wallflower when she danced :: in public as she did in private — it was as if another whole :: person came out of her — and THAT is the key to a real private :: moment exercise. The exercise should acquaint you with a part of :: your personality that you normally share with only yourself. :: I.E. if you love to sing like a great rock star in the shower :: and really let yourself go then there is a PM — not just :: vanilla singing while alone because you are embarrassed to have :: others hear you. Maybe you love to be a slob in your apartment :: but are anal in public. Maybe you baby talk to imaginary pets or :: people. Maybe you whine and moan to yourself when private. Maybe :: you only show your sensitive side when in private. In private is :: not the same as being alone. We do lots of things alone (jack :: off for one) that are not necessarily truly expressions of :: private parts of ourselves (hehehe). The PM has become a :: standard part of Method training but not all actors need it. If :: an actor has true difficulty concentrating on imaginary reality :: (sense and emotion memory) and is always watching himself when :: working and never going with the moment then a PM may be in :: order. Also, as a means for exploring sides of your personality :: you do not bring to your acting or that are needed for a role, :: then a PM is in order. Pm’s are based on creating the complete :: sense memory world around the given behavior as well as :: incorporating whatever real physical objects that are necessary :: to do the behavior. The test of the exercise’s success is if the :: actor’s concentration (all Strasberg work is centered on :: concentration NOT FEELING AS IS SO OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD!!!!) is :: so "into it" that the actor feels totaly free to experience and :: express the private behavior — without forcing himself to do it :: to be a good little student. Hagen’s "object exercise" of two :: minutes of nothing is a sort of PM exercise without a deeper :: purpose.She uses the idea to explore the observation and :: recreation of basic daily psychophysical behavior.Hers has more :: to do with being alone than being private. Andrius Jilinsky had :: a better version of this idea called the "39 Steps" exercise. :: Meisner’s "independent activity" exercise has no relation to the :: PM as it does not address private behavior and serves as the basis :: for a two person improv. :: ::Robert Ellermann (remember me?) — Kelly L AFTRA/ACTOR/DIRECTOR and ALL AROUND NICE PERSON roaring_girl <AT mac <dotwarner com
Response:
Hi All, This private moment thread is a bit old but I just found it and maybe I can help. Lee Strasberg developed the exercise in the mid-1950’s when he was re-reading An Actor Prepares and was struct by Stanislavsky’s phrase describing the actors’ state of being when acting as one of being "private in public." Strasberg wondered if he had done enough in the development of his exercises based on the principles of the System to address this fundamental of experientially truthful acting. He began asking actors who seemed to have real trouble physically expressing impulses, thoughts, desires, emotions that they obviously were experiencing if there were things they did in private that might be richer behaviorally than what they usually did in public or on stage. The power of this approach was first brought home to Strasberg when one actor said yes and brought in an exercise based on her private behavior. She was a rather uptight vanilla personality and she brought in several "hot" Latin dance records and proceeded to let it rip. The Studio members were stunned at the sexual vitality that came out of this wallflower when she danced in public as she did in private — it was as if another whole person came out of her — and THAT is the key to a real private moment exercise. The exercise should acquaint you with a part of your personality that you normally share with only yourself. I.E. if you love to sing like a great rock star in the shower and really let yourself go then there is a PM — not just vanilla singing while alone because you are embarrassed to have others hear you. Maybe you love to be a slob in your apartment but are anal in public. Maybe you baby talk to imaginary pets or people. Maybe you whine and moan to yourself when private. Maybe you only show your sensitive side when in private. In private is not the same as being alone. We do lots of things alone (jack off for one) that are not necessarily truly expressions of private parts of ourselves (hehehe). The PM has become a standard part of Method training but not all actors need it. If an actor has true difficulty concentrating on imaginary reality (sense and emotion memory) and is always watching himself when working and never going with the moment then a PM may be in order. Also, as a means for exploring sides of your personality you do not bring to your acting or that are needed for a role, then a PM is in order. Pm’s are based on creating the complete sense memory world around the given behavior as well as incorporating whatever real physical objects that are necessary to do the behavior. The test of the exercise’s success is if the actor’s concentration (all Strasberg work is centered on concentration NOT FEELING AS IS SO OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD!!!!) is so "into it" that the actor feels totaly free to experience and express the private behavior — without forcing himself to do it to be a good little student. Hagen’s "object exercise" of two minutes of nothing is a sort of PM exercise without a deeper purpose.She uses the idea to explore the observation and recreation of basic daily psychophysical behavior.Hers has more to do with being alone than being private. Andrius Jilinsky had a better version of this idea called the "39 Steps" exercise. Meisner’s "independent activity" exercise has no relation to the PM as it does not address private behavior and serves as the basis for a two person improv. Robert Ellermann (remember me?)
Response:
I studied Meisners activity at an intense NY school for a year and a half. It is powerful but it is not the be all and end all.
Response:
Hi Bill, Thanks for welcoming me back here. Don’t know how often I’ll be able to
visit, but happy to see you and DQ here as well as others. Robert, two points: 1) There may be minimal interest on this topic on alt.acting…. so I am inclined to copy this post over to Jon’s Act-Pro (and possibly directorlist) where we can pursue it in more depth. 2) If we take it to another group, I’d also like to copy Elliotu privately (who has two years of Meisner and who is still struggling to satisfy an unnamed NYC acting coach). (Elliotu….? Are you reading this…. I’ll follow up with yesterday’s post, but also forward to you any posts Robert and I take to another forum. Robert has been a guest artist at The Acting Studio twice, and I enjoy absorbing his Meisner techniques and sharing my work.) Meisner’s exercise was very particularly a physical activity to a real physical object.
So, no mime or pantomime, correct? I don’t think waiting for the bus would necessarily qualify, as this activity was to be very physical. Part of what it was doing was training the actor how to improvise with props.
Interesting. Robert Lewis allowed for mime (as his focus was developing sense memory.) On the other hand, Uta Hagen encourages her actors to bring in personal objects (read: props which the actor associates with the action or activity and for which there is a strong personal history.) Thus the actor doing the waiting for the bus exercise might pre rehearse with a variety of "props" in the real environment and then bring in a packed briefcase, a bus schedule, a water bottle, a wallet with only $5 bills and no exact change, or….. So the common type of activity would be stuffing a suitcase or threading a needle, and moreover, the activity had to have an ‘almost impossible’ difficulty, a physical difficulty that the actor would have to improvise and adapt to in order to overcome. So it trained both concentration and improvisation, as well as doing activities and acting alone on stage effectively. Not to be dependent on the other actor or the audience.
I rather like that stress on an "an almost impossible" action or activity, or at least one for which there are obstacles and complications. Things which are too easily done are just not interesting…. either on stage or on-camera. I also think that Meisner would have agreed with Uta’s exercise, I’m sure. To do common activities such as waiting for the bus, or make the bed or prepare dinner in realistic detail would certainly be on his agenda. This particular exercise though was a very very specific particular physical action. and to learn to focus on it completely, even while dealing with another actor through Meisner’s ubiquitous repeition exercise. Robert
Comments: You’re probably correct that Hagen and Meisner would have agreed on most aspects of their versions of the exercise. Hagen, however, never allowed for the introduction of another actor, that is the real physical presence of another actor. The actor was expected to play out the "arc" of the experience in total privacy. As I coach my version of Lewis or Hagen, I do (as coach) have the actor re-explore beats by suggesting obstacles or variations on the theme. But it had never occurred to me to have another actor "invade" the primary actor’s private moment, much less to play out repetition exercises. Break a leg, Bill – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Meisner’s version of this exercise is the ‘Independent Activity’; a real physical activity that the actor does alone to create an independent reality on stage. Meisner’s point was also to make the activity absolutely real, the opposite of the soap actor who is supposed to be combing his hair after waking up, but who has just spent three hours styling it before taping and doesn’t actually want to touch his hair with the brush. Robert I’m curious Robert….. does Meisner’s "independent activity" differ in any way from Uta Hagen’s "object exercise" or Robert Lewis’s "sense memory exercises"? I’m always looking for variations on the theme. Hagen had actors examine a private (yet common) moment (waking up and getting out of bed to head for the head, or waiting for the bus) and then urged them to explore it again and again in the real environment, each time looking for more specific choices in given circumstances and inner monologue. The end effect is to help the actor blot out the performer’s voices, substituted with truthful thoughts and physical adjustments. Lewis worked much the same way, but was open to imagined activities. He stressed enriching the five senses…. sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing. I think the common truth of all the variations is that the actor is asked to avoid "indicating" or showing the action or activity to the audience or the acting coach <g. (Watch me act out this thing cleverly!) To paraphrase a Clinton campaign credo, "Do the action, stupid!" Don’t show it, do it. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio
Response:
Meisner’s version of this exercise is the ‘Independent Activity’; a real physical activity that the actor does alone to create an independent reality on stage. Meisner’s point was also to make the activity absolutely real, the opposite of the soap actor who is supposed to be combing his hair after waking up, but who has just spent three hours styling it before taping and doesn’t actually want to touch his hair with the brush. Robert
I’m curious Robert….. does Meisner’s "independent activity" differ in any way from Uta Hagen’s "object exercise" or Robert Lewis’s "sense memory exercises"? I’m always looking for variations on the theme. Hagen had actors examine a private (yet common) moment (waking up and getting out of bed to head for the head, or waiting for the bus) and then urged them to explore it again and again in the real environment, each time looking for more specific choices in given circumstances and inner monologue. The end effect is to help the actor blot out the performer’s voices, substituted with truthful thoughts and physical adjustments. Lewis worked much the same way, but was open to imagined activities. He stressed enriching the five senses…. sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing. I think the common truth of all the variations is that the actor is asked to avoid "indicating" or showing the action or activity to the audience or the acting coach <g. (Watch me act out this thing cleverly!) To paraphrase a Clinton campaign credo, "Do the action, stupid!" Don’t show it, do it. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio PS. Robert…. haven’t seen you post on alt.acting for a while. Good to hear your voice on this forum.
Response:
Meisner’s version of this exercise is the ‘Independent Activity’; a real physical activity
I took a Meisner course for almost two years and we did the exercise almost every week where one person has the activity and one person breaks in on it.
Response:
Hi Bill, Thanks for welcoming me back here. Don’t know how often I’ll be able to visit, but happy to see you and DQ here as well as others. Meisner’s exercise was very particularly a physical activity to a real physical object. I don’t think waiting for the bus would necessarily qualify, as this activity was to be very physical. Part of what it was doing was training the actor how to improvise with props. So the common type of activity would be stuffing a suitcase or threading a needle, and moreover, the activity had to have an ‘almost impossible’ difficulty, a physical difficulty that the actor would have to improvise and adapt to in order to overcome. So it trained both concentration and improvisation, as well as doing activities and acting alone on stage effectively. Not to be dependent on the other actor or the audience. I also think that Meisner would have agreed with Uta’s exercise, I’m sure. To do common activities such as waiting for the bus, or make the bed or prepare dinner in realistic detail would certainly be on his agenda. This particular exercise though was a very very specific particular physical action. and to learn to focus on it completely, even while dealing with another actor through Meisner’s ubiquitous repeition exercise. Robert – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Meisner’s version of this exercise is the ‘Independent Activity’; a real physical activity that the actor does alone to create an independent reality on stage. Meisner’s point was also to make the activity absolutely real, the opposite of the soap actor who is supposed to be combing his hair after waking up, but who has just spent three hours styling it before taping and doesn’t actually want to touch his hair with the brush. Robert I’m curious Robert….. does Meisner’s "independent activity" differ in any way from Uta Hagen’s "object exercise" or Robert Lewis’s "sense memory exercises"? I’m always looking for variations on the theme. Hagen had actors examine a private (yet common) moment (waking up and getting out of bed to head for the head, or waiting for the bus) and then urged them to explore it again and again in the real environment, each time looking for more specific choices in given circumstances and inner monologue. The end effect is to help the actor blot out the performer’s voices, substituted with truthful thoughts and physical adjustments. Lewis worked much the same way, but was open to imagined activities. He stressed enriching the five senses…. sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing. I think the common truth of all the variations is that the actor is asked to avoid "indicating" or showing the action or activity to the audience or the acting coach <g. (Watch me act out this thing cleverly!) To paraphrase a Clinton campaign credo, "Do the action, stupid!" Don’t show it, do it. Break a leg, Bill — THE ACTING STUDIO http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio PS. Robert…. haven’t seen you post on alt.acting for a while. Good to hear your voice on this forum.
Response:
this is good, carl. robert – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – up: I am attempting to do a Private Moment Exercise. It has to be private and something that if anyone were to see would totally embarrass you. Any ideas. I have tried nudity, daily prayers, grooming. sleeping etc. And your question is….? The point of the private moment is to do something you normally do in seclusion. It’s not about embarassment, altho the discovery of this act normally might embarass you. Obviously, since an actor has to portray a character who doesn’t know he’s being watched, he must be publicly private. OK, all that said, what does that entail for the exercise? I’ve seen different variations. Now keep in mind that none of these have to be active, but that all of them share an element that it’s clear the actor would do this alone. I’ve seen people write music on stage (playing a guitar), write a love letter to a lost love…my own private moment exercise was getting drunk in my kitchen trying to decide whether I should stay in my marriage or not (this was tougher than most private moments, because you obviously don’t want to get drunk in class, so I had to use some sense memory to recreate drunk AND beer/rum/scotch…but then again, I am a helluva an actor!
). I’ve also seen people give themselves pedicures, change clothes (right down to the underwear and beyond), even masturbate (which the teacher stopped…that was a little OTT). So while all your seem like private moments, the stretch for the exercise is to find something that not only is outwardly embarassing, but also internally creates a struggle, something to focus you on your throughline, so to speak. And THAT’S what so many actors miss: the private moment isn’t about being physically private, but emotionally private as well. One more thing: Method actors have this reputation that every single goddamn monologue has to end with them in tears so cross things up. Find a private moment that you enjoyed a Tao te Carl
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – you, but to break down a wall and allow you an attempt to recreate an experience that you normally do in private. Just look at yourself and what you do when no one else is around, what are you doing? Thanks for the prompt reply. Among my fourteen attemps has been sleeping, getting up and saying daily prayers. Yesterday I took a sponge bath – no clothes on. I had the radio on and sang along with it. I got credit for a very good try but did not pass the requirements of the exercise. Any ideas? I cannot do anything more embarrassing than what I did yesterday I think you may be missing Jim’s point, Elliotu. Unless your acting coach is playing head games with actors, the purpose of a private moment exercise is to re-create in detail through your five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing) an activity which you ordinarily do alone. The challenge is one of focus, what Stanislavski calls the "small circle of attention," in which an actor’s commitment to the task is complete and TRUTHFUL, even though the actor is being observed by an audience.
Meisner’s version of this exercise is the ‘Independent Activity’; a real physical activity that the actor does alone to create an independent reality on stage. Meisner’s point was also to make the activity absolutely real, the opposite of the soap actor who is supposed to be combing his hair after waking up, but who has just spent three hours styling it before taping and doesn’t actually want to touch his hair with the brush. Robert
Response:
up: I am attempting to do a Private Moment Exercise. It has to be private and something that if anyone were to see would totally embarrass you. Any ideas. I have tried nudity, daily prayers, grooming. sleeping etc.
And your question is….? The point of the private moment is to do something you normally do in seclusion. It’s not about embarassment, altho the discovery of this act normally might embarass you. Obviously, since an actor has to portray a character who doesn’t know he’s being watched, he must be publicly private. OK, all that said, what does that entail for the exercise? I’ve seen different variations. Now keep in mind that none of these have to be active, but that all of them share an element that it’s clear the actor would do this alone. I’ve seen people write music on stage (playing a guitar), write a love letter to a lost love…my own private moment exercise was getting drunk in my kitchen trying to decide whether I should stay in my marriage or not (this was tougher than most private moments, because you obviously don’t want to get drunk in class, so I had to use some sense memory to recreate drunk AND beer/rum/scotch…but then again, I am a helluva an actor!
). I’ve also seen people give themselves pedicures, change clothes (right down to the underwear and beyond), even masturbate (which the teacher stopped…that was a little OTT). So while all your seem like private moments, the stretch for the exercise is to find something that not only is outwardly embarassing, but also internally creates a struggle, something to focus you on your throughline, so to speak. And THAT’S what so many actors miss: the private moment isn’t about being physically private, but emotionally private as well. One more thing: Method actors have this reputation that every single goddamn monologue has to end with them in tears so cross things up. Find a private moment that you enjoyed a Tao te Carl
Response:
you, but to break down a wall and allow you an attempt to recreate an experience that you normally do in private. Just look at yourself and what you do when no one else is around, what are you doing?
Thanks for the prompt reply. Among my fourteen attemps has been sleeping, getting up and saying daily prayers. Yesterday I took a sponge bath – no clothes on. I had the radio on and sang along with it. I got credit for a very good try but did not pass the requirements of the exercise. Any ideas? I cannot do anything more embarrassing than what I did yesterday
Response:
I am attempting to do a Private Moment Exercise. It has to be private and something that if anyone were to see would totally embarrass you. Any ideas. I have tried nudity, daily prayers, grooming. sleeping etc.
I’m not an actor, but I do alot of private things that embarrass me ALL the time! For some reason I cannot explain, whenever I get into an elevator…and as soon as the elevator door closes I do ALL kinds of strange things. When the elevator door opens it sometimes can be embarrassssingggggg. People say "WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FLOOR?" "WHO ARE YOU SCREAMING AT??" "WHAT KIND OF DANCE IS THAT???" "DID YOU JUST GET ROBBBED????" The Starmaker Or am I just crazy?
Response:
I am attempting to do a Private Moment Exercise. It has to be private and something that if anyone were to see would totally embarrass you. Any ideas. I have tried nudity, daily prayers, grooming. sleeping etc.
Response:
What do you do in private? The idea of the excursive is not to embarrass you, but to break down a wall and allow you an attempt to recreate an experience that you normally do in private. Just look at yourself and what you do when no one else is around, what are you doing? For me one thing that I would never do in public is sing to the radio while I’m doing some task in my apartment. Or even worse headphones. But it could be as mundane as opening your mail.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am attempting to do a Private Moment Exercise. It has to be private and something that if anyone were to see would totally embarrass you. Any ideas. I have tried nudity, daily prayers, grooming. sleeping etc.
Response:
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