2012 will see a new series of acting classes with Margi Brown Ash using ImpulseTraining.
What is ImpulseTraining?
ImpulseTraining
ImpulseTraining is a postmodern training for acting ensembles, developed by Margi Brown Ash, while working over an extended period of time with Brisbane actors (including The Good Earth ensemble; Mouthful of Pins ensemble; Imaginary Theatre and private actors of 4change); colleagues (including Leah Mercer, Mark Radvan, Glen Guy and Kay Philp) and friends.
As a working therapist and acting trainer, Margi embraces a collaborative/constructionist approach in the therapy and rehearsal room. While the traditional view of the self is singular and bounded ("If I knew who I was I would get better, be less sad, less depressed"), postmodern philosophies refer to the self as relational and deeply connected and affected by social, political and cultural discourses. What if the self is a culmination of stories that continually change depending on the surroundings (including the people around you) and how you view the present, the past and the future? This possibility gives back to the individual the enormous freedom to re-create multiple strength-based stories and to re-author stories that no longer uplift and empower.
To embrace this profound shift, Margi has borrowed from postmodern therapies and created what she calls ImpulseTraining for the acting ensemble. It is not just a set of techniques, but rather a way of being, a philosophy of becoming in the rehearsal room: a process of empowerment with enormous creative potential. Just as in psychology/counselling many practitioners have shifted from the modernist lens (the medical model) to a postmodern understanding of self, in the rehearsal room ImpulseTraining shifts the focus from the bounded character to the relational character on and off the stage. By employing these postmodern principles, actors not only create rich and potent work, but at the same time, develop resilience and belief in their own personal abilities and potential. They build on the offers of others; they notice very small changes and grow them; they are no longer forced to be creative, rather they are moving and breathing the creative space. Actors move closer to Generosity and Open Heartedness and these qualities then transfer to their audience.
For this to occur, the rehearsal room has to be a ‘container’ of Trust, and this requires addressing implicit and explicit issues such as Power, Intimacy, Social and Cultural Discourses, the careful use of Language and the Multiplicity of Selves and Stories. Often these concepts are disregarded in the rehearsal room because "they take up too much time". However, when things are made explicit, when the Ensemble’s group norms embrace Transparency, the work on the floor is so much more economical and profound. A long ‘check in’ (the first half hour talking about how things are going and inviting the actor to bring their personal life into the rehearsal room rather than leaving it at the door) invariably means a succinct and powerful rehearsal period. A long ‘check out’ ensures a reflective process to deepen and embody the rehearsal experience and prepare for the world outside of rehearsal.
When the Ensemble becomes aware of all of these things, Trust develops and Risk can enter, an essential ingredient of Creativity. This process empowers the actor/artist to take on the role of Creator. It is work that only the courageous embrace. The actor trained in this way is Risky, Brave, Compassionate, Loving and Generous. They do not accept the traditional ideas of Ego and Competitiveness. Rather they value Relationship and ‘The Space Between’.
Please contact Margi on margibrownash@gmail.com or 4change@iinet.net.au to find more information. watch this site for dates to come.