ACTOR ASANA
- a project of Actor Core -

INTRODUCING: ACTOR ASANA

Anyone who experiences performance pressure can develop their “stage presence” through Actor Asana. Through it, the baseline level of anxiety that inhibits us in the spotlight can be lowered.

How? Yoga opens the joints, where much emotion is held. Yoga postures or "asana" also build mental acuity and clarity. Acting improvisation encourages inner freedom and spontaneity. Through Actor Asana, yoga and “improv” merge to open channels of expression through the double benefit of both.

Actor Asana builds on the foundation of Actor Core, our Pilates-based acting class that focuses on the connection between core work and confidence. Actor Asana seeks to go deeper by simultaneously engaging the complete body and personality.

THE SERIES

The Actor Asana series is partner-taught by an acting teacher (Stephen) who leads the acting exercises and a yoga instructor (to be named) who leads the postures.

NOTE: If at anytime doing both becomes too taxing for a participant, they are encouraged to wait out the posture and take part in the acting work until they have recharged.

Actor Asana is envisioned as a 90-minute class that begins with a 60-minute "standing series" of postures in two sets each, the first in silence. In the second set of each posture, yoga and acting will be integrated as follows:

Standing Deep Breathing & The Name Game - To connect vocal energy to the breath, going up and down the rows, while exhaling, each class member says their name. This happens several times as each yogi learns the others’ names and join in saying them. Along with connecting voice to breath, this will help build class rapport.

Half Moon Pose & Primal Sounds - Going down the rows several times, each yogi makes a sound expressing how they feel. During this noisy chaos, emotion is connected to the breath by giving voice to feeling.

Awkward Pose & Speaking Out - Going down the rows, each yogi says a word describing how they feel at the moment. By putting sound into word, the connection to the present moment is strengthened while dispelling self-consciousness.

Eagle Pose & The Sentence Game - During Eagle, the class makes up sentences, with each yogi adding a word when it is their turn. Key to improvisation, the element of closely listening and responding to each other will be developed through The Sentence Game.

Standing Head-to-Knee Pose & Silence - During both sets of this difficult pose the class is silent.

Standing Bow-Pulling Pose & Speaking Out - During Standing Bow, to encourage spontaneity each yogi remains silent until (if) they fall, at which point they again put their feelings into words or sound.

Stick Pose & Bird Improv - While in “Stick,” each yogi modifies the pose, opening their "wings" and making bird sounds to add a touch of playfulness to the Series.

Triangle Pose & Sentence Game in Pairs - In teams of two, yogis make up sentences. NOTE: This begins the transition towards improvised two-person scenes.

Standing Separate Head to Knee - The Actor Asana series will culminate by adding song to the mix. During Separate Head to knee, each yogi thinks of a song they know the words to in preparation for the “series finale”.

Tree Pose & Song Cacophony - All yogis sing their songs of choice at the same time (w/ “Happy Birthday” as default), ending Standing Series on a spirited liberating note.

IMPROVISATION!

For the last half-hour of class, yogis take part in improvisations that will be set up by Stephen, who will ask for volunteers.

For example, two women volunteers go to the front of the room. The teacher then asks the class to suggest what the women's relationship should be for the improv. Someone might shout out “sisters!”
Then, a setting is then chosen for the improv, and someone might suggest “vacation!” Someone else might also chime in “in Vegas!”

The teacher then invites ideas for a conflict that could exist between the sisters to drive the ensuing improv. Someone might shout out “they have to decide who pays for the hotel room.”

The teacher will now give one of the yogis a “secret adjustment” to ignite the conflict.

For example, one of the two sisters might be given the adjustment (whispered to her by the teacher) that she, a compulsive gambler, has maxed out her credit cards on the trip and needs to ask her sister to borrow money to get home.

The improv continues until there is a resolution and then more improvs are set up as time allows.

The Actor Asana class ends with (optional) refreshments.

This evolving workshop joins acting and yoga for the double benefit of both and since those benefits are far greater than the sum of their parts, even more!