Link: Viola Davis on how she prepares

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Personal Private Moment

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PRIVATE MOMENT “ Stanislavski observed that, in the truest performances, the actor creates the illusion that his character is alone and unobserved. He's being private in public . Lee Strasberg was particularly inspired by Stanislavski's concept of ‘public solitude,’ so much so that he developed an exercise that would prepare and accustom the actor to being private in public. Strasberg called his invention the Private Moment.” --Susan Batson The Private Moment When we are in public, we have to put on a mask or cover when we deal with people. Otherwise they would see all of our true feelings. It is only when we are alone that we allow ourselves to take off the mask. In this exercise, we work to create a place where we are most private. T his means bringing in items that help you to create the place so that your belief system can work there. We also work to create the sense of privacy there. As the actor, you want to choose three activities that are very private, that y...
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Nudity and undressing in class

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Since we want to truthfully create the behavior of our character in the world of the character and in a specific space and in a specific time, there may be moments where the character would undress. Katherine made this discovery in rehearsal and it was a honest discovery. The simple solution for the women in class is to wear tights and a leotard under your clothes, then you can undress and never feel like you are crossing a line you don't wish to cross. You are protected and you feel safe.  In the world I came from, there was no option for tights and a leotard. Nudity was a peer pressure-related unspoken mandate, with the teacher leading the way. This exploitative loophole is not necessary. In our class the actress, the woman is completely empowered to make decisions that are true to her and where she is at. In our class the empowerment is the point, and the freedom that comes from it. 
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Character Private Moment

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The character private moment is a portable exercise that allows the actor to explore and create based on the super objective (overall objective) of the character. This drive is also known as the unfulfilled need of the character.  The actor can read and reread the play in order to get the character's heartbeat, their central purpose (objective) that drives them and affects every choice they ever make. The writer gives us the clues about what this central drive is, but we must find a way to not only recognize it but also to live it, but to put it in our body.  Think of a moment in your life when you were totally driven by a need. A need for love or for approval or recognition or security or control. How strong was it in your body? What choices did you make as a result of this heightened need? Need directly relates to the choices we make.  Once we are ready to try a choice for overall objective, we can get out of our analytical mind and into our body and our creativi...
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