The Acting of Michael Chekhov Andrew Deng

In a shellnut... Michael Chekhov's acting method involves utilizing physical gestures that line up with your character’s intentions to internally put yourself in their shoes.(IE Physical movements that dominate, show recessions, etc) . Usually, asking questions about your character motivation to give yourself a tangible goal is used with this method. The logic is that every objective can be gesturized, which can be used to overcome acting blocks. Chekhov's gun is named after Anton Chekhov the playwright, not Michael.

Videos Chekhov himself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl7PeSy1cYU TV and Movies https://youtu.be/8Xjr2hnOHiM?t=109 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS48WQT5N0w

Exercises -Imagine yourself as someone whom is evil, push downwards as if showing power, add “flairs” to the method.(Fear, anger, etc) -Think of impersonal events, catch the first image that appears, or read a phrase out of a book and imagine a tangible image. Let your imagination have the image “run”. Begin to “ask the image questions” to get it to move, then, ask more psychological questions about emotions. Do the same with a play or movie script.

History -Personally born 1891-1955, worked under Stanislavski and preached as his best student. Personally wrote 2 books and acted in films from 1913-1954 -Felt as if Stanislavski's system of emotional memory led to overly naturalistic acting and was ineffective and wanted actors to tap into their subconscious minds, and utilize their imaginations. People wanted an experience when they saw a film or play, not “truthfulness” -Praised by Anthony Hopkins, and Clint Eastwood. - Lacked an ability for self promotion that led to obscurity of the history of this method.

So Yeah I like this method as it appears to help actors achieve their own personal flair and tap into their imaginations to help create a “full” performance. Actors can rise above the hypotheticalness of other methods if they are emotionally damaging or truly cannot relate to some situations mentally.

Works cited http://michaelchekhovactingstudio.com/philosophy.html http://tophollywoodactingcoach.com/2016/06/what-is-the-michael-chekhov- acting-technique/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Chekhov https://www.theactingcorps.com/michael-chekhov/ Stock Images https://depositphotos.com/12264430/stock-photo-coming-out-of-your-shell.html