Special theatre class relieves tension

Home Culture Special theatre class relieves tension

Performers — whether on stage or on the field, in a competition or in a classroom — are all too familiar with the feeling of nervous physical tension.

A current theatre department offering, Alexander Technique for Actors & Musicians, focuses on these physical tensions students face day-to-day and works to counteract them.

“In the Hillsdale course, we are specifically looking at applications for actors and musicians, but Alexander Technique is for anyone with an interest in improved coordination and efficiency of movement,” visiting professor of theatre Tory Mastos ’02 said. “Many people come to the technique seeking relief from back pain or chronic fatigue associated with basic activities of daily life.”

The technique also examines misuse and inefficiencies of bodily motion, seeking to correct and unlearn improper habits to reach a better-aligned physical state.

“Study of the technique also cultivates awareness of a student’s habitual responses to stress. And college students are very familiar with stress,” Mastos said.  “Alexander Technique students often find that releasing habits of tension in the body and mind can lessen the feelings of pressure and anxiety that are common in the college experience.”

To teach the class, one must become certified in Alexander technique.  This process is intense and challenging, and can take about a year to complete.

Matsos graduated from Hillsdale with a degree in theatre and a minor in American studies, spending time at Oxford University to study Shakespearean literature and performance. She received her Master of Fine Arts in acting from Ohio State University, where she found personal pain relief in the Alexander technique.

“Within the first class, I experienced relief from scoliosis-related back pain,” Mastos said.  “With continued lessons, I found new freedom and ease of expression in my work as an actor.”

Matsos graduated from the Chesapeake Bay Alexander Studies teacher-training program and is certified by Alexander Technique International.

Senior Maran McLeod is a vocal and dance performer who decided to take the class.  She is also directing this year’s Shakespeare in the Arb production and has found the class material useful for working with actors in the production.

“I looked into Alexander technique upon the recommendation of Debbi Wyse and Melissa Osmond,” McLeod said.  “I hoped to improve my performance abilities as well as bring some of the material I was learning to Shakespeare in the Arb rehearsals.”

As a result of the class, McLeod said that she has noticed real changes in her day-to-day life.

“I am beginning to observe my habitual ways of doing daily tasks, be it taking out the trash, brushing my teeth, or reading for class,” McLeod said.  “While I certainly wouldn’t call my judgments of these actions Alexander technique authoritative, I think it is important that I am becoming more aware of how I do things and what my immediate response is to certain stimuli.”

Part of the course is focused on simply being aware of different parts of one’s body. Body mapping, for example, gives the performer an accurate representation of his or her body to improve motion.

“After mapping the arms and summing up what we had learned about the body as a whole, even simple movements — like giving someone a hug — felt more fluid,” McLeod said. “Isolating the different bones and joints in the arms helped me think more about the process of moving them than about what I achieve when I move them.”

Theatre department chair George Angell compared the discipline to Pilates, noting the focus on physicality.

This semester, the theatre department has two special classes: the Alexander technique class and a musical theater dance class taught by Phil Simmons of Eastern Michigan University.

These classes require a professor with a specialty in the area, preventing the department from offering them consistently.

“We teach a number of things here in the theatre department that are specialties that we don’t have specialists in the department to teach,” Angell said.  “We bring them in when we can.”

Two staple classes of the theatre department, Voice for the Stage and Acting for the Camera, started as specialty courses and are now taught every couple years when they find qualified adjunct professors.

Angell said that he likes the idea of keeping the Alexander technique course as a staple of the department, but it’s entirely dependent upon if a specialist with availability can be found again.

For her part, Mastos has enjoyed her role in the process.

“With this particular group of students, I am so impressed by the depth of talent,” she said. “This class has a wonderful collection of actors, singers, instrumentalists, and dancers. I enjoy teaching the technique because it affords me the opportunity to support young artists in their craft.”