Professional Acting - Cultivating a Psychophysical Union Between Yourself and Your Character

Throughout my time working as an actor for stage and film productions, I have come across literally hundreds of different acting techniques and methods. While some of these methods are famous, others are only known by a handful of performers. What really fascinates me is the effectiveness of some techniques on some, while others are unable to fully embrace certain methods.

There is one thing that every actor should understand and embrace, and that is cultivating the psycho-physical union between yourself and your character. This means of character development is vital as it ensures this person you're portraying has unique and individual emotions and responses while simultaneously using your body to create a one-of-a-kind performance.

Cultivating the psycho-physical union can be a long and tedious process; however, there are certain tips you may follow to help make this transformation a successful one.

Sharing Your Mind and Body

Perhaps one of the most important tidbits of information you should grasp is the notion of sharing your mind and body with another "person." Yes, this person isn't actually real, and I'm not talking about developing a mental illness, but you must understand that when you begin to portray a character, you are giving this "character" permission to take over your mind and body. The key word from that previous statement is: permission.

You must be willing to take your guards down, open up your mind and allow your body to move without personal restrictions from you. The character should gradually begin the process of delving into your subconscious, and throughout the weeks of rehearsal, you must strive to create this union between your unique thoughts and actions as well as those of your character.

Allowing Free Flowing Thoughts

Some of the greatest actors of our time are known to literally transform into their character on-and-off set. At first, this may seem a little odd; however, it is a wonderful way to strengthen this psycho-physical union. After you have developed a character biography and fully read and analyzed the script, begin actually thinking like your character throughout your daily life. Talk like him, walk like him and gather your emotions like him. This intimate form of character development trains your mind to think as your character, thus when you perform your emotions and physical actions will not be forced, but will rather flow naturally out of your very being.