The Moment Before: An Actor's Warm-up Podcast

Work with larger-than-life Clown exercises to find connection to your emotional life in performance.  Inspired by exercises created by Christopher Bayes and Michelle Matlock.

This episode will help those exploring heightened text to activate their bodies using Psychological Gesture from Michael Chekhov. Text used will be the English translation of Mexican 17th century playwright, Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz.

Feel more relaxed, open and vocally ready for rehearsal or performance through exercises that create release in the neck and jaw.  

Ignite your sense of play and creativity by using your imagination to transform nearby objects.  

Explore the emotional and boundary preparations required for intimacy choreography.  Actors are led to protect their mental well-being while authentically portraying characters engaged in intense and intimate scenes, and guided to mark their boundaries through imaginary exploration.  

A dynamic exploration of Laban's Eight Effort Actions, employing principles that integrate weight and time into invigorating activities.  This episode will awaken senses, stretch imagination and leave listeners feeling rejuvenated, offering an innovative way to activate the body by embracing the power of movement.  

Discovering Character; E8: Expansion and Contraction for Inner and Outer Life

Discover skills to tell the story of a large emotional life through full-bodied gestures and breath.  Based on Michael Chekhov's Psychological Gestures.  

Follow a guided, imaginative journey through 3 possible points in your character's life, and find ways to let go of your character in a healthy manner.  

Whether you're looking to get creative with a current character, or take a creative break by becoming an imaginative super-hero, this episode is for you.  

Explore movement, empathy and intentions by connecting to your ancestral roots. This practice stems from enslaved African ancestors; it places strong emphasis on artists bringing their cultural backgrounds to the work, showing up with intention and advocating for a full range of one’s humanity. 

Warm up the body and ease the spirit by being led through a journey down an imaginary river. This exercise combines visualization and journaling to connect in with intention before stepping into a class or rehearsal.  

Take time with the senses to release a character after rehearsal or performance. This episode will use sights, sounds and textures from the imagination and the real space around you to release the world of the character and return to your own.  

Drag performance is an artform that requires preparation of both body and mind. This episode will release tension and increase energetic engagement and dynamic expression for those transforming into their new, fabulous selves! 

Head to an imaginary "big top" tent to explore different elements of dynamic characterization through a guided embodiment exercise.  

This guided visualization exercise is a magical way to warm up your body and mind for classroom or performance.  Listeners will be led first on a journey through their own senses, then a journey through a spell-binding world. This exercise encourages playfulness, creativity and commitment to imagery as a tool to enliven one's performance.

De-Rolling

This podcast is meant for you to explore, motivate, and challenge your imagination! As actors, one of our biggest assets is creating places, circumstances, objects, that do not exist with us in the moment. Specifically in improvisation, there is a lot of object work, and this exercise is going to explore how you can mime objects, food, and space that is familiar to you. Let’s get started. 

This podcast is meant for you to explore, motivate, and challenge your imagination! As actors, one of our biggest assets is creating places, circumstances, objects, that do not exist with us in the moment. Specifically in improvisation, there is a lot of object work, and this exercise is going to explore how you can mime objects, food, and space that is familiar to you. Let’s get started. 

Music and sound can be wonderful entry points to character. Have you ever heard a song that instantly put you in a good mood? Has a sound ever made you feel like you were going to crawl out of your skin? Music and sound have the power to affect your mood, change your energy level, establish your environment, and impact your inner tempo. In this exercise, explore how to use music and sound as tools for creating emotional, physical, and psychological life for the characters we inhabit. This exercise can be used for character building or for emotional exploration. It’s great for rehearsal, scene work, and audition prep.