THE CLASS
What to Expect
Tara first teaches students how to find their own physical authenticity, then neutrality, and then the ability to develop a character's physical being. Students learn to connect their physicality, mind and voice as one instrument. We are not separate parts, and in this class we hone the necessity of connecting everything together. This is not just about learning a technique, it is about finding freedom, giving up control and the proper use of self, to be used forever. A way of life.
The human structure is innate and knows exactly how it's meant to function. Every baby's skeleton will look almost exactly the same. This is neutrality. As we grow, we get further and further away from the natural, intended use of self.
Our environments and experiences shape us and our bodies. First we learn by mimicry and then every experience we have is stored in the body in various ways and different places. This makes us special and unique, however as actors, we must be able to release these tensions, not only to be free and spontaneous in our work, but also so that physicality can be a character choice and not something that is automatically a part of every character we play because it is a part of us,
Every actor will be given a structural evaluation, pointing out what is neutral and unnatural about their alignment. Following this, Tara will then be able to focus on the specific individuality of every student, aiding them with any ailments, teaching them how they can work towards coming from a place of neutrality and connecting them to what she calls the "roadmap of your life". From here, they will find freedom and the ability to make every movement a specific and dynamic choice.
Every class, actors will participate in what Tara calls a "lie down", which is the body's natural opportunity in which to realign itself and as it does, tensions are released in a multitude of ways anywhere from emotional to physical to spiritual and many students have a variety of unique and transformative experiences.
Actors through a series of exercises will learn how to use the body properly, without causing tension or over exerting their muscles and rather using only what they need - the appropriate use of energy. They will learn how to communicate emotion and intention through movement and how to delve deeper into the emotionality of this work and to use the body itself as a tool in acting work.
Actors will also work on scripted material, creating and exploring characters (and their unique physicalities) and utilising the full body and action to take these scenes to a level of spontaneity, dynamism and specificity that they haven't been able to access before.
NOTE - AT LEAST THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF TRAINING IS RECOMMENDED IN ORDER TO BEGIN TO SEE SIGNIFICANT PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGE.