Making the Acquaintance of Fitzmaurice, Grotowski, and Chekhov

Interesting folks in teaching the craft of acting. Mikhail Chekhov is an antidote to the iron grip of THE METHOD. His process is intriguing to me as it seems to be integrated in the physicality, mentality, and spirituality. “The Method” to me seemed like an obsessive-compulsive overly mental approach, or maybe that is the fault of the actors I’ve been well acquainted with who have been its devotees. Catherine Fitzmaurice has a method that focuses on the “right actions” of breathing and speaking, and since it is a physical process, the first part of “deconstructing” is physically based. I am not sure exactly what we took from Grotowski in our workshop, but if I study a bit more I can probably figure it out better.

Fitzmaurice Voicework was developed by Catherine Fitzmaurice. It appealed to me as its approach is based in a union of the physical-mental-spiritual, where other speech coaching is very clinical and limited in the physical. It simultaneously works on many aspects - breathing, speech, resonance, an many others. It also has been adopted by speech rehabilitation professionals, which was a plus for me as repairing my speaking was my primary concern.

“Fitzmaurice Voicework explores the dynamics between body, breath, voice, the imagination, language, and presence. It encourages vibrant voices that communicate intention and feeling without excess effort. …The work brings together physical experience and mental focus. Destructuring, the first phase, promotes awareness of the body, spontaneous and free breathing, and vocal expressivity. Restructuring, the second phase, encourages economy of effort while speaking or performing. The resulting freedom and focus allow for a wide range of vocal expression without strain.” Its features are:

• “Physicality: we develop awareness of patterns of vocal effort through a series of gentle and/or rigorous exercises, accessing the body’s own healing systems for deep release.

• “Breath: we explore the central role that breathing plays in both voice production and the imagination, encouraging whole body oxygenation without forcing the breath.
• “Vocal Quality: we cultivate the ability to accurately communicate our thoughts and feelings while meeting the demands of text, space, and the immediate moment, through both spontaneity and choice.
• “Practical Results: we reduce strain in the voice, increase vocal range and expressivity, make speech easy and clear, and communicate intention more effectively, allowing creativity to flow.
• “Vocal Rehabilitation: we can help to resolve many functional vocal difficulties.
  There are many practical benefits to improved vocal functioning. And, since breath and voice lie at the intersection of the material and the non-material, this work can also assist in creative, intellectual, and spiritual growth.”

Similarly the Michael Chekhov technique was appealing to me as it also emphasizes a physical-mental-creative union, and not based separately either in intellect or physical craft. He died before his work and process became widely known, leaving the Stanislavski “method” as predominant in acting training in the mid- to late 20th century. “The fundamental nature of the Chekhov approach is to bring the psychology of the character into the body through movement and gesture, creating an enriched and active inner life, making the creation of a character an imaginative, organic and playful process. The Chekhov work affords access to untapped inner resources and liberates the actor from the limitations of his or her own personal history, enlarging the actor’s creativity.” The Michael Chekhov Association