How could you have an Acting class for Super Shy people?
Here’s how…
In a regular acting class, at the outset of training, our goal is to teach ‘un-acting’. How can someone stop acting and bring their true, pure, honest self forward? How can someone unmask themselves and get used to living in that experience, rather than a sort of ‘version’ of oneself that is presented to people? That is, for most actors, the training. An actor’s goal in training is that one can give a very strong, truthful performance. How can you train to give that, if you train to pretend?
That’s the initial challenge for most actors – taking the mask off, learning to live purely and authentically as themselves in each moment.
The difference for someone who is very shy is that the training comes in from the opposite direction. There already is a purity in the moment, but now it is a matter of becoming accustomed to it and finding strength in it rather than finding out how to cover themselves up with a mask.
How do we do this in the Super Shy program? Acting teaches the very basics of a human interaction. The first step we take on is studying the simplest action of “listening” and “speaking”. So those in a regular acting class, and those in the Super Shy do the same thing. We sit across from someone and practice what it means to speak and listen. It’s always a bit of a surprise when people first encounter it. A program that teaches us how to speak and listen to others? We speak and listen our whole lives, why would we ever need to practice it?
But it turns out often we do. For a lot of us, if we don’t, over time we become more and more a presentation of ourselves.
So, that is what we do. We train to speak and listen with very specific directions. A step-by-step format. And for those who are super shy, you can sit and do this training with us.
if you are considering the super shy acting program, please note that it is not for shy actors. We spend a good amount of time discussing shyness and it’s effect, and track progress as we move through the program. If you are a very shy actor, the Meisner technique acting program will be right for you.