THE SEIDENSTEIN METHOD

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

We are post-modern practitioners. Culturally we have experienced Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Butoh, Julie Taymor,
Pina Bausch, Cirque du Soleil, Batsheva Dance, Peter Stein, The Globe Theatre, Dogma Films, Ariane Mnouchkine,
Marie Chouinard, Michael Clark, Marcel Marceau, The Ballet Trockadero, Tadeusz Kantor, Tadashi Suzuki, Katsu Ohno.
We have inherited the theatrical reformulations of Beckett, Ionesco, Pirandello, Kushner.

How do we assimilate all of the rich methods we have inherited, since Stanislavsky and Copeau masterminded
complete systems for the training and education of actors and directors?

Stanislavsky and Copeau were dedicated to beginning processes that would create theatre practitioners of the future.
Both Stanislavsky and Copeau collaborated extensively and encouraged their progeny to venture further. From
Stanislavsky came Michael Chekov, Vahktangov, Meyerhold and current generations. All of the methods from Strasberg,
Adler, Lewis, Garfein, Hagen, even Mamet's Practical Aesthetics and Keith Johnstone's work follow from, or are reactions
to, Stanislavsky trained actors and directors. From Copeau came Michel Saint-Denis, Jean Louis-Barrault
and Etienne Decroux.

Grotowski considered himself directly inspired from Stanislavsky. Copeau's daughter and son-in-law were the
teachers of Lecoq. Decroux was the teacher of Lecoq's wife Faye (Decroux's main disciple at that time
was Therese Koch who specifically taught Faye). Grotowski deeply influenced Eugenio Barba and Peter
Brook. Concurrently with Stanislavsky and Copeau was the revolutionary development of Modern Dance
founded by Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Denis-Shawn, Martha Graham, Mary Wigman, Rudolf Laban.
Mime was being 'formulated' by Irene Mawer.

Now what do we consider when training actors and directors?

Early in my training in theatre and circus I witnessed an antagonism of the various methods claiming a 'resolution'.
Such antagonism is true too of most of the various spiritual paths be they religions, martial arts, astrological or yogic cults.

We are all in it together. I tried, in my own way to make sense of it all. Not to resolve it all, but to find the meeting point
that I term The Quantum Point where various methods, modalities, and myths can relate harmoniously. 

In essence, and to be brief, I found that focusing on the anatomical basics of human movement brings
illumination to the root of diverse methods for acting or even for spiritual modalities.

In 1976 I was still studying practically with all of my teachers and fellow students (all of whom were more experienced
than I) at the Dell'arte School in the USA. I also was studying theoretically and reading fervently about yoga, Meyerhold,
Krishnamurti, The Empty Space, Towards A Poor Theatre, commedia, and various spiritual perspectives including the I-Ching.

So, I summarized it all into 10 basic mechanical movements that I call "Core Mechanics", a 'kata' or choreographed
practice that takes ten minutes and seems to awaken one's entire complex neurological and anatomical network.

WHY IT WORKS

"Core Mechanics" directly affected a wide ranging complex system of theatre education that I now term The Seidenstein
Method. "Core Mechanics" works because it is simple, logical, observable and can thus be applied to numerous other
awakenings that occur spontaneously and consciously in individual actors, teachers, directors and choreographers.

The Seidenstein Method has various unique aspects, but, the most significant is that it can directly assist any acting
method to work better for more participants, either students or professionals. The Seidenstein Method is about
universals in acting and theatre, and therefore has infinite applications depending on the practitioner. None-the-less,
even with the first step i.e. the first ten minutes of training most people wake-up and start to have epiphanies in
their own understanding of acting, movement, theatre and creativity.

In the next few exercises it becomes self-evident that one's creativity is limitless yet mechanical or logical.
The yin/yang and right/left brain and internal masculine/feminine or the microcosm/macrocosm becomes logically
sensed within ones own body and conscious awareness.

Although there are clearly articulated physical, mechanical, directions, one's creative expression can be released in
any style, way, fashion, or inclination that an individual chooses spontaneously or pre-meditated.

HOW IT FUNCTIONS

The Seidenstein Method uses a complex system "Quantum Theatre: Slapstick to Shakespeare" (est. 1993). As the name
indicates this system relates to the ancient yin/yang of the Greek masks' unity of comedy/tragedy. Not one without the other.
It is a noted cliché that every actor (tragedian) wants to play a clown and every clown longs to be taken serious,
at least as much as a classic actor.

So, via the body, through anatomically correct movement, one starts to re-discover the true (true to oneself) nature of drama
as a natural phenomenon located in the DNA/RNA and electro-chemical reality (truth) inside the human. Symbols such as the
Greek masks, the Tao's yin/yang, Hamlet with the clown's skull, Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, the om sign, and even the obscure
kabbalah image of Adam Kadmon all point to the same knowledge indicated at the clown's gravesite when Hamlet says
"There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt in your philosophy".

ALL great actor theorists from Stanislavsky, Suzuki, Copeau, Brook, Lecoq, Barba, Grotowski have tried to stay
anchored with the examination of the body. Lecoq's method in fact was truly dependent on Moshe Feldenkrais. Feldenkrais's method
was based on his own deep knowledge of science and philosophy and was intended to lead towards a deep education.
method and deep knowledge of science and philosophy leading towards a deep education. From a feminist
perspective, ownership of one's body is essential to any form of self-awakening.

How do I logically locate all of this so that 'it works'?

I have created a Simplified Training called "The Four Articulations". Those articulations I refer to are Body, Space,
Time and Space-Time Continuum. From the first exercise the whole body is used all the way through to
the 4th articulation's series of structured improvisations called "The Path of Honor"

My method is called "The Seidenstein Method", my system is "Quantum Theatre: Slapstick to Shakespeare",
and the new simplified process is called "The Four Articulations". The method is unique, yet it connects to any other
acting or performance method. In fact, I claim that my method will help any other acting (clown or performance)
method to work better i.e. for more people.

All of my work starts with "Core Mechanics - Ten Anatomical Movements" movements
found in dance, acrobatics, and martial arts.

I created Core in 1976. It takes ten minutes to practice Core. However, it is phenomenal due to its simplicity and
efficacy to touching all of the core anatomical mechanics of movement studies. "Core Mechanics" also
begins the process to clearly demonstrate that acting, clown, and creativity has a natural mechanical logic.
A logic that can be interpreted in infinite ways.