ABSTRACT
What techniques work best for the actor when challenged with creating emotionally charged characters? This chapter questions the effectiveness of using Affective Memory when tackling heightened text and offers alternatives to this methodology. Specifically, the chapter explores using both Stella Adler and Jerzy Grotowski methodologies in order to find the imagination and physical truth of a character such as King Lear or Medea. The chapter explores utilizing Stella Adler’s techniques to enhance the actor’s creative process and coupling that with Grotowski’s use of physical action in order to enhance the character’s dynamic. Maintaining truthfulness while also creating a highly charged characterization is the goal of the exercises discussed.
