Thursday, December 17, 2009

Gift Yourself With an Energy Refill This Holiday Season


Are you burned out?
Have you worked so hard and performed so much this fall season that you'd rather crawl in bed until spring?




Perfoming is fun, but it often takes its toll on one's energy and stamina. Burnout is a frequent consequence of too many long hours in rehearsals, late nights, and stressful moments on stage or in a film set, or at auditions.


As a performing artist you constantly put yourself on the line, feel constantly being judged, and are repeatedly being challenged to go to new levels.
You ARE embodying the Work of Art, your body, your voice, your emotions and your spirit are what makes the show; and the show  must always go on whether you are in shape or not. It is normal to sometimes feel overwhelmed and tired. Unfortunately, burnout is rarely acknowleged by performing arts schools. Good nutrition, exercise and sleep will help for sure, but often it will not be enough to give you a complete sensation of recharging of your inner-batteries.



The good news is that there are very powerful and efficient ways to recover quickly so you can be ready again for the upcoming JANUARY CASTING SEASON.  Energy work is one  of these powerful, quick and efficient ways to replenish your depleted energy.




Emmanuelle Chaulet (CRPL3, Energy Awareness Counselor, and Reiki practitioner) offers ENERGIZE Clearing and Coaching sessions for performing artists and creative souls.

ENERGIZE sessions clear, repair and align the energy system and help performers reach their highest creative potential as well as rebalance their emotions and energy system after performance. They are also perfect for healing performance anxiety, post-performance stress, creativity blocks and self-esteem issues or to reclaim your Highest Creative Self, your true emotional balance and develop deeper connections with your character.  



Emmanuelle is a  Certified RYSE® Practitioner Level III  (CRPL3) graduate of SPATECH Institute and uses RYSE® as well as other energy healing modalities.

A clearing session lasts about 90 minutes.
A combo session (clearing/coaching) lasts about 2 hours.

Student discounted rates are extended to all performers until January 1!


Sessions are held by appointment at HOLISTIC PATHWAYS in Gorham, Maine and also available by phone and via distance modality.


To Gift yourself with a session (or ask for a gift certificate for the holidays) contact Emmanuelle Chaulet

Monday, December 7, 2009

ACTORS HAVE POWER says Robert De Niro, so USE it! says Emmanuelle Chaulet

From  Entertainement headline
to see the complete article  click here:
De Niro: Actors have a lot of power in industry
07/12/2009 -


"The 66-year-old actor believes making movies has radically changed since he first started working because individual stars have so much power over what projects get given the go-ahead.


He said: "The young actors today have the power to make the decisions on the kinds of movies they want to do, because people want to see them. It's up to them really. I don't want to make it so heavy as to say they carry the responsibility, but they make those choices. "

I would argue that yes, they carry the responsibility to influence project so that the film not only entertains but challenges, teaches and raises the consciousness of the viewer..
YOU ARE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE WORLD! and we need you to use this power NOW!
 For more info about changing your attitude and belief to find and use your highest creative potential, read A BALANCING ACT

Emmanuelle Chaulet
author, acting coach, director

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Announcing Patti McCabe's Monthly Nutrition Column:


We are delighted to announce that Patti McCabe will now write a monthly column on nutrition for the performing artist!

 Patti McCabe is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor who specializes in working with the performing arts community.  She received her training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City and is accredited through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.  She leads workshops on health and nutrition, and offers both individual and group counseling services in person and by phone.  More information at www.pattimccabe.com and http://pattimccabe.wordpress.com

 December 2009:

Refueling the Rehearsal Day

Rehearsal days can be long and demand a lot of energy, focus, and attention – emotionally and physically.  We certainly need to eat to keep ourselves well fueled, but having recently stage managed a show after a bit of a hiatus I was reminded of how easy it can be to default to a junk food and vending machine diet.  I’ll be honest and say that I succumbed myself on more than one occasion, and while I believe whole heartedly in not wasting a lot of time regretting specific food choices in the short term – wow did I regret those choices!  Not because I considered myself a bad person for making them, but because I could absolutely feel the difference in how my body responded as opposed to how I feel after making healthier choices.  Many of us are eating just to keep hunger at bay until the next 10 minute break.  But the sugar, fat, and salt contained in junk foods are simply empty calories lacking the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to maintain peak performance.  By eating these foods to survive the rehearsal day, we are actually negatively impacting our ability to sustain our productivity for the director and fellow cast members.

When we fuel our bodies and our minds with fresh, whole foods – everything changes.  Our energy levels stay higher, our minds sharper, and our emotions more stable.  Here are some quick, healthier, snack options that you won’t find in a vending machine, but they take little to no time to prepare at home with your own ingredients – and you will save money to boot! 

•    Cut up veggies (like baby carrots) and whole grain crackers with hummus

•    Rice cakes with nut butters

•    Dried Fruits

•    Nuts and Seeds

•    Fresh, whole fruit

•    Edamame with sea salt

•    Whole Grain tortilla chips with salsa

•    Popcorn (a whole grain, but try it plain or tossed with olive oil and sea salt instead of packaged versions containing too much butter and artificial flavorings)

•    Yogurt (to avoid the refined sugar in sweetened products, try plain mixed with fruit, nuts, and a little honey)

•    Avocados

If you don’t have time to pack your own food, take note of health food stores or cafes near your rehearsal space where you can get fresh fruit smoothies, vegetable juices, or pick up something from this list on your way.

Here’s a challenge - try replacing your usual rehearsal day snacks with ones you enjoy from this list for a week and notice the difference.  You can even try keeping a food journal – write down what you eat during the day and how it makes you feel right after and then again two hours later.  A food journal is an amazing tool to start becoming more conscious of how the foods you eat affect you.   Get support and motivation by sharing your experiences here!

Wishing you happy, healthy rehearsal days until my next post! ☺

Sunday, November 15, 2009

THE FOUR PILLARS OF HEALTH


I was teaching a workshop this weekend at the NETC conference in Sturbridge and we discussed what kind of support a young actor needs to sustain the ruthless rhythm of rehearsals until midnight while going to school full time and getting up early to catch the 7 am school bus. No time to pack lunch or dinner, not enough sleep, not enough rest... sounds familiar? All of this packed with the ever-flying emotions of being in a show, new friends, pressure, expectations, tension, stress...and homework...
Leading to sure burnout and emotional distress when all of it is over...

So what can you do?

The four pillar of health are Nutrition, Sleep, Exercise and Self Love.
Without one of these pillars, your whole foundation will collapse and your house fall down...

NUTRITION: Patti will soon write more on nutrition for rehearsals but if you dont' have the time to pack lunch or dinner, you can always get the 'grab and go' drinkable meal supplements. They are filled with vitamins and will be better than pizzas!. Watch the sugar content, use the natural ones, and choose the ones that do not have caffeine. You can get a 6 pack for your week of nightly rehearsals ahead of time.. add a banana, a granola bar.. and it can replace (for a few days) a healthy meal and will not take room in your school backpack.

Drink plenty of fluids, (water, not sodas!) and get a good breakfast to start your day.

SLEEP: you need sleep! 8 hours... if you cannot get it in one shot, try cat naps, and short relaxations in your day (5 minutes each) they can refuel your energy even if your night is too short. Catch up on sleep when you can...


EXERCISE: it is important to daily fit at least a short walk outside, a yoga stretch, a zumba dance, a running or bicycle ride... whatever is quick and easy. Oxygen is important when you spend your time in a rehearsal room. So bunddle up and go out! You will feel refreshed, revitalized and you will act better...

SELF-LOVE: When you put yourself on the line everyday by being onstage and performing in front of people, it is important to spend time to appreciate yourself. Your body (and soul) is the instrument you play. CARE for it with love and appreciation, as if you were the Steinway or the Stradivarius.. YOU ARE THE WORK OF ART, YOU BECOME THE WORK OF ART..
So dare to be introvert: you might need time alone, to recharge, you might need to write in a journal, listen to music you love, or take a long bath. You might need to play with your pet, take a walk, read a book... do what feels good as long as it is healthy.
You will recharge your energy and feel more confident later on stage...

To go further read the book A BALANCING ACT

Emmanuelle Chaulet,
RP III, acting coach, energy awareness counselor

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

THE WHOLE SOLUTION


by Patti McCabe, Certified Holistic Health Counselor

I have worked as a Production Stage Manager for a long time, and I know all too well the challenges we face in the theater industry (onstage and backstage) with eating on the run and trying to keep up our energy levels through long days of auditions, rehearsals, and performances. The trouble we get into is that we are often looking to artificial sources of energy to keep us going through the day. Caffeine, sugar, junk food, processed foods. These all give us something in the moment, but how long does it take for the rush to wear off and leave you craving for that next fix? And if we know this to be a problem, how do we break the cycle?

The first step is to start to understand the benefits of whole foods. Most people have heard about the concept of simple vs. complex carbohydrates, but they can’t really describe the difference. Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap in recent years, but the truth is not all carbs are created equal.

Simple carbohydrates have short chains of sugar that break down quickly in the body. Your body works overtime trying to burn up this extra sugar it doesn’t need. This is what causes that all too familiar sugar rush, but once it’s burned up we are left to simply crash. Even worse, the excess sugar gets stored as fat. Simple carbs include processed foods, white flours and breads, cakes, cookies, etc.

Complex carbohydrates have long chains of sugar that are bound within the food’s fiber. The sugar releases more slowly into your blood stream, giving you sustained energy and leaving you feeling full longer. Complex carbs are those found in nature like vegetables and whole grains.

So let’s start with whole grains, which are an amazing source of essential enzymes, vitamins B and E, iron, and dietary fiber. They are also cheap (especially if you purchase from the bulk section of your grocery store) and keep very well in the fridge to have on hand for a variety of delicious, inexpensive, quick to prepare meals. All things I know are important to us when working on a budget and always on the run!

A personal favorite is Quinoa, which is one of the fastest cooking and healthiest of all the grains. It contains all eight amino acids, making it a complete protein. There are many amazing ways to prepare quinoa. I love starting the day with a healthy, hearty breakfast that I know will keep me full and energized for a long time. Try trading in this recipe for your usual sugary cereal or donuts and feel the difference!


Warm Quinoa Breakfast Cereal
(Adapted from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition)

Yields 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup pre-cooked quinoa
1/2-3/4 cup milk or dairy alternative (depending on the consistency you like)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup golden raisins (or other dried fruit)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (or other nuts/seeds)

• Place prepared or leftover quinoa in a sauce pan.
• Add milk, honey, cinnamon and raisins.
• Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the cereal thickens slightly.
• Garnish with nuts or seeds


Patti McCabe is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor who specializes in working with the performing arts community. She received her training at the Institute for Integrative NutritioLinkn in New York City and is accredited through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She leads workshops on health and nutrition, and offers both individual and group counseling services in person and by phone. More information at www.pattimccabe.com and http://pattimccabe.wordpress.com

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Workshop: Energy Techniques for Character Development:

Upcoming afternoon workshop with Emmanuelle Chaulet,

Energy Techniques for Character Development:

Introduction: The Mind/body/spirit connection.

Energy awareness, Pre-performance stress analysis, pre-show preparation meditation and focusing, visualization. Reclaiming your highest creative potential. Lecture and exercises

Characters’ Vibration and Blueprint: a new way to develop your character

Listening to the character, peak performance visualization, character blueprint, luminous cord, dual consciousness, letting the character lead. Lecture and exercises.

Sub-Personality Work: the Voices in our Head: Tuning into the Actors’ Inner Facets.

Archetypes, voice dialogue, sub-personalities Choosing the best vessel. Tuning the antenna. Lecture and exercises.

Please note: this is not a beginner acting class

Tuition: $75 (includes a free copy of A BALANCING ACT a $24.95 value)

Location: Acorn Studios, Dana Warp Mill, Westbrook, Maine.

Date: October 25: 1 pm - 5 pm

Pre-registration required before October 20 (send an email to: mailto:energize@starlightacting.org

and we will send you the link to register)

Check our two new websites!

http://www.emmanuellechaulet.com

http://www.starlightactingbooks.starlightacting.org

Fall 09 Energize e-news letter:


Dear Friends,

Fall just surprised us last week and we only have a few more weeks before the annual change away from daylight saving time, scheduled on November 1… Readjusting to darkness falling early is always a challenge for us up in Maine!

But looking at the ‘bright’ side of things ;=) we’ll get longer evenings, sitting by the fire or the stove, for writing, reading, knitting, storytelling, playing, rehearsing, watching good movies or plays, dancing, and for simply being…

Upcoming is a time of reflection inward and re-aligning to our inner-world. 2009 was a trying year for many. The earth is changing rapidly and we are called to adjust and re-align without question, or we will simply no longer be. It is now clear that we cannot continue on the path of self-destruction. As Eckhart Tolle justly points out: “we are running out of time!” The recent planetary catastrophes (tsunami again, along with earthquakes and various shifts) do not give us mixed messages, but say to us loud and clear: change!

So what are you willing to change? What are your new life-guiding principles going to be? Are you ready to walk the talk?

As you already know from your various acting teachers: actors should be able to walk and talk at the same time! The time has come to make the commitment to realign your beautiful selves and raise your vibrations so you can show the way to others. As actors, directors, performers, you have a responsibility to the world: the responsibility to show, demonstrate, educate, and teach, so the world can evolve to a better more peaceful place. You are so much more than entertainers: you are what Derek Rydall calls “Enlightened Entertainers.” You are the new “saltimbanques” (traveling acrobats) of the Italian and Molière traditions of theatre: you are the precious instruments of the change at hand and you are walking the tight rope of its creation.

So look-up, laugh, smile, balance and roll up your sleeves! The work of change is arduous and challenging but it is so much fun and so exciting…

Start it at the beginning: start it within….

F. Emmanuelle Chaulet

Starlight Acting Institute, director


Notes:

Eckhart Tolle’s website

Derek Rydall’s website

Sunday, September 27, 2009

A BALANCING ACT gets reviewed in THEATRE TOPICS


The renown academic journal of ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) THEATRE TOPICS just published a wonderful review of A BALANCING ACT in its September 2009 issue, written by Barbara Sellers-Young of York University.


Excerpts:

"In fifteen chapter and six appendices, Chaulet's carefully crafted
method takes the actor on a journey from personal awareness of his/her energy system, to an application of that knowledge in the creation of a character."

"Since Stanislavski's initiation of this trend at the beginning of the twentieth century with his use of yoga to train actors, systems of body knowledge have increasingly become part of mainstream performance training.. [..] Chaulet's A BALANCING ACT is part of this transnational discourse in actor training. Its strength is in the insight it provides regarding how an actor can integrate these discursive fields within
Linka personal approach to performance, and this is the audience for whom it seems to be written."

To read the review, please go to Theatre Topics/project muse website.

Theatre Topics Volume 19, Number 2, September 2009 E-ISSN: 1086-3346 Print ISSN: 1054-8378 DOI: 10.1353/tt.0.0064

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Happy start of the new performance season!


As president Selma Botman of USM writes in her column, there are many calendars and we, in Academia, think in terms of School Year from September to May.

Performers too think in performance season, September to June; and then there is Summer stock!

Best wishes for the start of a new performance or academic season!

May you feel refreshed and energized by a wonderful summer of discoveries.

If you performed all summer, find the time to regenerate your strength and re-focus before hitting the ground and running!
Time alone, even a few days, writing, reading, resting sleeping...to be ready to start on the right track.

Personal health is so critical for good performance. To be creative, you need strength: physical strength, emotional strength and calm and grounding...

Focus on your heart and breathe deeply, and you'll be able to fly high...

For great exercises to bring your focus and energy to the next level: read A BALANCING ACT
10% discount until august 31... email energize@starlightacting.org
for more information or purchase via AMAZON at a discounted price.

Monday, August 10, 2009

New Actors for a NEW EARTH

Eckhart Tolle explains it so well: it is without ego, but with enthusiasm that we do the best transformative work to create a New Earth and awaken Consciousness.

Actors and performers, I invite you to read his wonderful books and develop your acting practice, far from the Ego, but with Joy and Presence.

By letting the flow of awareness of the Consciousness of the Universe pass through you, you become alive, present in the Now and can transform, educate and inspire others...

As he beautifully says:
"Awareness implies that you are not only conscious of things (objects), but you are also conscious of being conscious.[..] Can you feel your own Presence?"

To me, it is very close to the dual consciousness of the actor on stage, and actors should find this very easy to do.. yet, the Ego is the greatest obstacle for performers, as our training mistakenly develops it too often. Our challenge is to recognize this illusory sense of self and find our true I AM presence far from the Ego.

FMI: Eckhart Tolle, A NEW EARTH, Awakening to your life's purpose

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Feel the VIBE....


Energize! A holistic approach to acting




an energy awareness training for performers

©2009 F. Emmanuelle Chaulet

[image :
The Wave © JeanPierreRousset.com ]



In the beginning was the word … on a page, the intention, the idea, and the thought.
The thought vibrates as a wave, transforming the space and changing the atmosphere.
The vibration of the thought, as a wave, grows though space and time and creates manifestations of emotions, circumstances, events and stories. They unfold, unfurl, and break on the shore of the stage. The actor does not think but rides the wave –the vibration, the energy– and lets it grow, unfold, unleashing its power, its glory. The actor is the channel of this wave, flowing, fluid, moving through space and time. The actor-waterway lets the thought –the vibration– lead. He relinquishes full control. He lets go…

The actor watches the vibration-wave evolve through him, becoming fully human, becoming Character. The Character descends from the imagination of its creator, finding existence on the stage, and incarnating for a moment in the imaginary circumstances, in the actor’s body. The Character looks for flesh and bones to find its presence and lives for a moment, an hour, a few weeks. This fragile ball of light and thoughts suddenly becomes flesh, becomes real, and becomes a human story. The Character inhabits the actor’s body.

The actor, who is trained with the knowledge of energy awareness and has learned energy clearing techniques, has become skilled at using energy vibrations and does not get lost in them. The actor has learned to tune his instrument to the accurate channel and attract the Character’s frequency. The actor has learned to use his energy wheels of light and to process this vibration throughout his energetic body.

The actor’s body is invaded for a while and reflects the blueprint of the Character. A blank energetic canvas transformed into another being, the actor’s body changes like a chameleon, shape-shifting to reflect the new energy. Each cell, each bone, each muscle is transformed and takes on this new vibration… For a moment on stage, the Character’s love, pain, struggle, desires, challenges and fights become the actor’s ones.

The actor loves this sensation of being two. Like a mother carrying a child, being both and one at the same time, being one and being two. Being self and someone else, but still watching from the inside, from outside, beyond and above; watching closely to keep control and to let go at the same time. Like a dance with two partners, they intertwine and separate.

The actor becomes a Living Work of Art.

Then the applause breaks the magic and the actor must say goodbye, let the energy return to a ball and to the page, and let go of the mirage of the attraction, addition, and dependence. The actor must return to self and become one again…This is the dangerous moment when the actor is tempted to hold on, to keep the other self, and never go back to the monotony of daily normality. This is the risky instant when the self can be lost, and the Character wants to take over the flesh and merge with it.

But with willpower and energy clearing knowledge, with proper energy awareness training and practice, the actor can say goodbye for a while or forever, and return to his true self, to his joy, his happiness, his peace and his balance. The actor has learned to clear his instrument before and after the performance. The actor has learned to transform the Character’s energy and remove the negative pull at the end of a performance. The actor knows how to get rid of blocks and avoid the traps. The actor is an energy athlete.

Tomorrow it will start all over again.
It’s A Balancing Act.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

An Actress with a Mission

How an Iranian actress uses her work, in spite of it all, to teach, inform and educate...
Oscar nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo ( House of Sand and Fog, 24) plays in the intense movie "The Stoning of Soraya M." the role of an Iranian villager who stands up for her niece, who is accused of adultery and sentenced to death.
Sometimes acting becomes more than entertainment...Link

read more here:
the movie:

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Interesting questions on practicing your self-clearings

Images by Katheryn Caouette
© Chaulet 2008



QUESTION: I have noticed as I have practiced clearing the chakras, that I seem to have the most difficulty getting through the throat chakra and the 3rd chakra. What kinds of things can I do to work on areas that seem more stuck?

Emmanuelle Chaulet's answer:

Areas that are stuck are usually sign of a block. and when you reach a block you need to ask yourself: " What is this block telling me?" "Which part of me is trying to speak up?"

Throat chakra issues are about saying what you mean, expressing your truth, speaking up when something is a problem. Third chakra issues are about personal power, expressing oneself in the world with our will and our strength. The third chakra is also known as the "will center". It is our capacity to say no, to assert our authority, to assert our will.
So you need to ask yourself: "which are the issues when I don't speak up to say what bothers me and fail to assert what I want?"... I am sure something will come quickly to the forefront and you'll say to yourself: "Ah , that's it!"
Then, you want to keep clearing the issue by sending light, and raising your vibration above the block and perceiving the block clearing in your mind's eye.

Sometimes when blocks are too strong and too deeply entrenched, the help of a practitioner can really get you passed it.
To find practitioners in your area, look at the appendix of the book A BALANCING ACT.

Read more on clearing blocks on Chapter X. A technique using the polar opposite is quite efficient (read Chapter VIII).



QUESTION: [You express] the idea that the expansive feeling we experience on stage results in, or results because of, an expanding aura, and that we need to bring the aura back in closer to us after the show, to return to normal life. We all love that feeling of expansion. I think it's why many of us continue our lives in the theatre. The complication is that we don't want the feeling to stop afterwards! How can we protect the aura but keep the feeling of exuberance that accompanies the experience?

Emmanuelle's Answer:

This is a great question. The feeling of expansion is extraordinary, and we get addicted to it. You get it while performing, teaching, exercising, and also with sugar, alcohol and some drugs.
It is clear what the dangers associated with using sugar, alcohol and drugs are. However there are also real dangers associated with aura expansion while in a "normal" life setting such as in a dense grocery store, in a bar, or riding in a subway. The aura can rip and tear, it can collect lots of dirt and "parasites" so to speak. It can get real damaged. So it is very important to keep the aura closer to the body in normal day to day settings.

However, you can devote some time to expand the aura in safe situations like walking on the beach, hiking a mountain, or meditating...and keep getting that "high" in safe places.
The feeling of joy associated with it can also be called independently of the aura expansion. If you call on the vibration of joy to stay with you, and raise your vibration high enough, it will most likely stay with you throughout your day.

What is true however is that to keep your system clear is a way of life. As you become clearer and clearer, you will not want to do certain things anymore, such as go in dense and dark places. I myself cannot take the New York subway any longer. And I used to live in NYC and had no problems with it. I have a real hard time staying more than a half-hour in that energetic environment and had to adapt my timing and take the bus instead while I was in NYC last October.

So, in conclusion, to keep that feeling of expansion and stay safe, you need to find the right places to do it... I love expanding my aura while walking at the edge of the water on the beach where all the elements are fusing together: water, sun, wind, and earth. You should try it over the summer!! (and remember to bring it back closer when you go home)...


Warm Regards,

Emmanuelle

Monday, June 8, 2009

LAST CALL to register for the JUNE 13, 2009 workshop: Energize


LAST CALL to register for the JUNE 13, 2009 workshop: Energize: a Holistic Approach to Acting
The Mind/body/spirit connection


REGISTER NOW!
To register email:
mailto:energize@starlightacting.org
to be connected to the paypal registration link.


The workshop will give an introductory class on:

-Energy awareness, What are chakras, aura, the Energy system (overview)

-Applications in acting, bridging inside-out/outside-in approaches,
(lecture and exercises)

with Focus on Post-Performance Blues: Finding closure after the emotional roller-coaster of performance

-Post-performance stress analysis,

-Post-show closure meditation, visualization, character withdrawal.
(lecture and exercises)

Please bring a yoga /gym mat (or blanket) and pillow, water,
and... your questions!



WHEN: Saturday June 13, 1 pm-5 pm

WHERE: Pierre Studio and Gallery

Dana Warp Mill,
Suite 350, 90 bridge street
Westbrook, Maine.

FEE: $60 /participants (students $50)

Pre-registration is required.. This is not a walk-in class.


Looking forward to having you in the class...

Emmanuelle Chaulet



Emmanuelle Chaulet
Starlight Acting Institute, director

Energize! a holistic approach to acting
http://www.starlightacting.org
http://balanceyouract.blogspot.com


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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Do you feel the cloud too?


Do you feel irritable? anxious for no reason, upset, angry, frustrated, or overly emotional? It could just be that there is inbalance in your environment.. not just in you!
At HearthMath Institute there is a study about how to dissipate the dark cloud of negative energy that is currently around the earth energy field. By using our heartfelt intention and meditation techniques we can collectively rebalance the earth energy field and ourselves...
Just vizualise GAIA, the planet Earth in love and light... send positive energy and emotions of peace, harmony and love to the planet... every little drop can help get us to the tipping point...

For more information please check:

New Density Dissipation Lock-In
A cloud of mental and emotional distortion has built up in the earth’s planetary field environment from cumulative negative emotions, Institute of HeartMath founder Doc Childre observes in a new tool he has created to help people dissipate the cloud. Click to Article

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Did Kiefer Sutherland become Jack Bauer?

Obviously, the star of 24 is not seeing clearly the frontier between his own self and his character self. Behaving more and more violently as Jack Bauer does, he was charged with assault after headbutting a fashion designer at a party.
Now the two men have come to an understanding after Kiefer apologized, and charges might be dropped, but this reminds us of our ongoing question: isn't it a case of post-performance stress? Does Keifer Sutherland have a hard time letting go of Jack Bauer? After all, he has performed 8 seasons of 24 hours...killing, torturing and saving millions of people in the process. Has violence become so "normal" for him that in real life he has no discernment?
Does he drink because he can't shake the character off? 

Read more articles at:  Ottawa Citizen  
and at Buddytv
and let us know your comments.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Emmanuelle Chaulet and Bridgette Murphy: LATE NITE CONVERSATIONS, a radio show with Allan Holender


Last night Emmanuelle Chaulet was guest on the radio show LATE NITE CONVERSATIONS.
It was a fascinating discussion with actress and speaker Bridgette Murphy, and Allan Holender, author and founder, The Zentrepreneurship Centre (www.zentrepreneurism.com) on emotional balancing, passion, purpose, energy, higher self, and the future of the world ....


To listen to the radio cast:

LOG IN..JOIN IN ...http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Papa-Zen
click on:
LATE NITE CONVERSATIONS WITH ALLAN HOLENDER (Date: May 14, 2009)

A new kind of BlogTalk Radio for a changing world. Author, Futurist and radio personality, Allan Holender mixes his brand of "hot talk" with "cool jazz". Join Allan for some very cool late nite chatter with intelligent optimists and unreasonable people. "All progress depends on the unreasonable man or woman"- George Bernard Shaw. So grab a pillow, your slippers and a glass of wine (optional!) and log in. Your Thursday night will never be the same again!


LINK: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Papa-Zen

JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION....

Thursday, May 7, 2009

SPRING CLEAN YOUR ACTING SELF! Holistic Acting Workhop - Saturday, June 13



Energize: a Holistic Approach to Acting

Introductory workshop with Emmanuelle Chaulet
(for committed actors)
  • The Mind/body/spirit connection,
  • Energy awareness, What are chakras, aura, the Energy system (overview)
  • Applications in acting, bridging inside-out/outside-in approaches,
(lecture and exercises)

with Focus on Post-Performance Blues: Finding closure after the emotional roller-coaster of performance
  • Post-performance stress analysis,
  • post-show closure meditation, visualization
  • character withdrawal.
(lecture and exercises)

WHEN: Saturday June 13, 1 pm-5 pm

WHERE: Dana Warp Mill, Westbrook, Maine.

FEE: $60 /participants (students $50)

Payment required by June 1.

REGISTER NOW: To register email: 

THE BOOK: A BALANCING ACT, the development of Energize a holistic approach to acting will help students go further and retain a lot more of the presented information. $24.95 (Starlight Acting Books 2008)

Starlight Acting Books offer a 10% discount on the book for individual students attending workshops. to get the discount 

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

First Annual Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Conference



April 24 – 26, 2009
Converse Hall, Amherst College, Amherst MA








"From Contemplative Mindfulness to Energy Awareness, the case study of THE 299 “Holistic Acting” at The University of Southern Maine"
presented by F. Emmanuelle Chaulet


Contemplative Mindfulness leads the way to Energy Awareness.
By stilling the mind we can start listening to our energy system signals and understand the world in terms of vibrations and wave patterns that can be cleared, repaired, and aligned for better performance, more energy and peaceful, but powerful goal manifestation.
This opens the doors to infinite possibilities such as concentration sharpening, creativity development, stress reduction and better awareness of world energy patterns. It intensifies spiritual consciousness, activates abundance manifestation, as well as provides tools for a powerful stage presence.


http://www.acmhe.org/events.html#conf

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Friday, March 27, 2009

ANPACT (Association for the New Paradigm in Acting and Creative Techniques) is born!


Emmanuelle Chaulet (Starlight Acting Institute) and Laura Vannah (Bright Star ProductionZ) joined forces to create ANPACT: the Association for the New Paradigm in Acting and Creative Techniques: a networking group discussing the new paradigm currently growing in the performing arts, actor training and acting techniques, including, but not limited to: Spirituality and Acting, Holistic Acting, Energy work, Chakra work, Shamanism, Native American Animal Totem work, Shadow work, Spiritual Gesture, Hypnotism, Breath work, Dream work, Voice Dialogue, Meditation, Contemplative Mindfulness and many more emerging techniques. ANPACT was co-founded by Emmanuelle Chaulet and Laura Vannah

To receive information, start networking and learn about upcoming events, you can join one of the two listserve groups respectively on Facebook or Linkedin:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59421728714#/group.php?gid=59421728714

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1861360&trk=anet_ug_hm

The official website is under construction and hosted at: www.anpact.orgLink

Saturday, February 14, 2009

What's with Zumba?


I started Zumba a few weeks ago and I have to say... I am hooked! and it seems there are more and more women of all ages and shapes in my class every week who are getting hooked too.. The class seems growing like a field of weeds... or rather beautiful rich flowers that love moving and swaying in the sun.... Zumba has taken the world of fitness into a dance spreading like fire...

What is so attractive in Zumba?

I guess Zumba stirs our deepest energies of movement, activates the Flowers of Life of our bodies, and gets the energy circulating fast and furiously, with all these curvy moves and salsa hip circles and rapid, trance-like vibrations.

Zumba brings the feminine out in all its power: the seductive power of pure, joyful, healthy sexual energy, transmuted into vitality, fun, and joy.

The class is filled with giggles, laughs, thrills, excitement, as ladies (and men too.. but in my class they have not shown up yet) move their hips, butts, arms, legs, and cadence on hot, salsa, merengue, and other latino rhythms.

It brings our fire out and burns and releases all the blocks and restraints. Watch out as it releases your power to say no, to express your own views, to ask for what you want and to set your boundaries...

It reclaims our feminine power, our joy, our movement from deep buried past lives, or far away cultures, when, where our body was sacred and not stained by guilt and repressed freedom.

Someone jokingly asked if the Spanish songs of Zumba where 'dirty'. Our instructor justly said: no there is nothing dirty about these songs!.. They are about life, joy, love, sex.. pure joy and freedom of movement in our third dimension body.

Zumba is fun movement, it is tease, it is seduction, it is spicing up your body...


Enjoy,

Happy Valentine's Day!

For a Zumba class near you please visit: Zumba
http://www.zumba.com/us/

Monday, January 26, 2009

KCACTF Region 1 Workshop January 31




1:00-3:00 p.m.
Workshop at KCACTF with Emmanuelle Chaulet
(room Hammerstein-Four Point Sheraton hotel, Leominster MA)
FREE for conference participants.

Post-Performance Blues and Pre-Performance Jitters:
A Balancing Act


Learn how to find emotional balance and true closure after the end of a show. This workshop will assist participants to learn how to keep the character’s strength, protect integrity when playing negative personalities, say goodbye to a character, re-balance the inner self and keep creative balance and energy throughout the roller coaster of a performing artist’s life.
Emmanuelle Chaulet will lead an introductory workshop based on her book A BALANCING ACT.

Photo Jean-Pierre Rousset

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

President Barack Obama's inaugural speech calls for a "Sense of Responsibility"

Here is what A BALANCING ACT calls for actors' sense of responsibility: (page 228)

A Responsibility To The World
© Emmanuelle Chaulet 2008

"From ancient times on, actors have been the ones to give humanity the ability to see, feel, and realize their human condition.
It is now a responsibility for actors to go back to the spiritual aspect of their work. I am talking about the development of a mindset, which will share in the engagement of taking the entire human race toward evolution.

Actors are conduits, channels of energies that go beyond their immediate understanding. They are pure servants to the powerful forces of literature, imagination, and creation. They are like the priests and priestesses of the ancient temples serving the altars of spiritual life for mankind. It is so important that they reconnect with this responsibility right now, because they do not realize how huge their impact on society is. Almost every soul on the planet watches television nowadays, and an enormous percentage of what people watch consists of movies. Movies have become the new religion. People desert churches on Sundays, but faithfully turn on the tube every night to see what’s on and to try to forget the misery of their little lives in front of stories that either show them a better one, or exorcise their deepest fears.

Actors are no longer — and they have never been — insignificant artists that just entertain. They are showing to the entire world ideas, examples, and thought patterns that will fashion the future of humanity. Better than priests, politicians or philosophers, they carry the huge weight of shaping a new society, the one that will make or break world peace. It is crucial that they realize the importance of their role. Windows on humanity and teachers, actors show what the depth of a human soul can hold, and teach what one should or should not do, what kind of consequences decisions can lead to. They enable humans to visualize themselves in a mirror. They permit regular folks to see what is outmoded in their lives. They make people think about, reflect on, and question their condi- tions. They show new and better ways to do things. They denounce
behaviors that are destructive and negative by performing plays on human rights and violence. They lead the way to behaviors that create a better world, with stories showing exemplary courage or compassion. They can teach us about our environment, our history, our connection to the earth and the cosmos. They can lead us to more tolerance and understanding of our differences by showing us other cultures, other religions, other races. They can warn us of dangers that threaten the rest of humanity. They also enact for the rest of us a general catharsis of our deepest wounds, fears, desires and dark sides. Through their intense performances we transcend what we dare not do, or wish we should have done, in real life.

Actors are like spirit guides as they can, through a film or a play, teach us what we have to learn to move ahead in our evolution. Yet, in order to achieve all of this, they must choose the correct
scripts, the ones that will hold insight and positively influence the audience. "

You can read the whole article in A BALANCING ACT.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Daniel Day Lewis on creating and letting go of a role

Posted by the_independens

Full article on Arts and Entertainment

by Chris Sullivan
Excerpt here:
.....

"This preparation, for which Day-Lewis is now notorious, has been the cause of much heated discussion – and some public concern. He crudely tattooed his hands and trained as a real fighter, twice a day, seven days a week, for nearly three years, for The Boxer (1997). His trainer – the former world champion Barry McGuigan, no less – remarked that he could have turned professional.

For In The Name of the Father (1993), he slept in an abandoned jail and ate only prison rations. For The Crucible (1996), he lived in the film set's replica village without electricity or running water and built his character's house with 17th-century tools.

But it was his method work as Bill the Butcher in Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002) that attracted most attention. He trained as a butcher, caught pneumonia while on set (having refused to change his threadbare coat for a warmer one because it hadn't existed in the 19th century), and wandered about Rome (where Gangs was filmed) in character, fighting strangers. "I had to do my preparation," he says with a grin. "And I will admit that I went mad, totally mad. I remembered the days of fighting on the Millwall terraces and they stood me in good stead for Bill the Butcher. He was a bit of a punk, a marvellous character and a joy to be – but not so good for my physical or mental health."

Day-Lewis plays down most of the rumours about his working methods, and is clearly sick to death of hearing them. "For me, it seems obvious, as that is what I do," he stresses, sounding baffled. "And I think, 'Well, if people think it's odd, then what can I do?'"

One soon realises that it is Day-Lewis's quest for perfection that allows him to take on these different roles, these lives, and (apart from his family) that is what he lives for. "You go to these great lengths to imagine another world and time and imagine a man, like Plainview, living in those times – and having spent your imagination on that, it seems more fun to live there all the time than jumping in and out," he says. "That is the playground you've created, so why not stay there and play? It gets rid of that notion of playing between times, which often people talk about – waiting for the next shot. I don't buy that. Whatever you can do to give yourself a sense of continuity can only add to the work.

"I have always been intrigued by these lives I have never experienced. And I love the pure pleasure of doing the work, no matter if that work involves some kind of discomfort – even though I don't see it as that, one just deals with the day-to-day challenges of the character. I do it out of curiosity and I enjoy it. But the way people would have it, it is like a game of self-chastisement and it has never been that way for me – it's all just a big, funny game."

For Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans (1992), the actor was able to prepare for the role of James Fenimore Cooper's 18th-century hero Hawkeye by living off the land for six months, learning how to hunt, fish and skin animals. But where did this jovial, happily married family man find the seething ferocity of Plainview?

"Well, we all have murderous thoughts throughout the day, if not the week," he replies with a wicked glint. "We all live under some repression; we have to, it's part of the deal. And what is more invigorating than to unleash some of that stuff? But I cannot account for where any of this comes from. It comes from the unconscious and I cannot account for what ferments in my unconscious. That part of the work doesn't take part in the conscious; one just hopes there is a cave somewhere in your mind that you can ransack.

"But so much of the work relies on consciously allowing things to emerge in spite of yourself," he adds. "Consciously always looking for the instinctive – that animal part of yourself – and even though somewhere inside you sculpt and organise with some reason, there is always something a little more chaotic going on."

So engrossed was the actor in the role that, when asked how long the shoot was, he answers: "I don't know – maybe 12, 14 weeks. I really couldn't tell you. But the joy about great work is that you are not looking for the finishing line. Quite the opposite. As with all artistic endeavour, you lose yourself; it's like time out of time, a period when I lose myself and the clocks stop."

How do the wife and kids cope with having a father who, for long periods, is someone else? "For There Will Be Blood, my wife and kids were with me throughout," he replies. "And they did go a little bit crazy living with Plainview all the time, but the kids thought it was a laugh in the end to have this different bloke as their dad and both did a pretty decent impersonation of me. My wife is amazingly tolerant. I knew that from the word go. She just believes, like I do, that if you are attempting anything of a creative nature, no rules apply."

One of the hardest things for Day-Lewis is letting go of the characters he has so lovingly created. "Well, absurd as it might seem, when you've been someone else for that amount of time, it's even more absurd when it's all over." He laughs. "Then the joke is on all of us, because once a curiosity is unleashed you can't just tie it up again. It does take time to let go. There is no great part of you that wants to stop doing that work, and no matter how much you're begging for it to stop you need someone to put a restraining order on it."

Luckily for me, on the day we met, Plainview had long since vacated the premises."



View full article here

Friday, January 16, 2009

KCACTF Region I workshop/Saturday January 31. Leominster MA

Saturday January 31, 2009 1-3 pm
Free to conference participants

"Post-Performance Blues and Pre-Performance Jitters: A BALANCING ACT"

In a question and answer format, using participants’ experiences and stories while sharing various case studies from her own coaching practice, Emmanuelle Chaulet will lead a workshop on balancing emotions
and acting, and in particular on pre performance stress and post show closure.
For some actors, characters tend to linger around after the show is over, leaving actors drained and emotionally burnt out. Others have intense stage fright. Using insight from her technique "Energize! a holistic approach to
acting," and her book " A BALANCING ACT," Emmanuelle Chaulet will help participants find emotional balance and true closure after the end of a show. Topics will include: Post Show Blues, saying goodbye to a
character, rebalancing your inner self, keeping the character’s strength, protecting one’s integrity when playing negative personalities, and keeping our creative selves balanced and energized throughout the roller coaster of a performing artist’s life.

FMI go to KCACTF website

ANNOUNCING HOLISTIC ACTING CLASS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE

THE 299: Holistic Acting
(Topics in Theatre) F. Emmanuelle Chaulet

Friday, May 22, 2009 & Friday, May 29, 2009 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 & Saturday, May 30 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 & Sunday, May 31 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

"Going beyond where Michael Chekhov left off..."



Acting as a mind, body and spirit practice

Invaluable tools to rebalance and heal post-performance stress disorder

Cutting edge information about recovering your Highest Creative Self,
the essence of your character and true emotional balance


In this class you will:

• Discover the anatomy of your energetic system (chakras, aura, flower of life, and much more)
• Reach higher levels of creativity and expression with meditation
• Deepen the connection with your character
• Crack the blocks in your way to perform at your highest potential
• Learn post-performance closure techniques
• Regenerate, rejuvenate, refill, and rebalance


Explore this powerful new tool for performing artists!

A BALANCING ACT, the development of Energize! a holistic approach to acting, by F. Emmanuelle Chaulet is the text book required for this course.
Foreword by Lisa Dalton, co-founder of the National Michael Chekhov Association.
Paperback, 330 pages. $24.95 Available at USM bookstores, on Amazon.com, Google books and www.starlightacting.org

The Instructor: F. Emmanuelle Chaulet is Adjunct Theatre Faculty at the University of Southern Maine. An international film actress, director and acting coach, she is the director / founder of Starlight Acting Institute. Lead film roles include “Boyfriends and Girlfriends” by French New Wave master Eric Rohmer; “All the Vermeers in New York” by Jon Jost, 1991 winner of the best American independent film award; and “Sundowning” by Jim Cole, winner of Cinequest Emerging Maverick award. She trained with the Michael Chekhov technique and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York. She studied the energy systems with Nancy Risley, Bernadette Curtis and Lasca Hewes and is a certified RYSE® III practitioner, Reiki practitioner, and Gaiadon Heart facilitator. She has developed a unique method “Energize! a holistic approach to acting,” which is developed in the book “A Balancing Act.” She has been included in “Who’s Who in America” since 2007.

University of Southern Maine Summer Sessions
Gorham campus,
Maine
www.usm.maine.edu/summer

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

NEW REVIEWS on A BALANCING ACT

A Must-Read For All Artistic Minds!,
January 6, 2009
By Katherine G. Matzell (Portland, ME) -
(REAL NAME)
Emmanuelle Chaulet's "A Balancing Act", though geared mostly towards the actor, is a necessary text for all artists. Chaulet's approach to explaining why we go in and out of balance with our lives and the many roles we play reminds us of why we practice our craft in the first place: It is our very human desire to find an interconnectedness and balance between ourselves and the world around us. But actors seek additional connectedness in the world through channeling other characters, which can lead to emotional and spiritual injury. This book provides the reassurance necessary to re-energize the actor that is so easily overloaded by experiences of unhealthy artistic practice. This book stops the artist in his or her tracks to start back at the beginning with a lesson on the well being of the individual.

Chaulet guides the reader through a thorough and detailed explanation of the energetic system and its tremendous role as the powerhouse of the actor. In addition to this complete guide to the energetic system are wonderful stories of her own experiences as a working stage and film actress, and as a mother, daughter and wife. Chaulet takes on the role of the gentle and reassuring teacher in this book, encouraging us to clean up the energy we put out and filter the energy we take in, so that we can create a free-flowing connection with the world that is strong, healthy, and sustainable.

A quick and refreshing read, this book vibrates with the passion and care that Chaulet encourages us to create from our own energetic centers. It was over before I was ready to let go!

(see review on amazon.com)


The Drama Book Shop, Inc.
250 W. 40th St.
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (212) 944-0595
Staff Review



In A Balancing Act, F. Emmanuelle Chaulet clearly and effectively describes her holistic system of combining acting techniques with work on the energetic system within the body. She has been using this approach, which she calls “Energize!” for about twenty years as a teacher working with students; as a director working with actors; and as an actor working on herself. She focuses on the Strasberg [and Michael Chekhov]* technique[s] of acting, so actors trained in this technique would be the most likely to respond to the vocabulary she uses and to the exercises she proposes. As a young actress, Chaulet found that the techniques she was using left her unable to let go of the darker sides of the characters she was portraying, creating an unhealthy imbalance in her life. She discovered that by applying work on the energetic systems to her acting she could approach her craft from a healthier angle. The title of the book refers to balancing all aspects of one’s life and art, including the polarities within the human body, the use of varying acting and movement techniques, and finding balance between one’s life on and offstage. Through simple and precise descriptions of exercises related to acting, energy, and a combination of the two, Chaulet has written a useful and comprehensive book on acting.
The book is essentially divided into four sections. First, there is a brief autobiographical section, focusing on Chaulet’s life as a young actress in France and as a student at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City. Here she describes her problems with the techniques she was studying, and how she came to polarity therapy as a way to deal with the imbalances these techniques had left in her life. In the next section she describes in detail the energy systems working within the body, and how they affect one’s emotions and daily life. She illustrates how important it is to clear the energy system to create room for positive artistic energy, and provides many exercises on how to do this. In the next few chapters she describes how to use her system in combination with different acting techniques, and these chapters make up the bulk of the book. Using a vocabulary that will be familiar to most actors, she describes many exercises in their pure form, and then adjusts them to her system. She starts with the “outside-in” and “inside-out” approaches to finding characters; then discusses the importance of movement to finding characters and objectives; moves on to using her system to clear actors’ blocks such as stage fright and expectations; and finally has a whole chapter dedicated to playing real-life characters. The last section of the book is about letting go of characters after the run of a show and finding balance in one’s day to day life.
Structurally, the book is simple and comprehensive. It is broken up into chapters which are further divided into many small sections, though there is no division between sections and subsections. This can be somewhat confusing. For example, exercises on a particular technique seem to hold the same weight as the description of the technique itself, where there should be some distinction. But other than that, I found the book easy to follow. Chaulet cites diagrams and illustrations when discussing abstract energy systems, making it easy to cross reference her descriptions of colors, lights, images and energy flows with a tangible image. She includes appendices with step by step instructions of the long and short form of the exercises she discusses, lists of action verbs, and various resources for different forms of energy therapy, wellness centers, and acting schools that use energy work. For a book that begins with an apology to the reader for “stylistic peculiarities that will surprise an American reader,” I was in fact surprised at the clarity with which the Energize! technique was presented.
Whether or not the idea of energy and chakras resonates with you, this book presents effective acting tools. Her language is clear and precise, and the vocabulary she uses will be familiar to most actors. Many of the exercises that I learned in grad school and found very effective are presented here in new ways, and described clearly in step by step form. Furthermore, her explanations of the chakras and energy systems are tangible and never come off as ephemeral or wishy-washy. I found her take on some Strasberg and Chekhov exercises fresh and exciting, and some of her original exercises strike me as very useful. She seems to have found healthy and innovative ways of approaching a technique that can be emotionally draining and sometimes harmful. And although some background in energy and visualization work would help to understand some of the theories she explores, she writes simply and elegantly, and any actor with an interest in polarity therapy and the energetic system would find this book very interesting and useful.

*corrected by BalanceYourAct Blog