affetive memory/improvisation technique- Lee Starsberg

Performer’s (imagery and Action) Concept and Technique

Lee Strasberg (November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American actor, director,

Improvisation and "affective memory"

- affective memory technique focuses the actor on remembering a situation I all of its vivid, sensory details, which evokes a rich nexus of images , then facilitates a feeling response ; this build directly on thaw actor’s practice in concentrating or physical and internal objects.

- teaching at the Actors Studio Strasberg explained the importance of improvisation and the central concept of "affective memory:" the "process of contacting one’s memories of emotions in order to channel them into a role." Affective memory originated with Stanislavski, was nurtured by Richard Boleslavski, Strasberg’s teacher at the American Laboratory Theatre in the 1920s, and was further refined by Strasberg. Acting historian Jeremy Butler writes, "Strasberg divides "affective memory" into the recall of sensations (sights, sounds, smells, and so on) and that of feelings (horror, sadness, pleasure, and so on.) The actor, he explains, uses the former, his or her sense memory, to stimulate the latter, his or her emotional memory, which can then be used in the context of a particular character." The Method, Strasberg states, is "the procedure by which the actor can use his "affective memory" to create a reality on stage."
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- According to Don Bigsby, in The Cambridge History of American Theatre, "Strasberg was a scientist of acting, fascinated by the mysteries of the actor’s quest for true emotion. And in a technique called affective memory, … Strasberg believed he had found a reliable aid for achieving it. … What Strasberg prized about the technique was that the actor would be using true emotion – his own reawakened real-life feelings – to color and deepen his performance. . . Maintaining that the technique was the surest way of achieving the style of psychological realism the Group was searching for, Strasberg placed it as the foundation of his work."
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- The purpose of "affective memory" is to release emotions on stage. Strasberg states:
- "The basic idea of affective memory is not emotional recall but that the actor’s emotion on the stage should never be really real. It always should be only remembered emotion. An emotion that happens right now spontaneously is out of control – you don’t know what’s going to happen from it, and the actor can’t always maintain and repeat it. Remembered emotion is something that the actor can create and repeat: without that the thing is hectic."
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For Strasberg, affective memory is the basic element of the actor’s reality. In particular, it draws out the emotions from the past that are ingrained in one’s mind and body:

- "The emotional value of the experience may have changed. However, by attempting a lot of affective memories, the actor gradually obtains a stock of memories that are permanent and become easier to invoke as he continues to use them. … The significance lies in the fact that the actor becomes emotionally available, prepared to respond instantly and expressively with feelings and passions."



Note: Evaluation ( Acting performance: Dress as if your skin/ Object and body interaction / How to utilize the object in drawing out development of acting/character)