Milikin Student Blog Post: Specificity Elicits Creativity
/“This is my favorite concept of the Margolis Method, and in many ways the overarching purpose of what the Method means to me. Boiled down to the simplest terms, this short phrase reminds us to take all of the guesswork out of acting.
Although it may make logical sense to believe that the broader the acting choice the broader the array of audience members it can affect, this week has really made me take the time to stop and consider how much the opposite is true. While I always aim to specify each choice, I have further realized how simple it is to make an ambiguous choice and how often actors neglect to specify each action using his or her entire bodymind.
Personally, I struggle to manifest each choice in my body. While I am confident in my ability to make clear intellectual choices, these choices often lose their specificity when I am unsure of how to successfully physicalize them. Clearly connecting mind+body+emotion+movement+text by way of the Margolis technique provides me with a tangible way of acting that I can continue to develop and practice. Choices can only become clearer.
After all, as Kari says, a musician can use specific scales and exercises to practice his or her skillset as can a dancer—why not an actor? By using exercises targeted to train the actor’s body, the Margolis Method trains the actor to make clear and unambiguous choices.”