Tapping Into Your Imagination: The Workshop

On June 27, the local conservatory hosted a workshop with Bobby Weinapple, who focused on the use of the imagination as the primary means for performers to connect emotionally. Participants took part in warmup exercises intended to make them aware of how being internally distracted can prevent a performer from being in the moment and, conversely, how being focused on an intention can put a performer in the moment and keep them there.
 
The use of the imagination as a technique was compared to the substitution technique where a performer takes a personal experience similar to the one being experienced by their character and uses it as a means of embodying the role they’re responsible for playing. Participants learned the substitution technique is not without risk. Potential issues include sustainability of the substitution technique and the potential for clashes between the scripted experience of the character and the substitute experience being used by the performer. 

Participants gave examples of times when they have had difficulty using imagination as a technique, giving everyone the opportunity to hear other experiences and gain valuable insight during the workshop. Members expressed appreciation for the workshop and the conservatory intends to hold this workshop again in the future.

Photo: Member participants gather at Phoenix Theater in San Francisco for the June 27 conservatory workshop titled Tapping into Your Imagination – Tools for Connecting Emotionally as an Actor.