TBC Enterprises
The ME Literacy Project
What actors know that the rest of the world doesn't yet.
Actors Have Been Using These Tools for Over a Century. So Why Isn't Everyone Else?
I am making the argument that we should be using modern-day acting tools and techniques to teach all people how to use their minds and emotions more effectively. I can support this position by presenting scientific work done across the United States of America in small pockets that have produced data, which concurs with what I am saying.
According to our world's best mind scientists, the human brain is the most powerful supercomputer known to humankind. I am presenting that we should be using acting tools and techniques as a base operating system for that supercomputer, like MS Windows, or Linux Redhat. These tools and techniques will allow the common person an easier way to interface with their mind and emotions more effectively.
Over the last little more than a century, acting has changed. It evolved with a gentleman named Konstantin Stanislavski. It is no longer about pretending or representing, it is about being, becoming. Becoming a different human being, mentally and emotionally. Consider the marble actors use to create their work. The human mind and emotions. Stanislavski and the masters who came after him all created the "chisels, scrapers, hammers" and other tools needed to do this.
Here is the rub — we as human beings don't have a mind and emotions for entertainment and one for real life. Ipso Facto, these tools and techniques can be used by anyone to grow and develop themselves as a human being in any direction they choose.
Seven Questions That Can Ground You in Any Moment
These tools and techniques teach actors how to use REAL emotions in imaginary circumstances. How to build and use a REAL working mindset to live truthfully on the stage. Well the question becomes — why are we working so much harder to build imaginary people than real people? Why aren't we giving these emotion regulation tools to elementary school kids before they get hit by the emotional tribulation of adolescence?
As for how to think about the moment we are in — the Stanislavski System is seven questions that dissect the moment. Their purpose is to ground the actor's character in the moment. In life, these questions can ground our own personal character in the moment.
Who am I?
The moment in relation to you.
Where am I?
The moment in relation to the environment.
When is it?
The moment in relation to time.
What do I want?
The moment in relation to purpose.
Why do I want it?
The moment in relation to desire.
How do I get it?
The moment in relation to action.
What's in my way?
The moment in relation to obstacles.
This is giving a real answer to the platitude that kids are given. "Make good choices." "Think before you act." "Don't be stupid." I heard them all growing up — but it took Stanislavski for me to understand how to make choices in the moment in a calculated way. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are multiple techniques.
The Life Skills Hidden in Plain Sight
This is a short list of the soft skills that are learned either directly through the actor's work or as a byproduct of doing the work. These aren't just acting skills — these are life skills that rarely get taught in such a systematic, proven way.
The world doesn't realize it yet — but this is an untapped gold mine of potential. When we gave the world written literacy through language, it changed the world. When we gave the world numerical literacy through mathematics, it changed the world. Why wouldn't giving humanity mental and emotional literacy through the tools of the actor and improviser do the same?
The Knowledge Is There. Are You Ready?
This isn't a theory. This is a call to action.
The knowledge exists. The tools exist. The science backs it up. What's missing is the will to look in an unexpected place for a world-changing answer.
I've spent years studying, practicing, and teaching these techniques, and I've seen what happens when people start using them. The insecurities shrink. The soft skills sharpen. The person you've always wanted to be starts to feel less like a character and more like a reality.
The theater kids had it right all along. It just took the rest of the world a little longer to catch up.