THE TECHNIQUES

At Actors Studio Stockholm, Artistic Director, JD Glickman has taken the most recognizable actor training techniques and has designed a clear and effective system to serve the actors’ process. One that provides the tools actors need to live spontaneously and do what they really want and need to do; to take actions they never thought they were capable of. Actors Studio Stockholm’s ultimate goal is to get the actor to “free themselves, from themselves.”

To do so, an actor must learn a skill set, develop an approach and always practice their craft. Finding a safe and protected place to work through and really push oneself creatively can be a very challenging task. Actors Studio Stockholm is the place for new and experienced actors alike, who want to blast through their boundaries and take the necessary risks to become a COMPELLING ACTOR – not just a competent one.

The systems and techniques implemented provide a very comprehensive program focused on ACTING. The basis itself in working diligently and tirelessly with the instrument actors use – themselves. Whether you are new to acting, returning after a hiatus or right in the thick of it, an actor, dancer, singer or musical theater artist, Actors Studio Stockholm provides a dynamic and creative environment to practice your craft, get detailed feedback on your work in an open discussion setting and will deepen those respective skills to create in you a more fine-tuned, specific and interesting artist.

Some of the tools (among others) you will work with:

Viewpoint

The Viewpoints method, developed by Anne Bogart and SITI Company, emphasizes the ideas around observation over psychological analysis and focuses on the physical elements – for example, spatial relationships, kinesthetic responses, shape, tempo, and architecture to enhance the actors’ sensory awareness and emotional connections. By reacting to their surroundings and co-actors, each artist can ground their performances in real experiences that are occurring moment to moment on the stage – as they occur. This method sharpens observation skills, allowing for more dynamic and refined storytelling.

Viewpoints can be applied to both individual and group work, offering actors a versatile tool to use throughout their careers. It fosters creativity and deepens an actor’s connection with their body, voice, and environment, helping them craft richer, more expressive performances. By embracing this method, actors will bring a heightened level of precision and physicality to their roles, ultimately driving them to build more engaging and impactful characterizations.

Michael Chekhov

Michael Chekhov, regarded as one of the most uniquely gifted actors of his generation and was best known for creating an highly innovative acting system. The Chekhov approach focuses on the actor as both a physical and psychological being, coining the term “psycho-physical” to describe the harmonious development of the actor’s body and inner life. Chekhov’s method aims to cultivate the actor’s potential by integrating their physical presence with their thoughts, emotions, will and imagination. This technique is founded on creative principles that honor the actor’s whole being, setting it apart from other acting methods through its emphasis on both physical and psychological-spiritual growth.

Chekhov once said that “there was no room for being polite on the stage” and to that point, his system went on to provide a path to unleash the actor’s imagination, enhance their inner action, and break down the barriers to emotional expression. This training allows for bold, original performances that are physically and emotionally expressive, transforming actors into pioneers of the future of theater, what Chekhov said back during his time, would be the “Acting of the 21^st century”. Chekhov’s ideas are captured in his book To The Actor, which director Eugenio Barba praised as one of the best manuals for realistic acting. Chekhovian acting is known for its daring creativity, radiant presence, and truthful characterization. The book was later edited (On The Technique of Acting) by NYU Professor Mel Gordon and Hollywood actress Mala Powers (who worked directly with Michael Chekhov before his death), two of JD Glickman’s mentors when he studied and instructed at NYU and The Michael Chekhov Studio – Los Angeles. Chekhov’s system ultimately reached Hollywood, as it proved to be a very powerful system for film/tv acting; where he taught well-known actors of the time, Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Quin, Gregory Peck and Beatrice Straight – another instructor JD Glickman studied with – to name a few.

Meisner

Where as Michael Chekhov said there was no room for politeness on the stage, Meisner gave this a more contemporary flare when he said point blank “F%#K POLITE”. The Meisner technique is a world renown system structured around improvisations designed to develop an actor’s concentration, imagination, and instinctive responses to achieve “the reality of doing” in performance. Sanford Meisner believed that great acting is rooted in emotional impulses and instinct and not intellectual thought. His key exercise, spontaneous repetition, helps actors respond impulsively to stimuli around them, fostering natural and truthful reactions.

Meisner’s approach trains actors to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances” by creating meaningful points of view and expressing genuine emotions. As Robert Duvall remarked, Meisner taught him that acting is about creating behavior that brings emotional depth to the text. The Meisner technique is detailed in Sanford Meisner on Acting.

Lee Strasberg

Lee Strasberg, a pioneer of Method Acting, focused on emotional authenticity and deep character immersion by drawing on personal experiences. His technique, inspired by Stanislavski, encourages actors to use sense memory or sensory experiences to connect with their character’s inner life. This allows actors to evoke genuine feelings and reactions on stage or screen.

Strasberg emphasized relaxation and concentration exercises to help actors release tension and remain fully present in their roles. His goal was to help actors internalize their characters and live truthfully under imaginary circumstances. His teachings, widely adopted in American acting, are most famously practiced at the Actors Studio and outlined in works like A Dream of Passion. Strasberg’s method became synonymous with actors like Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) and Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream), known for their emotionally raw performances. JD Glickman studied with Tony Greco for many years, who was Strasberg’s youngest student to ever study with him.

Uta Hagen

Uta Hagen’s technique focuses on creating authenticity in performance by encouraging actors to deeply understand their characters’ circumstances and inner life. Her approach emphasizes the importance of substitution, where actors replace their character’s experiences with similar events from their own lives to generate truthful emotions.

Hagen believed that actors must live in the moment and make genuine, spontaneous choices on stage.Central to her method is the idea of transference, where actors identify with their character by aligning their own thoughts and feelings with those of the role. She also stressed the importance of objective, where actors focus on their character’s goals and motivations in every scene. Hagen’s work, especially as outlined in her book Respect for Acting, is a powerful tool for creating deep, honest performances rooted in personal experience and emotional truth.

Stanislavskij

The Stanislavski method, developed by Konstantin Stanislavski, is a foundational system for realistic acting that emphasizes psychological and emotional truth in performance. Stanislavski believed that actors should fully immerse themselves in their characters by drawing from their own personal experiences and emotions. His technique encourages actors to ask deep questions about their characters’ motivations, objectives, and inner lives, which leads to authentic, believable performances.

Key elements of the method include the magic “what-if”, where actors play themselves and imagine what they would do if they were in their character’s given circumstances. In addition, his core questions of “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why” and “how” would forever be cemented into all of the systems as one of the most important places to begin. Stanislavski’s approach is a blend of psychological analysis and physical action, helping actors create rich, layered portrayals. His work laid the groundwork for many modern acting techniques, making it a cornerstone in acting training worldwide. Michael Chekhov was his premier student early on in Chekhov’s career.

Clown och Mask

This technique is a dynamic approach to performance that emphasizes the exploration of exaggerated physicality and emotional expression through two contrasting forms: the clown and the mask. In clowning, actors discover their most authentic selves by embracing vulnerability, playfulness, and failure, allowing for uninhibited expression and connection with the audience. The clown persona thrives on spontaneity and open emotional responses, making it an ideal tool for breaking down barriers between actor and audience.

Mask work, on the other hand, focuses on physical transformation and the creation of characters through movement rather than dialogue. When wearing a mask, actors must rely entirely on their body to communicate, which sharpens their physical awareness and expressivity. Together, the Clown and Mask technique helps actors expand their emotional and physical range, encouraging creative freedom and deepening their ability to inhabit characters in bold, expressive ways.

Guerrilla Film Block

The purpose of the course is for students to apply the skills and tools introduced in all acting technique courses and apply them to film. Through previous exercises and stage studies, we will expand each actor’s range of emotional, intellectual and physical resources as well as their relationship to characterization in terms of staging, sound, lighting and camera. Students will act, direct, edit and produce their own short film productions.

After completing the course, the student must be able/have:

Apply learned acting techniques in front of the camera

Understand the differences between stage and film acting

Demonstrate full-frame, half-frame and close-up shooting skills

Demonstrate skills regarding “scene blocking” in front of the camera, subtitles and reactions

Experience in using the creative tools the student learned in previous acting technique courses and the exploration of these within the medium of film

Experience in developing and deepening artistic as well as technical aspects of the filmmaking process

Development of skills in storytelling techniques for film

Basic understanding of collaborating within a film team with producer, director and photographer

Experience of cinematic design and participating in a film shoot