Excerpts from my Journal at the Lessac 2007 Intensive

As I have been applying for grants to continue studying Lessac Kinesensic Training in 2008 I found this document in which I've typed in some of my discoveries from the 2007 Intensive. I am happy to share these experiences to give people a greater sense of both my experience of the work, and also the method itself as an experiential process. Any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a line! Enjoy!

“The idea that “breath is easy” is like a whole amazing world – it always gets over taught, I have spent so much of my training TRYING to breathe right, yet the simple idea of smelling a flower unlocks the tensions and judgements that are imposed when you “learn how to breathe”. It is a HUMAN PROCESS. We can all do it, we just don’t always do it well, or rather, we don’t let ourselves do it well.”

“This work touches on so much of what I have done, but is so much more accessible. I love that it isn’t being presented as a puzzle that I have to figure out. The work, to me, explains itself and it is truly relative to anyone. I am excited that it is going to extend me in so many ways.”

“Everything I have been addressing within myself within these past 6 months is manifesting in this work. The philosophies and self-realisations that I have been establishing are explored by this work in a fantastically synergistic way.”

“I was worried earlier that this work would be difficult to take back to Australia, but the more I think about it, actually, the more I experience it, the less concerned I am about it. The work justifies itself and that is what is so amazing about it – it is instant. And it is instant because the building blocks exist within you, the method just helps you find them and channel them.”

“It is so enriching to discover a new way of working”

“we don’t need to “break” our habits, we want to transform them into another kind of energy. To create something positive out of something potentially damaging. It can be likened to when you watch a performer who is 100% totally committed to their moments on stage, that every part of them down to their toes is engaged in what they are doing. This would be the optimal situation for an actor/performer. When one part of them is moving or not moving, out of tune, with the rest of their performance, their focus and awareness cannot possibly be 100% engaged in the act they are performing. Thus this awareness and perception idea is vital to developing actors and performers who are 100% IN THE MOMENT.”

“LACK OF FOCUS (however minimal)
Becomes
TOTAL FOCUS (through an awareness and transformation into positive helpful energy)
This brings up so many things about performers self confidence, body image, social image and how these things can potentially damage a performers ability if they aren’t transformed into new, positive “habits” of feeling good about oneself, trusting oneself etc. This paves the way for so much more potential development and extension.”

“An instrument cannot change its size or shape – it is not pliable – the human voice is pliable and changeable – it grows it changes all the time, it is constantly in changing states.”

“You have more control through feeling than you do through thinking and listening”

“So much of what I (and the rest of society) do or have done is because of the need to “look good” in the eyes of other people. Regardless of whether it “feels” good, we rely on the external perception of good at the expense of actually feeling good physically and mentally” ((not realising that if we feel good above everything else, we look good anyway!!))

“In the same way that a teenagers voice and expression is camouflaged because they are protecting themselves, so too is the way they dress and move. This lasts! If they don’t ever find a sense of freedom in WHAT FEELS GOOD, they can only ever work with what they have taught their bodies and voices to do. That isn’t fair!!! Everyone should be able to feel good.”

“It is not a competition as to which experience is most important, a piano can play Beethoven or chopsticks and whoever is playing it still hears and feels the music, whether they are learning or are an expert. Every experience has a place to go and be and have time and have “its moment” of focus or stage time. Just because that moment ends, it doesn’t mean that the experience is gone. Just because the song is over it doesn’t mean it was never played or heard. The memory of it and the sensation it invoked remain and will always exist somewhere.”

“This work enhances the perceived possibilities, it makes you develop as a person and therefore as an actor/singer/performer. It must be within you before you can send it out.”

“each tiny process e.g. “energy qualities are physically felt and perceived, then tuned and used for creative expression”, keeps radiating like a blossoming flower into bigger versions of itself. It’s like a chain reaction growing and strengthening.”

““holistic unifiers” so that everything is working as one, complementary to itself and its environment – like swimming or moving through water – you cannot isolate or you will sink or go in circles, you must have a synchronicity within yourself to maintain flotation and continual movement.”
“I have been stuck as a singer, listening to myself without realising. The notion of it “feeling good” is not part of how I sing, granted if it feels bad I stop and remedy it so it doesn’t feel bad, but to actively seek feeling good, that is such an essential realisation!!”

“everyone makes a sound differently, everyone makes all sound differently, this exploration gave choices in the pathway of discovering sound/vibration”

“This exploration was… an excellent way to explore creating sounds and would be a great way to work with people with speech problems or to workshop an accent”

“so many people will make the sounds in different ways, and this… opens up choices – what works best for you in your accent in your vocal make up and how do you “feel good” in the optimum way within that sound…. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY AND EVERY WAY HAS ITS PLACE.”

“this work creates an habitual awareness rather than a new set of habits”

“It’s exciting to have a framework and a working vocabulary for the stuff I have come to do in my own personal development. Its also helpful to be able to taper or streamline and detail that process with different ways to “link”. These rules or guides are a great tool in refining and detailing speech. Once this stuff becomes ingrained I can’t wait to feel that amazing!!! I have always enjoyed singing and speaking. Now I will be able to enjoy them all the time, not just when I’m working up to and on a show – getting my voice “back in shape” – it is always in shape, I need to coax it out of shape and into new shapes where it can feel good in different ways”

“now I can approach exploration with a new intention – TO FEEL GOOD rather than TO MAKE IT BETTER or GET IT RIGHT. That is so VITAL!”

An Article/Interview from the Youth Performing Arts site

This article was published on the YPA website www.youngperformers.com.au

YPA interviewed Aimee Blesing, a graduate of the WA Academy of Performing Arts, Acting course (2003), about her first hand experiences with Lessac Kinesensic Training.

The search for a holistic element
“I have always been fascinated by the voice and have taught voice, acting and dialect in various forms for several years. I found out about Lessac Kinesensic Training purely by chance. In order to further my knowledge in the fields of voice and movement, I started searching on the internet for international training courses that had a holistic element. The more I read about Kinesensic Training, the more apparent it became to me that this was the method I was looking for. I was yet to discover how right I was. ”

What is Lessac Kinesensic Training?
It is defined on the official website as, ‘unique in its holistic, comprehensive and creative approach to all aspects of developing the body and the voice, for speech and singing and as creative instruments of communication, behaviour and perception. Kinesensic training is a self-teaching, sensory-based process based on feeling the way the human body functions naturally when it is free of adverse conditioning. It then uses those physical sensations to identify, produce and voluntarily control the voice and body."It is a methodology that works from the notion that all energy is connected intrinsically. It allows exploration and understanding of our inner and outer environments so that we are better able to manage the way we function in performance and every day.”

Lessac Summer Intensive Workshop
“In June/July 2007 I spent four weeks at the Lessac Summer Intensive Workshop in Greencastle, Indiana, USA. One of my teachers was the methodology’s creator, Arthur Lessac, a truly remarkable and inspirational man. It was an experience that has given me direction for the rest of my career. I plan to continue studying the method until I am a Certified Trainer and can introduce the method formally to the Australian performance industry.The methodology is a true testament to human potential. It is comprehensive, encompassing, accessible, respectful of cultural and individual uniqueness, unjudgemental, uplifting and empowering. It has opened my eyes, ears, hands, toes, arms, legs, and everything else to things I never believed I would be able to achieve. Vocally, I have never experienced such rapid development in a healthful way, with no strain or tension, and exhilarating results – I never thought speaking and singing could feel so good! One of my journal entries from the Intensive reads - “It is so nice to do hours of vocal work and still feel GOOD – not fatigued. I love this feeling, like my flesh is floating on my facial structure – it’s like... a perpetual massage from inside” – and this is how vocal work should feel. It should be enjoyable, light, delicate, precise, and feel good. That is the most important lesson I learnt during my time at Greencastle. Find what feels good, find your way through what feels good – and I don’t mean just what you like, I mean what truly feels uplifting and free – and you will come through a better equipped and more flexible performer. That is the crux of healthful functioning.”

What are the benefits?
“Performers need to be in optimal condition both during performance and in between performance employment. LKT enables constant discovery and physical and vocal excellence. Tony Award winning actor Frank Langella is trained in the method, and swears by its benefits. Having seen him in live performance, I was astounded at how masterfully he utilises the technique, and how extraordinary his results are. You can read more about his performance in ‘Frost Nixon’ on my blog page”

Be a walking Stradivarius
“Our bodies are precious, intricate tools that ninety percent of the time we tend to ignore, argue with, and even abuse. But what we need to remember is that our body is a precious instrument that we must keep finely tuned. Arthur Lessac draws the comparison between the human body and the Stradivarius (most precious violin in the world) – your body is as precious as a Stradivarius, if not more so. Would you subject this precious instrument to the treatment you administer to your own body? Would you play your instrument untuned, leave it in a dusty cupboard, force it to play before you were warmed up, all the while knowing its rarity, worth, and potential? No, you would not. So why then do we subject our body to hours of torture and pain, and then get angry with it when it is injured, tired, or unable to perform? This is not to say that you must tread on eggshells. A beautiful instrument, unplayed, remains nothing more than an ornament. Its true beauty is revealed when it is played well, with passion, love and skill. Our body should be the same. Treat it with respect, love and care, show it what it can do, extend its capabilities through gentle guidance and fine tuning, and you will have an instrument that is more precious, incredible and capable than anything else. I don’t need to tell you that as a performer, your body is your most useful tool, indeed, your only tool. Treat it well, treat it kindly, and you will be a walking Stradivarius.”

The Work in Action

Yesterday I saw a production of a play called Frost Nixon which starred Tony Award winning and Lessac trained actor, Frank Langella. The play was exceptional. The entire cast created a show that was superb to watch, all transitions were seamless, all characters fully formed and detailed and colourful. It was truly awe inspiring, after having completed the Lessac Summer Intensive so recently, to see Frank Langella utilising his Lessac training, probably completely unconsciously by now, with such phenomenal results.

When you train in any technique, especially early on, you are constantly asking questions, you should be constantly asking questions, and I found that my experience of the Lessac training was certainly like this. There are parts of the work that, because it is new to me and I have not yet fully grasped everything, I am curious to play further with, to explore the usefulness of these different elements in performance and also everyday. Seeing Frank Langella create a perfectly formed character, with all its natural imperfections and flaws, knowing of his Kinesensic training, made me realise just how valuable and extensively useful Lessac training can be.

Let it be understood that I never have at any stage doubted the usefulness of the method, from the very beginning of the training I felt an innate connection with the work, and as I have previously described, experienced changes within myself physically and emotionally that I have been in search of for a long time. But seeing a veteran actor, of the calibre of Mr Langella, put to use so fluidly and seamlessly the work which I have just been introduced to, has inspired me even more to pursue this line of training.

I feel that at this point in my career, it is vital for me to maintain my adventurous spirit, my need to seek new knowledge. I am truly excited at the prospect of continuing the Lessac Kinesensic training and feel like the universe is making this decision I have made even more concrete by placing in my life events such as Frost Nixon. This is a very exciting time for me and I look forward to being able to share this experience with my fellow Australian actors when I return from my overseas trip.

Lessac Training, June-July 2007

My recent training in the Lessac Kinesensic voice and body work has been life changing. I have never before come into contact with a method that is so unique and so at one with explorations and discoveries I myself have been making in recent years. The Lessac training is a life skill - it is not reserved exclusively for actors but can be utilised by anyone in any profession, at any age, as a tool for personal development and vocal and physical strength and ease.

Whilst at the intensive, I was taught by Master Teachers Nancy Krebs and Deb Kinghorn, and also by the creator of the method, Arthur Lessac. Barry Kur, Certified Trainer, conducted a seminar on accent and dialect work as well, another area of great interest for me (see photo above left, L-R Nancy, Deb, Arthur, Barry). This experience was incredible. Having the most qualified trainers of Kinesensic Training teaching and extending us was truly a gift, and is something I will never forget. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to have worked with Arthur himself, who at the age of 97 is a true testament to his work. He taught and demonstrated both the voice work and the body work with amazing skill and detail, and is without a doubt one of the kindest, most humble and giving people I have ever met. His sense of adventure and play, a critical element of the work, is admirable, and helped to ensure that all participants were, at all times, seeking new and exciting discoveries within themselves with a sense of play and carefreeness.
(photo right, myself and Arthur Lessac)



As an example of the amazing functionality of this work, I was astounded at how much tension was released in my body after the 4 weeks of training. Measurements were taken of all participants on the first and last days of the course. On the first day my shoulder to shoulder (across back) measurement was 15 inches. I had a lot of tension when I arrived at the training, and was having difficulty with neck and shoulder tension. On the last day my measurement was 18 inches across the same part of my back - a 3 inch change. My shoulder tension is almost completely gone and I feel more capable of physical activity than I have ever felt. All my other measurements had increased by at 1-2 inches also, an indication of the efficiency of this training for the release of tension and the increase of mobility and strength. Vocally, my voice dropped into my body like I have never felt before. I could feel the transition in the first and second weeks as my voice re-navigated its way through the resonating areas of my body. It was truly an incredible sensation to find a new musicality and ease in my voice, especially after having had such a lot of vocal training previously. It goes to show how intrinsically connected I feel to the Kinesensic Training.

I plan to return to study at the intensive in 2008, with a view to becoming a certified practitioner of Lessac Kinesensic Training. I plan to incorporate into my teaching elements of the training that I have a clear understanding of and that I feel I can utilise to great effect in my own students.

This work is incredible, and should be available to all people searching for ease, comfort, vocal and physical strength, and an improved lifestyle, and I intend to be able to offer those things to my students now and into the future.