Words, words, words with Rebecca Poole, M.F.A.

Description

“…knowledge concerned with sensory experience cannot be conveyed by the written or spoken word so that it means to the recipient what it means to the person trying to convey it…” 

-“Preface to New Edition [1941],” 

The Use of the Self Join us for this discussion of personal experiences with and AT solutions to performing arts words that make you go “hmm??” The language used to instruct performing artists is notoriously vague, end-gaining, and confusing. A performer’s ability to recognize and translate result-oriented jargon into an achievable “means-whereby” is a necessary skill, one that typically remains unaddressed in performing arts curricula. AT teachers have the opportunity and ability to address this knowledge gap. We can coach the performer toward developing their own reliable “translator:” We can facilitate their ability to make personal, embodied connections that are repeatable (without being fixed). The performer’s investigations of language via AT can become tools that feed discovery and skill throughout their creative processes. And since wellness industries co-opt performing arts lingo (and vice-versa), the ability to navigate this language is valuable for any student in the business or fitness worlds. 

Rebecca Poole (M.F.A.), is a 2006 graduate of the Dimon Institute (NYC, NY) who comes to AT from a professional dance and theatre background as well as out of a need to understand and solve her chronic back pain (success!). She first encountered Alexander Technique as a graduate student in Acting at Trinity Repertory Conservatory (Providence, RI) in 1994. She remains passionate about passing on the Alexander Technique as an empowering, common-sense tool and skill that can help anyone who wishes to learn it and is willing to put it to use. She currently teaches privately in NYC and in Northeast Ohio. A member of AEA, VASTA, and AmSAT, she will complete her Lessac Kinesensics facilitator training and Michael Chekhov teacher certification in June 2025. She remains grateful for the presence of AmSAT and its work in the world. NYAlexanderTechnique.com OhioAlexanderTechnique.com