By:  Lisa Dalton 

PART 1 

The Psychological Gesture is an amazing acting tool developed by the great Russian actor, director and teacher, Michael Chekhov.  (1891 to 1955.)  Designed to get the actor instantly into character, the Psychological Gesture is used today by many great actors such as Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Depp.    

Mr. Chekhov was deeply admired by Stanislavsky, Meisner, Strasberg, Adler and Hagen and many thought his brilliant acting was un-teachable genius.  He believed otherwise and dedicated his life to developing and inspiring genius in other actors.  Stanislavsky’s final development in the Method, “The Method of Physical Actions”, was inspired by Chekhov’s belief that the path to great acting was through the physiology.  Today, most actors training in the United States relies on changing only the psychology of the actor.  Highly mystical at the time, Michael Chekhov believed in the mind-body connection and took the psychological approach and married it to full-bodied gesture to create:  The Psychological Gesture. 

What is the Psychological Gesture?

If we define gesture to mean a movement that has intention, we could say that the Psychological Gesture is a movement that expresses the psychology of the character.  Chekhov defines the psychology to consist of the thoughts, feelings and will of a human being.  Hence, the PG is a physical expression of the thoughts, feelings and desires of the character, incorporated into one movement.  You can liken it to a moving logo, like the Nike logo, which captures the essence of Nike in one image. 

So, in one movement, the PG awakens the essence of the character in you thus aligning your thoughts, feelings and will (objective) with that of the character.  When this happens, your walk, your expressive mannerisms, your voice and line delivery are all inspired by one moving image.  You perform the gesture prior to your scene to trigger your artistic nature.  While in the scene, if your inspiration weakens, you simply envision the gesture in your imagination as you are acting and it will revitalize you. 

How do you find the right Psychological Gesture?

There may be times when the image of the PG appears to you as soon as you read the script, or storyboard.  This spontaneous inspiration will occur often when you have trained your body, mind and voice to respond to each other.  When the intuitive process doesn’t happen, there are a couple of other ways. 

One path created by Chekhov is called, “Leading Questions”, in which you cultivate your imagination by asking questions.  Your imagination will respond instantly and your body will begin to express the movement in small ways before you can even verbalize your answers. 

For example:  if you are playing a villain, you might begin by asking what it is your character desires.  Power?  Okay, how do you go about getting power?  By dominating?  Okay, what is a physical movement that dominates?  Pressing down.  Now, your first practice with PG:  Start with your hands as high as possible and press them down against an imaginary resistance.  Picture the character’s opponents as you press down to the floor.  Add to the press a quality:  rage, frustration, sinister, conniving, fear, etc.  Try different qualities until you feel the quality and desire to dominate in every cell of your being.  If you need further help… 

Stay tuned for part two to learn more about how to create an effective Psychological Gesture.  Feel free to email with questions.  info@chekhov.net.  And, visit the website:  www.chekhov.net

Lisa Dalton is a well known acting coach and master teacher of the Michael Chekhov Technique. She is an award winning narrative and documentary film, video and a stage director/producer who heads up the  Chekhov Connection. Lisa works closely with the Secret Rose Theatre(current director of Of Mice and Men-now extended) in NOHO, where she offers a Master Scene Study and the Chekhov Foundation Intensive. Free Audit Feb 21 and Mar. 21.