Text-no text-text method

Within rehearsal we have been utilising the Text-no text-Text method, established by Mike Alfreds. The method is, in my opinion, highly effective, however there are some drawbacks to using it. The method itself is fairly straight forward: we read the a scene from the play, usually in chronological order, then repeat the scene without the script in our hands, instead using our memories and our improvisation skills, to re create the scene. We then go back to the text to re-do the scene and the move onto the next one.

I feel that the advantages of this method are that, it helps develop a sense of muscle memory for that particular scene, which gives actors a better sense of their characters physicality; by improvising as them it makes it easier to move as them. I also think that this applies to the memory of the scenes key points as well, again making it easier to remember the venue and the lines, and also making it easier to improvise the scene in case something goes wrong onstage.

The downside to this exercise, however is that some actors may feel that it is more of a memory test than an improvisation, due to the given circumstances being so restricted. This makes the improvisation feel forced and therefore unhelpful. This ultimately, makes the entire exercise useless to the actor and the production.

Therefore, I feel that, although the exercise is extremely useful, this exercise should be used when the actor has fully understood their given circumstances, preferably further into the process but not too late into it.