The Courage to Feel

What can acting learn from ritual? I sit down with Christopher Fuelling — theater director, tenor, and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans physical theater, ritual, and immersive performance — for a conversation about what happens when performance becomes a deeply embodied experience instead of something we just watch. We talk about Meyerhold's biomechanics and the otkaz/stoika principles, his Atlantis production that opened with "everything we're about to tell you is complete bullshit we made up," Boal's critique of Aristotelian catharsis, and the ethical question at the center of his work: does your ritual expand agency, or concentrate it in the hands of the people who wrote it? We close with three communal breaths. Find Christopher here: Teatro Korazon — teatrokorazon.org The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system. Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack. If you're an actor looking to develop your own process, I'm now offering 1:1 acting coaching and self-tape feedback. Learn more at BrianZane.com. If you'd like to support the show, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/brianzane.

What happens when actors try too hard to get it right? I sit down with Madeleine Hutchins — actor and acting teacher, whose career has taken her from the West End and national tours to New York and international theatre — for a conversation about what she actually does when an actor gets stuck in self-consciousness, and why the fix is almost always physical rather than verbal. We talk about working with legendary director Sir Peter Hall, the discovery of "no acting acting" in Anthony Meindl's workshop, and a closing practice for regulation and presence.

Can an actor be calm, regulated, and still emotionally unavailable?

What if sexual energy and creative energy are connected?

What happens when two podcast hosts exploring the same territory finally sit down and compare notes? I'm joined by Amy Schloerb, host of The Aligned Actor, for a conversation about mindfulness, presence, and what actually gets in the way of actors staying grounded. We talk about being comfortable "in the shit," why pretending you don't want something is usually a sign you want it badly, and why acknowledging a hard feeling is often the fastest way through it. We also try something new on the show — a live, unscripted improv exercise, right in the middle of the conversation — plus a demonstration of a technique for interrupting exhausting, repetitive thoughts. The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system.