Patsy Rodenburg speaks about "The Second Circle" at Michael Howard Studios in NYC. For more information about Patsy's classes, visit www.michaelhowardstudios.com
i can just listen to her talk forever and ever. THIS is real sustaining of audience attention. not the tricks that some UA-camrs pass around on how to 'keep their audience glued' - all just editing tricks but without providing any real value- they are destroying our focus, and changing the way our brains work. THIS is really the power of many years of solid training.
It's interesting she talks about hating cruelty on the part of teachers. In one of her books, she relates how she defended an acting student who had physically attacked a teacher who had been bullying him to breaking point. The teacher was an educated, erudite individual, while the student, although highly talented, had a more emotional intelligence. But the teacher did everything he could to make him feel stupid, until in the end the student lost it completely. The student was kicked out of the school, and Ms Rodenburg chose to leave as a result.
"It is the circle of equality" Probably the most profound 10 minutes you'll ever watch. The ideas in this can sustain you for a long time and not just in the performing arts.
Twice, I've worked with dear Patsy and she opens our eyes and hearts to the now of words, theater, acting, speech, emotion and art which is our humanity that evolves and unites us as people. A brilliant teacher full of zest.
I've liked this video for a long time, but her point about First Circle being about "the past" eluded me for a long time. I think I've finally figured out why: All I know about "the past" is my experience. Everyone has a past, but I'm not aware of any details but my own. Its important; it matters. The "moment before" is essential to starting a scene, but carrying it forward is all that matters in a performance and that depends on "Second Circle".
+CBV123 If I'm right about the 'circles', then the 'first circle' is that case where energy becomes inward-revolving. You're in first circle very often. When you day-dream, when you become distracted, you are pulled away from the world and from the present to your past, your illusions, your 'interior reality'. First circle is not all that though, it can also manifest in meditation, contemplation or reflection. These are willful preoccupations with the past and can help you grow. I agree with you in a way. The 'second circle' or 'presence' represents an conscious intimate connection with reality (or the world). It is a dialectic with the world: two-way communication. It is the 'balance' or the 'equality' (as Rodenburg says) between outward and inward energy. Rodenburg explains that an acting does not solely reside in the 'third circle', energy radiating to the audience, but also in 'the second circle'. Not as in the actor receiving energy from the audience, as the actor must act independent of the audience, but in the discourse between the actor or actress and their character, their reality that they are performing. The actor interprets the character and in turn, the character interprets the actor.
I th8nk first circle is NOT JUST inwardness but a sort of “let go”ness...so liberals r first circle and conservatives r 3rd circle...while true conservatives/“classical liberals “ r 2nd circle...euphemistically...
foundations of many theatre schools. Where I went to school, Patsy's work was introduced to us and we starting going over the principals of 1st 2nd and 3rd circle
this is so enlightening, thank you - when I look at my performance videos, I am in 1rt, rounded shoulders, clearly striken by fear, and when I try to pull myself together and overcome the fear I feel (and probably look) domineering but I feel (and look) completely fake. Not me. I wish I could keep the presence even when utterly scared.
Such an inspirational woman, I bought her book on the second circle called "Presence" It's probably the best self help book i ever bought and actually did trasform my life :) Would recommend it to anyone :)
Very interesting. Basing on my experience, it could be good to specify that she is talking about the actor's circles, not the character's. The character can be in first or third circle but the inner actor should be always in second, to be open and reactive to all the impulses coming from outside and inside him.
Thank you. I teach theatre clown and there is such a connection between what you say and what we do. We have a ritual clown circle where all the clown needs to do is to be present. I'm sharing your video with all my students. Gale McNeeley
Hi, people, I have a book written by Ms. Rodenburg. It has the same concept she is talking about in this video. The title's "Presence How to Use Positive Energy for Success in every Situation This Book will Transform your Life, Minute to Minute.
lush use this philosophy when training employees on how to build rapport and sell products, so i always assumed it was a training tool... little did i know it was for theater!! now i'm sort of upset with how they used it because it's much more interesting in this setting.
banja First Circle is boring and too introverted. Third is too bombastic and over-the-top. Both exclude the audience. Second Circle includes the audience, is present, clear, and energised.
The best way to understand what "being present" means, is to explore what it means yourself. A book or definition only does that much - you only fully understand it if you explore it actively. I agree with what Rich Cook said - that is pretty much the definition to "being present."
This video is part of a larger series ("Shakespeare in the Present" I think that's what it's called). In this recorded workshop there are exercises that explore all of these circles. It's simple but great work. I was in the room during this one-week workshop. She's fantastic. She also wrote a book on the subject called "The Second Circle."
i don't see why it is so hard for people to act well. just relax and act as if it really were the situation. make that role your life and immerse yourself in it.
Not so. That would just be boring. As Bette Davis once said: “Acting is always larger than life. If you want to see real people, stand on a street corner.”
@YD8189 hey, just because a bunch of successful people don't think it's fluff, doesn't mean it isn't fluff. I mean, look at religion! :P No I've not been to her classes! But I get what you're saying - I apologise for the troll like nature of my comment. Peace to all!
i can just listen to her talk forever and ever. THIS is real sustaining of audience attention. not the tricks that some UA-camrs pass around on how to 'keep their audience glued' - all just editing tricks but without providing any real value- they are destroying our focus, and changing the way our brains work. THIS is really the power of many years of solid training.
It's interesting she talks about hating cruelty on the part of teachers. In one of her books, she relates how she defended an acting student who had physically attacked a teacher who had been bullying him to breaking point. The teacher was an educated, erudite individual, while the student, although highly talented, had a more emotional intelligence. But the teacher did everything he could to make him feel stupid, until in the end the student lost it completely. The student was kicked out of the school, and Ms Rodenburg chose to leave as a result.
Now that is integrity.
If he attacked physically, then no, he did not have "emotional intelligence", whatever that means.
"It is the circle of equality" Probably the most profound 10 minutes you'll ever watch. The ideas in this can sustain you for a long time and not just in the performing arts.
i like how i automaticly go into second circle just by listening to her
😂 true. I'm dead
she is so awesome, you just sit there and she talks and you can listen forever without noticing the time going by...
Patsy is an absolute genius. I was lucky enough to teach her Taekwondo for a while and I am sure that I learnt more then I taught her.
Patsy Rodenberg doing taekwondo must have had some presence!
Twice, I've worked with dear Patsy and she opens our eyes and hearts to the now of words, theater, acting, speech, emotion and art which is our humanity that evolves and unites us as people. A brilliant teacher full of zest.
I've liked this video for a long time, but her point about First Circle being about "the past" eluded me for a long time. I think I've finally figured out why: All I know about "the past" is my experience. Everyone has a past, but I'm not aware of any details but my own. Its important; it matters. The "moment before" is essential to starting a scene, but carrying it forward is all that matters in a performance and that depends on "Second Circle".
+CBV123 If I'm right about the 'circles', then the 'first circle' is that case where energy becomes inward-revolving. You're in first circle very often. When you day-dream, when you become distracted, you are pulled away from the world and from the present to your past, your illusions, your 'interior reality'. First circle is not all that though, it can also manifest in meditation, contemplation or reflection. These are willful preoccupations with the past and can help you grow.
I agree with you in a way. The 'second circle' or 'presence' represents an conscious intimate connection with reality (or the world). It is a dialectic with the world: two-way communication. It is the 'balance' or the 'equality' (as Rodenburg says) between outward and inward energy.
Rodenburg explains that an acting does not solely reside in the 'third circle', energy radiating to the audience, but also in 'the second circle'. Not as in the actor receiving energy from the audience, as the actor must act independent of the audience, but in the discourse between the actor or actress and their character, their reality that they are performing. The actor interprets the character and in turn, the character interprets the actor.
I th8nk first circle is NOT JUST inwardness but a sort of “let go”ness...so liberals r first circle and conservatives r 3rd circle...while true conservatives/“classical liberals “ r 2nd circle...euphemistically...
She changed the way I think. I will never be the same again. Simply amazing.
So perceptive. Just so brilliant. Thank you, Ms. Rodeburg.
She is amazing ❤❤❤ I love her energy
foundations of many theatre schools. Where I went to school, Patsy's work was introduced to us and we starting going over the principals of 1st 2nd and 3rd circle
Patsy, please post more videos I LOVE your message and I want to be a better teacher myself. Thanks.
"Second circle is..circle of equality"... I love this concept!
Brilliant! This makes so much sense!
Amazing! I'd love to attend one of her workshops
I love love love this adn it is exactly how I teach! IT is great to see this.
It totally helped me in my audition today ! Fantastic !!!!
did u get the part?
This is just brilliant
She's just excellent...
excellent teaching, thank you!
She's incredibly wise.
It is indeed inspiring
Her book has changed my entire state of being. She's a genius.
this is so enlightening, thank you - when I look at my performance videos, I am in 1rt, rounded shoulders, clearly striken by fear, and when I try to pull myself together and overcome the fear I feel (and probably look) domineering but I feel (and look) completely fake. Not me. I wish I could keep the presence even when utterly scared.
Use ormus. You gonna be in second circle all day
Excellent!
So much knowledge given in 10 minutes
I also bought the book "Presence". I'm still in the process of learning how to use the powers of the Second Circle.
Such an inspirational woman,
I bought her book on the second circle called "Presence" It's probably the best self help book i ever bought and actually did trasform my life :)
Would recommend it to anyone :)
Very interesting. Basing on my experience, it could be good to specify that she is talking about the actor's circles, not the character's. The character can be in first or third circle but the inner actor should be always in second, to be open and reactive to all the impulses coming from outside and inside him.
Thanks. Helpful.
**Simple and true.. She's so good
a master teacher
Brilliant observations… her students are so lucky…
Thank you. I teach theatre clown and there is such a connection between what you say and what we do. We have a ritual clown circle where all the clown needs to do is to be present. I'm sharing your video with all my students. Gale McNeeley
Well, good observations and interesting view on us. Yes, this second circle is hard. Buddhists call it mindfulness. It's work and it's very fine.
Mooi (beautiful)! Interesting stuff. It is something new and very old at the same time. Like the Higgs particle. Thank you, (Dank u) !
This is amazing! I tend to be in 1st circle A lot due to me not wanting to be in 3rd circle. I'm afraid that I'm doing too much.
Same! 🖐
Thank you .mam
Hi, people,
I have a book written by Ms. Rodenburg.
It has the same concept she is talking about in this video.
The title's "Presence How to Use Positive Energy for Success in every Situation This Book will Transform your Life, Minute to Minute.
Her three circles are rehashed from David deida ‘s work on the three stages of human development in the “Way of the Superior Man’
❤❤❤❤
lush use this philosophy when training employees on how to build rapport and sell products, so i always assumed it was a training tool...
little did i know it was for theater!! now i'm sort of upset with how they used it because it's much more interesting in this setting.
So what is being in second circle? How do you be in second circle? What does circle of equality mean? Is third circle just too loud? And first quiet?
banja First Circle is boring and too introverted. Third is too bombastic and over-the-top. Both exclude the audience. Second Circle includes the audience, is present, clear, and energised.
Vraiment intéressant sur le sujet de la Présence .....
oui c'est tres magnifique j'adore elle
She's genius.
I don't get it 😥 1st 2nd 3rd circle? 2nd being present? But I don't have a grip on what being present means.
Being "present" means being aware of what's going on. Not in your head, which I think 1rst and 3rd circles are both "in your head" things.
The best way to understand what "being present" means, is to explore what it means yourself. A book or definition only does that much - you only fully understand it if you explore it actively. I agree with what Rich Cook said - that is pretty much the definition to "being present."
This video is part of a larger series ("Shakespeare in the Present" I think that's what it's called). In this recorded workshop there are exercises that explore all of these circles. It's simple but great work. I was in the room during this one-week workshop. She's fantastic. She also wrote a book on the subject called "The Second Circle."
MY LIEGE!! THE HORSE AWAITS..
An Alexander lesson will put you into 2nd circle.
i don't see why it is so hard for people to act well. just relax and act as if it really were the situation. make that role your life and immerse yourself in it.
It's not that easy. If it were, everybody would be a friggin actor
Not so. That would just be boring. As Bette Davis once said: “Acting is always larger than life. If you want to see real people, stand on a street corner.”
It's about blackmailing others and using them
Circles - sounds like a mystical way of describing (1) Talking to oneself, (2) Engaging with another person and (3) Addressing a crowd.
@YD8189 hey, just because a bunch of successful people don't think it's fluff, doesn't mean it isn't fluff. I mean, look at religion! :P
No I've not been to her classes!
But I get what you're saying - I apologise for the troll like nature of my comment. Peace to all!
This is very buddhism/zen
wow... and this is THEARTRE?!?
it seemed to me she delivered that in 3RD CIRCLE
She was Bombastic , and very used car salesman
I am so sick of people bludgeoning us to be "in the present"! This theatrical banality wore out its usefulness decades ago!
Where would you rather be then?