Dear Actor,

At the time of graduating from five years of training as an actor, followed by two years training as a stage director, it would have been easy to kid myself that I was, in some ways, supremely equipped to embark on a career in theater, TV and film.

The training I received was mainly based on the teachings of Konstantine Stanislavski. My teacher, Sam Kogan, trained at the Moscow Institute of Theatre Arts under one of Stanislavskis’ students. He in turn developed Stanislavski’s ideas, in search of what he called a ‘science of acting’.

In theory it all seemed to sound right, but in practice it just didn’t work. The cerebral nature of the training enslaved the actor and ultimately stripped him of his own natural sense of feeling and spontaneity. Surely a system of knowledge of acting should serve to liberate actors, not bind them?

So, in spite of my extensive training, huge questions still remained unanswered -

• What, in both theory and practice, is ‘great’ acting?

• What are the real qualities of a great actor? How can these qualities best be developed?

• What is the actor's true function? How can they best serve the audience and therefore humanity as a whole?

• What is charisma

• What is stage / screen presence?

• What is talent?

• What is a character?

• What are the psychological laws which nature uses to create a human character in life?

• What is the substance or material from which a character is made of?

• How can you become inspired at will?

• What can be learned by studying comparative art forms and artists?

• How can the study of philosophy (the love of wisdom) enrich the actor?

• What can the study of psychology (the science of mind and behavior) teach the actor?

• What can simple self observation teach the actor?

• What did other reputed teachers of acting teach their students?… Did it work?

• In other words; I wanted to understand the laws that governed the true function and nature of the art and craft of acting, and then, using this knowledge combined with my own practical experience, assist in the training and development of professional actors…

How could I best help the modern actor to learn to love the art in himself (and not just himself in art!), to be fearless, free, awake, aware, technically skilled, open hearted, present, responsive, compelling, a joy to work with and ultimately a joy to watch?

These questions sent me on a mission; from Stanislavski to Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg (who both seem to have missed the point) to the great Michael Chekhov. However, I didn’t limit the study to theories of acting. I expanded the search to include, what I believe to be, the real substance of the actor's craft, namely; the heart, mind and soul of mankind…

With the aid of psychology, I took a closer look at myself and those around me, with all our sometimes beautiful, sometimes comical, sometimes painful and sometimes downright crazy ways we choose to conduct ourselves in this mysterious quest for happiness that we call “life”!

The basic premise of the Spiritual Psychology of Acting is this; If we can learn to observe and understand the psychological processes which created our own character in life, then, with some practice, we can learn to saddle and ride this knowledge, to engage it at will; allowing it to serve as our creative technique.

The fruit of this study proved to be fascinating and rewarding. The students were happy, the quality of their work was steadily improving, which was reflected in the number of them that were landing prestigious roles within the industry…

But, to me, it still seemed like something was missing. So then, as a logical progression, I began to wonder about the ‘higher’ or ‘deeper’ nature of dramatic art…

Why is film and theater such an important part of human culture? What is the function of the artist? What is the true service of the writer, director and actor to the audience, society and ultimately to humanity? How does our profession fit into the greater scheme of things?

I understood that the higher purposes of theatrical and cinematic art is to hold a mirror up to nature, open the heart and raise the level of consciousness… But how can an actor, writer or director contribute to this process if they haven’t first raised their own level of consciousness…?

The answer is of course; they can’t!

“In order to uplift the level of consciousness, in the community or in the world in general, one must first uplift oneself. This is acquired through understanding true knowledge, proper practice of meditation and a spirit of devoted service.”

– Sri Shantananda Saraswati

This led to further study; the words of the wise and humanity’s great store house of spiritual knowledge, in the form of Philosophy from both East and West. The fruits of this study, along with the practice of mantra based meditation, provided the necessary answers.

This coupled with the psychological techniques I’d inherited and, most of all, through my own thirty years of experience in training actors on both sides of the Atlantic, has evolved into a complete system of training which I call, "The Spiritual Psychology of Acting."

I hope my work resonates with you, and I warmly invite you to embark upon what promises to be an inspiring, enriching and empowering journey into the heart and soul of acting technique.

With all best wishes,

John Osborne Hughes