2025
Mindfulness in Actor Training
MAŠURA, AdamBasic information
Original name
Mindfulness in Actor Training
Authors
Edition
3rd International Symposium IMPACT: IMProvisation and Creativity In and Through Performing Arts, Vilnius, Litva, 2025
Other information
Language
English
Type of outcome
Presentations at conferences
Field of Study
60400 6.4 Arts
Country of publisher
Lithuania
Confidentiality degree
is not subject to a state or trade secret
References:
Marked to be transferred to RIV
Yes
Organization unit
Theatre Faculty
Keywords (in Czech)
Herectví; mindfulness; výuka herectví
Keywords in English
Acting; mindfulness; actor training
Tags
Tags
International impact
Changed: 20/3/2026 12:48, Mgr. Jana Kořínková, Ph.D.
Abstract
In the original language
Adam Mašura's artistic research/dissertation, originally titled ‘Application of Mindfulness Techniques to the Pre-performative Phase of Actor Training,’ explores how to integrate eastern meditation with acting exercises. This research creates systematic attention training for students of acting. Nevertheless, I have found that the potential of mindfulness practice extends far beyond this specific application. Thus, I have been slowly but surely straying from solely “the pre-performative” aspect of it. An actor is not merely a craftsman with a specific set of skills, but a human being with a life outside the rehearsal room and off the stage. Because of this, I now consider mindfulness a uniquely useful and complex tool for addressing the multifaceted needs—including wellbeing—of this ‘strange human’ we call an actor. My own life, the primary object of my PhD research, is continuously evolving proof of this claim. To say that mindfulness was a significant finding for me would be an understatement. It has profoundly impacted on my work as an actor, helping me navigate the pressures of performance and cultivate a deeper sense of presence. Beyond my professional life, it has become an indispensable practice for my personal psycho-hygiene. My presentation would take the form of a research-based teaching demonstration, where I would like to present a “mindfulness in actor training” class. I want to put mindfulness into the context of acting through my personal experience and story, while also introducing the basic practice to those who have never experienced it firsthand. Furthermore, I believe it would be beneficial to talk about the experience of teaching a Mindfulness class at my alma mater especially since it is the first time in the history of JAMU that such a course is being offered as a part of curriculum. In practical terms, the optimal number of participants for the class is 15, with an upper limit of 20. I would appreciate a classroom large enough to accommodate this number, ideally with a sound system, where participants can move around freely. In case, it is not possible for these conditions to be met I can adjust the class to be more static with less focus movement. I believe that mindfulness has an integral and rightful place in actor training and that it plays a vital part in its future development. Provided that we can date the birth of actor training back to the Stanislavsky system, we can arguably consider mindfulness an almost traditional tool in an actor’s work. The recently published book Stanislavsky and Mindfulness: Being in the Moment, edited by Dawn Ingleson, provides compelling evidence for this connection through multiple essays. To my delight, some of these put considerable emphasis on the well-being aspect of mindfulness in actor training which cannot be overlooked. This journey of incorporating mindfulness into my profession is deeply personal, making my research equally so. I feel that my research is closely related to the topic of Embodiment, intuition and the unconscious in the creative process and I would consider it a privilege to share my findings and to engage in a dialogue with other performers, teachers, academics, and theatre professionals interested in the topic.