"What do you mean acting from the feet!? Feet can’t talk?!"
No.
… But they DO connect you to the ground.
The more I train beginner actors, the more I see most of their physical delivery consolidated around their face, their chest, and their arms … The rest of the body appears atrophied, unwilling, and unmotivated to join their upper half.
I feel sorry for them. I see them stand there, waiting for some crude instructions to move to the next place to yet again have the face, the chest, and the arms do some ‘acting’.
There’s a need I have to teach them how to train their feet as an actor.
I retain that it is NOT their fault…
In the West we’ve lost connection to the ground, to our centres, and our legs. This, I believe, comes from our predominantly sedentary lifestyles. We just aren’t put in many situations where we bend more than 90 degrees at or below the knees – certainly not as much as other cultures.
What solves this issue is active attention, detail, and exercise.
Movements such as; stomping, rolling, primal squatting, kicking, climbing trees, horse stance (martial arts), and even pliés (in ballet) are all great movements which reinvigorate the lower part of our bodies.
Your feet MUST become a vital and conscious part of your performance. You CANNOT be grounded if you are not aware of your feet and feel (with gratitude) the way they create power within your stance.
Ultimately, the feet are the starting point of your character’s structure, they are the foundation and thus require adequate love and attention.
I hope this helps!
-Andrew 🙂