What's Demidov's Etudes?

– What’s Demidov’s Etudes?

The main means of training in the work we do together. The foundation that includes everything an actor needs to train for the “Art of Living Onstage”. They are the vehicle that lands the actor unconditionally in the here and now. They are the actor’s tuning fork to the organic process and the creative truth. They are our constant companion from the very first day of our training to the end of our journey.

– What is so special about them?

Demidov’s etudes are short texts of questions and answers without given circumstances. The actors have the words, their partners and nothing else. In Demidov’s etudes, characters, circumstances and relationships emerge on their own and the actors are encouraged to surrender more and more to the truth of the imaginary life these etudes create without any intellectual preconceptions and pre-decisions. These etudes allow the actors to not know anything intellectually but sense everything organically and intuitively.

– What do Demidov’s Etudes cultivate?

Our perception, our boldness, our sensitivity and a sense of real creative freedom. The actors cannot but trust the creative life that emerges, because they feel physically and tangibly the power of circumstances and let themselves be led by them. The actors follow the flow of life without fearing that “things might not happen. So, I ‘d better preplan something” (Oh, this lack of faith that suffocates the actors and diminishes their art!)

Demidov’s etudes are designed to cultivate new reflexes, suitable for the creative life on stage. In our everyday lives, we rarely follow the first urge, we constantly rehearse the greenlighting of the second, third, forth or even fifth urge. Life onstage needs the first urge, the one that is the true and immediate reaction to the very first stimulus, the one that has the first breath of the genuine imaginary life and not the intellectual adaptation of our hesitance. These are the reflexes cultivated by Demidov’s etudes. Reflexes suitable for the art of an actor-creator.

– Why is this way of training precious for the actor?

Because it is focused on the individual needs of every single actor. Because it takes care of the psychophysical apparatus of the actor as a whole. Because it trains the actors’ instrument to be responsive to any creative unpredictability.

Can the actors fully trust their intuition and the subtlety of their perception? Of course they can.

Can the actors be really open to whatever comes in the moment without questioning whether it is right or wrong? Of course they can.

Can they trust that the imaginary life is there from the very first moment and not interfere, not get in the way? Of course they can.

Can they sharpen the expressive instrument to such a degree that they allow any genuine reaction to live in the space before their conscious mind takes control? Of course they can. And that’s what every single Demidov etude helps them to experience.

“Of course I can”. This is the lump of faith Demidov’s etudes cultivate. And it’s a joy for the actor to experience this sense of confidence and definitively something the actor deserves.