Stepping out: transforming teaching with low threshold technology

Abstract

To the actor, nonverbal communication is as important as their voice; the ‘claiming’ of the space in which they work is an integral part of a meaningful performance. In Michael Chekhov’s seminal The Techniques of Acting the rudiments of an actor’s presence in a space are delineated and stimulated, via a series of exercises: for instance, walking across the entire space, and the touching of walls.  In turn, in this uninhibited process, confidence and authority evolves.  As teachers, how often do we ‘claim’ the space, other than that behind the lectern?  Or concern ourselves with the way we communicate beyond the spoken word?  This short paper reflects on an innocuous, ‘low threshold’ technology that has significant transformative power in the classroom.