An Introduction to EmoVerity for Performers
Sat, Aug 17
|The Forge
Moving beyond Emotional Recall and Affective Memory With Matthew Ellenwood


Time & Location
Aug 17, 2024, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM CDT
The Forge, 2424 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60618, USA
About
ABOUT THE INTENSIVE
In this short introductory workshop participants will learn about a body-centered process for
activating and releasing emotional states at will.
Actors are sometimes referred to as Athletes of Emotion. Emotional Recall/Affective Memory can
provide an entry point into emotional access, but there are non-invasive, science-based, physically
tangible and practicable tools that are much lesser known to the performance community.
In this Introduction to EmoVerity for Performers workshop we will explore and implement tools to help
embody the following values for developing the emotional life of a character:
- Honoring the fact that a performer’s memories and lived experience are their sole property. The choice to share these personal moments should never be required in training, rehearsal, or performance.
- Creating a culture of access, consent, and permission.
- Embodying practices which allow the performer to ‘de-role’ at the end of the workday, leaving work at work.
- Exploring two Emotional Effector Patterns to demonstrate how this training can provide a non-invasive, reliable, repeatable, and sustainable technique for creating access to emotional states.
By the end of this intensive participants will have a new understanding of emotion,
communication, and have access to several tools for self-regulation for performance and personal
life.
ABOUT THE TEACHER
Matthew Ellenwood (they/them) is a performing arts educator and owner of Ellenwood Studios;
founded in Chicago in 1995 to train multi-disciplinary performers in voice, acting, emotional regulation
(EmoVerity), and artistic collaboration for professional careers onstage and onscreen. Matthew has
presented voice, acting, and emotion performance pedagogy workshops worldwide including professional
conferences for NATS, VASTA, PAVA, and the Voice Study Centre U.K. They are also a co-founder and
the Artistic Director of Terra Mysterium, a performance troupe focused on devising and producing
original pieces of theatre and film.
They hold a Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Masters of Music degree
in vocal performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University.
Certifications include: Estill Master Trainer (EMT) through Estill Voice International (EVI), Alba Method
Associate Teacher through the Alba Method Association (AMA), Michael Chekhov Acting Technique
teacher’s certificate through Michael Chekhov Association International (MICHA). Matthew also has training in Knight-Thompson Speechwork.