There are many acting techniques. For example:

-Uta Hagen
-Warner Laughlin
-Ivanna Chubbuck
-Stella Adler
-Meisner
-Stanislavsky
-Etc.

Many derive from each other, and some are standalone. For example, Stanislavsky popularized the acting technique and became the standard, or what one took and built upon, or for some, moving in a very different direction.

And though I will be continuing my journey in exploring them and learning everything I can from them, there is one technique that aligned with my beliefs as an artist, a human being:

The Michael Chekhov technique.

It was introduced to me by Jessica Hughes and Sean Naughton (recently married to each other) when I was working with them in their production of Machinal by Sophie Treadwell. I played The Lover, an archetypal character, named only by the archetype.

The process was unique, unlike any technique I had learned in college (though we briefly touched on the Chekhov technique). What felt most different was how collaborative the process was, how physical, hands-on, and tangible the creativity became.

The process was neither defended nor kept within a monolithic leader on stage. AKA a singular director. We all became integral parts of the whole, part of the process, and part of the vision.

During the process, they told me about an acting training over the summer that they had learned these techniques from.

The Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium (GLMCC).

And after closing Machinal, one of the most enjoyable acting experiences that I’ve ever had, I knew that I needed to seek out the technique and figure out how I might be able to utilize it in my work. I went to GLMCC that summer.

This upcoming summer of 2026 marks my third year, during which I will receive the full three-year certification to teach the Michael Chekhov technique.

And as I am preparing to enter into this summer, I am reviewing my work, my notes, and introducing, once again, the Michael Chekhov technique.

This is not another technique to learn how to be moody. It’s not a technique that will justify an artist’s desire to smoke a cigarette and play at being “deep.” It’s not a technique that will justify method and going about life trying to let go of the self and replace it with the character.

Though I myself have fallen into this trap, especially living in NYC where some of the messaging I was getting as a young artist was “I just haven’t suffered enough to really get these characters.” Well, when you will something into place, you sure will get it, so please do not make my mistake in this.

Chekhov leads with joy, Chekhov leads with ease, Chekhov does not lead with losing control over yourself; in fact, he leads with gaining greater consciousness of the self and how that interacts with something not of self.

Though this work is spiritual and goes deep, what Chekhov does not want you to do is to be a passive observer in watching a character take you over. Rather, this technique is about being in collaboration with your character.

This technique does not need to utilize your traumatic experience to feel something on stage or on screen; it utilizes the power of the imagination, which… imagination really still gets such a bad rap. People underestimate just how powerful the human ability to empathize is. We can develop the ability to empathize and utilize sensation.

There are many parts of Chekhov; he even recognizes that you do not need to think through everything, but you must practice everything. Because, when all of the pieces of the Chekhov technique are laid out, sometimes it only takes concentrating on one or two of them to activate all of them when trained well.

There are more articles that I’ve linked at the end of this one, delving further into more in-depth parts of the Michael Chekhov technique. I will also be writing more about this technique in future additions. But let’s touch on this generally.

The Michael Chekhov Technique is a psychophysical technique. It utilizes both principles as a base within an actor:

When one creates movement, one creates sensation. But in the adverse, if one has sensation, then one can act on it through movement, through action.

It is both a movement-oriented technique and it is also sensation and imagination. Psychophysical.

To teach this, Chekhov utilizes the Psychological Gestures.

Coming from an Archetypal Gesture, a movement that is:
-Strong
-Clear
-Has a Beginning-Middle-End
-Simple
-Full Bodied

Once the Archetypal Movement is practiced enough, you will then send and radiate energy into the imagined movement, then actually performing the movement with the tenets of form above, then radiating through that movement, which will create sensation. Sensation of what that movement is doing to you, now being called the Psychological Gesture.

There are 11:

All of these to help set you up for success to create the actions that are needed on stage, to help you find the truth in your character.

But that’s just the start of acting; it doesn’t get into the artist’s social ability, the artist’s political ability, the artist’s collaborative ability. If you only act well, you are missing maybe 80% of the work.

We are holistic beings, and this technique recognizes that. There’s a chapter in the latter half of Michael Chekhov’s book Lessons for Teachers called “The Artist of Today Cannot Be an Artist If (They) Are Disconnected From The Real Life”

A quote from it can summarize this chapter best:

Chekhov questions the purpose of the actor: creating an illusion of someone else on stage to create a story.

Rather than this, he believes that more than anything, we are working collaboratively with these characters to do something within society. To change a mind, spark empathy, to connect with and extend outside of ourselves so that those who are extended to can continue to extend further their own energies. Changing the world.

Chekhov is not just a technique of acting, it’s a technique speaking to the entirety of the artistic process, and the importance and vitality that art gives to a culture. And it is our job, our work, our craft to practice this work, to show an ability that is innate in all of us. Empathy.

This is why I teach the Chekhov technique, because not only is it a technique for actors and artists, but it is how an artist should think about their art. It met with my beliefs as an actor, but did it in better words than I could. Michael Chekhov had spent a lot of time honing his ability to teach this work.

That, as well as English being his second language, it was something he was highly conscious of, to verbalize, and pass on his knowledge of a technique that he believed encapsulated more than JUST becoming the character.

His work now resides in me, among others. This is where my work begins, and I’ll continue building on it, continue honing it, and continue to develop my own theory and ability with this technique as a foundation.

I have five slots available to take on students. I focus on the Chekhov Technique, but bring other concepts into it. My goal, always, is to help you grow as a holistic human being who creates art. Using art as an avenue to do that and share it with others.

If you’re interested in interviewing for a slot, please sign up for a 30-minute session to see if this would be a good fit for you.

60-minute sessions will be $60
90-minute sessions will be $100

Wanna find out more? Sign up here.

https://calendly.com/matt-piper29/30min‌

Here are some of my newsletters where I discuss the Chekov technique:

-A Feeling of the Whole: https://mattpiper.org/p/a-feeling-of-the-whole

-Thresholds: https://mattpiper.org/p/the-art-of-thresholds

-Archetypes: https://mattpiper.org/p/the-art-of-archetypes

-Find more on: https://mattpiper.org/