A Conversation with Kathryn Armour, Alexander and Voice Teacher

As if Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wasn't a challenging enough piece in the musical theater cannon, Fiasco Theater decided that they would take it on as their latest project, performing it with only 10 actors who also play their own instruments. The success of the production brought it from the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton to The Old Globe in San Diego and finally to Roundabout, at The Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, where it currently is playing to critical acclaim through April 12.

Aiding the actors in the rigorous routine of eight shows a week is Kathryn Armour, a voice teacher and Alexander Technique practitioner. We spoke with Kathryn recently about her work behind the scenes with Fiasco, and learned how she helps the performers stay at the top of their game.

What was your introduction to the Alexander Technique?
I am a singer and trained actor myself, and I began studying the Alexander Technique years ago when my Juilliard voice teacher told me I had too much neck tension and needed AT lessons. As a child I had come to grief as a viola player, because my musicality and perfect pitch were way ahead of my physical ability to manage the instrument. I did not want to make the same mistake as a singer, so I signed up for an AT workshop at Manhattan School of Music and started private lessons right after that.

What is the Alexander Technique?
Let's start by saying what Alexander Technique is NOT! It is not an exercise system, although it will help you to do yoga, or run or swim, or sing or act, or whatever you wish to apply your thinking and attention to. It is also NOT a philosophy. Alexander Technique is completely in the body and it is not an abstraction. It is taught by the gentle, non-invasive touch of a trained teacher, and then it becomes a "physical awareness practice" for the student. It is a learned "mindfulness" of how to be and move in your body, and this practice then serves as an efficient tool in whatever you choose to apply it to. Once you learn how to pay attention and direct your body, it takes a half a second to reorient and re-activate oneself on stage. Neuro-physics today totally corroborates Alexander's completely practical method for using your mental and physical self to best advantage. AND it's fun!

How does Alexander benefit performers?
The AT is a re-education of our physical sense of self. This is an awareness that is distributed throughout the body, unlike our vision or our hearing, which are specific to the eyes and ears. The fascinating thing is, when we learn how to pay attention to balance in our bodies, our other senses work better. We also experience a quality of wholeness and are more awake to our environment. Animals have this all the time. They don't leave their bodies to contemplate physics or write emails. Actors and musicians benefit tremendously from the AT work, because their tasks are so physical, but are informed by so much training and thinking, which must be accessed without going AWOL onstage. An actor cannot just "get into the body zone" like a runner, since he has to remember lines and be with the music! Alexander Technique is a practical, reliable method for staying completely in the moment. It translates into a very palpable, easy stage presence.

In this Roundabout production we are using one of the traditional training methods of AT-table lessons-in a therapeutic way. Doing eight shows a week of a demanding musical requires tremendous physical energy. The Fiasco version is a tour de force, where some actors play multiple roles and all are continuously playing instruments and moving properties. The Roundabout theater management has generously arranged for me to come to the theater between shows on Wednesdays to give "hands-on work" to the actors. This allows the actor to quickly and easily shed the stress of the matinee and re-boot the nervous system for the evening show. It is both relaxing and re-energizing.

Some members of the cast also weighed in on their experiences with AT.

Ben Steinfeld plays the Baker in the show, and, with Noah Brody, is the co-director of the production. He has worked with Armour for the past few years in preparation for his role, and notes that the work has given him both confidence and freedom. "The way Kathryn links the physical ease of Alexander to the release needed for healthy vocal technique and acting has given me several tools, exercises, and images to use in warm-ups and in the performance itself," he notes. "I'm making a healthier, fuller, more grounded sound when both speaking and singing, and my body has had less wear and tear than in any other show I've done." Watch Ben and Jessie Austrian perform "It Takes Two" from Into the Woods.

Patrick Mulryan, who plays Jack, says, "The work with Kathryn has helped me to stay grounded, centered, and free while still performing with passion and vigor. Being able to free my neck, find my feet, and keep my entire instrument open and available has helped me immeasurably as I navigate the intricate and demanding vocal lines Sondheim has crafted. The work allows me to stay centered in myself while remaining open and available to my fellow performers and the audience." Watch Patrick In Performance on NYTimes.com

Little Red is played by Emily Young, who says Kathryn "helped me connect my breath with the ground in turn helping me to stabilize my singing." Andy Grotelueschen, who plays many roles, including Milky White the cow, adds "AT helps relieve unwanted or unnoticed tensions, helping me be more mindful of my body. That mindfulness pays great dividends in creating the multiple characters I play."