An educational method used to improve performance, the Alexander Technique teaches people to replace unnecessary muscular and mental effort with consciously coordinated responses, maximizing effectiveness while also relieving, if necessary, any chronic stiffness or stress.  Integrative Alexander Technique Practice for Performing Artists  presents the empirical research of Cathy Madden, a teacher and coach with more than thirty-five years of experience with the technique. She addresses common concerns, such as concentration, relaxation, discipline-specific techniques, warm-ups, performer/audience relationships, stage fright, and critical responses, and explores the role of the senses, emotions, learned behavior, human consciousness studies, and neuroscience in the application of the techniques. 'This book is a practical and hands-on work, inviting the reader to enter into an experiment in active practice and exploration rather than passive study [...] Onstage Synergy is a gift from an extraordinary teacher to all of us.' 'What makes this book unique is that it is written in Cathy's own clear, direct and inviting voice. It is not laden with theory, but offers a very practical way for performers to practice.' Cathy Madden  is principal lecturer for the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training program, director of the Alexander Technique Training and Performance Studio in Seattle, and associate director and research director for BodyChance in Japan. She was a founding member and is a former chair of Alexander Technique International. Integrative Alexander Technique Practice for Performing Artists: Onstage Synergy By Cathy Madden Intellect Ltd Copyright © 2014 Intellect Ltd All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-78320-218-8 Contents Acknowledgements, ix, Introduction, 1, Part One: Performing Artists' Foundation for Using the Alexander Technique, Chapter 1: An Actor Began This, 11, Chapter 2: How Does the Alexander Technique Work?, 19, Chapter 3: The Design of Our Instrument: An Introduction, 33, Chapter 4: First Experiments in the Alexander Technique, 49, Chapter 5: Concentration Is a Lousy Word for All Performing Artists! (And All People!), 59, Chapter 6: Congruency: Relax Is a Lousy Word for Performing Artists, 71, Chapter 7: The Omnisensory Experience (Including the Kinesthetic Circus and a Look at Emotions), 81, Chapter 8: Psychophysical Definitions, 95, Chapter 9: Constructive Planning, 105, Chapter 10: Freedom of Choice, 119, Chapter 11: Integrating the Alexander Technique with Your Technique, 129, Chapter 12: Some Discipline-Specific Notes Regarding Technique, 143, Chapter 13: F.M. Alexander's Story, 159, Part Two: Alexander Technique Revivification of the Journey of Performing, Chapter 14: The Journey of Performing: Defining Performance Basics with the Alexander Technique, 169, Chapter 15: The Journey of Performing: The Specific Circumstances, 181, Chapter 16: The Journey of Performing: When the Journey Is in a Fictional World, 201, Chapter 17: The Journey of Performing: Beginning, Middle and End, 209, Chapter 18: The Journey of Performing: The Psychophysically Phrased Active Verb, 223, Chapter 19: The Journey of Performing: Coordinating Together (Performer-to-Performer Relationships), 233, Chapter 20: The Journey of Performing: Coordinating with the Audience, 243, Chapter 21: The Journey of Performing: Stage Readiness (no more 'stage fright'!), 255, Chapter 22: The Journey of Performing: Constructive Critic and Celebration, 267, Chapter 23: The Journey of Performing: Coordinated Creativity, 279, Part Three: Onstage Synergy, Chapter 24: Onstage Synergy: Template Variations and Studied Rehearsed Plans, 293, Chapter 25: Onstage Synergy: Preparation and Warm-Ups, 311, Chapter 26: Onstage Synergy: Rehearsing, 323, Chapter 27: Onstage Synergy: Performing, 335, Chapter 28: Onstage Synergy, 345, Appendix One: AT Rehearsals Reference Guide, 353, Appendix Two: Finding an Alexander Technique Teacher, 359, Appendix Three: Performance Chroniclers, 363, Appendix Four: Keynote Address, Alexander Technique and Performing Arts Conference, 367, Works Cited, 375, Index, 383, CHAPTER 1 An Actor Began This Imagine that you are an actor having trouble with your voice. You consult all the voice and speech teachers and medical people you know, and still the trouble persists. Then imagine that an important theater invites you to perform your one-person show on its stage ... in two weeks. What do you do? What Australian actor F. Matthias (F.M.) Alexander (1869–1955) did was to consult his doctor. The doctor told him not to speak until the performance two weeks later. F.M. did as he was told and began his evening of solo Shakespeare in full voice. Sometime during the performance, he lost his voice and apparently 'croaked' his way to the finish. He returned to his doctor, who couldn't explain what had happened. Alexander asked, 'Is it not fair, then,