The Lucid Body

“From Fay’s methodology, I learned to use my intuition and lived experiences in myriad new ways.” —Winston Duke, actor, Black Panther, Avengers, Us, and Nine Days

Engaging Mind and Body to Develop the Complete Physical Nature of Characters
 
Actors are shape-shifters, requiring the tools to wade into unfamiliar waters and back out again. The Lucid Body offers a holistic, somatic approach to embodying character from the inside-out and, for the non-actor, offers a way to give hidden parts of the self their full expression. By identifying stagnant movement patterns, this process expands one’s emotional and physical range and enables the creation of characters from all walks of life—however cruel, desolate, or jolly. Rooted in the exploration of the seven chakra energy centers, The Lucid Body reveals how each body holds the possibility of every human condition. Readers will learn how to:

• Practice a non-judgmental approach to the journey of self-awareness
• Break up stagnant and restrictive patterns of thought and movement
• Allow an audible exhale to be the key to unlocking the breath
• Develop a mindset to “hear” one’s inner body
• Analyze the human condition through the psycho-physical lens of the chakras
• Experience the safety of coming back to a neutral body
• Acquire a sense of clarity and calm in one’s everyday life

A step-by-step program guides the actor through the phases of self-awareness that expand emotional and physical range not only on stage, but also in daily life. This new edition includes a more diversified range of playwrights, non-binary language, and new chapters on stage intimacy protocol and physical listening. Exercises that have been honed for the past ten years have been made more concise. New somatic and neuro-scientific data has been added, with additional wisdom and insights from colleagues and Simpson's team of Lucid Body teachers.

Fay Simpson is the founder of the Lucid Body Institute and artistic director of Impact Theatre NYC. Informed by thirty years of performing and devising work (Veterans Project, D-train, The Marital Bliss of Francis and Maxine, and Scotty), Simpson developed the Lucid Body technique. She and her instructors conduct private workshops and a two-year teacher training program at her Manhattan studio, The Lucid Body House. She is an associate arts professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program. A private coach for actors on stage, screen and television, she teaches abroad extensively wherever her teachers are building communities—London, Berlin, Toulouse, Moscow, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and beyond. Simpson is a member of the Actor’s Center and recipient of the Fox Foundation Fellowship and Likhachev Fellowship. She lives in New York City.

Eleanor Rose Boynton is an illustrator and tattoo artist born and raised in New York City. Since graduating from Parsons School of Design, she’s found that the greatest inspiration for her work is exploring how natural things endure to survive in a fully urban environment, inspiring her to delve into ever-expanding forms of image making and new materials. Working closely with Fay Simpson to develop the visual stories for The Lucid Body, Boynton’s illustrations are a melding of new and old techniques, reaching back into traditional drafting and drawing styles, and collaging with digital imagery to bring each character to life.

“From Fay’s methodology, I learned to use my intuition and lived experiences in myriad new ways—to play boldly and focus my energy. Fay also demonstrated a deep sense of service—service to something greater than herself: the service of molding young dreamers into productive, proficient participants in an ever-evolving conversation of artistry and creativity.” —Winston Duke, actor,Black Panther, Avengers, Us, and Nine Days
 
“Her transformative work was key in bringing a level of physical expressivity into the actor’s toolbox that greatly enhanced the quality of acting in the program at Yale School of Drama.” —Ron Van Lieu, Lloyd Richards Professor of Acting (emeritus), Yale School of Drama, and Professor of Professional Practice, Acting Program, Columbia University School of the Arts

“Fay’s work is the homework I bring to every character, be it for theater, film, TV, or audition. It is clear and attainable while still feeling personal and flexible. Not only has the Lucid Body process deepened my acting work, but it has also been a tool for personal growth.” —Brenna Palughi, High Maintenance (HBO), The Family (ABC), and A Time to Kill (Broadway)

“The Lucid Body approach awakens in the actor the organic impulses that society has suppressed from an early age—and then challenges us to act upon those impulses. It’s the perfect antidote to ‘talking heads.’” —Joseph Siravo, founder, Shakespeare & Beyond, and actor, The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX), The Sopranos (HBO), Oslo (Broadway), and The Light in the Piazza (Broadway)