{"id":1789,"date":"2017-11-29T15:32:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T15:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=1789"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:37:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:37:32","slug":"acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/the-essentials\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Laban Character Analysis with Sarah Perry"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>An introduction to the potential benefits of Laban Movement Analysis for actors<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"quoteMacro style1 noAuthorImage\">\n<div class=\"quoteText\">\n<div class=\"quoteTextInner\">We are all a body in a space moving with effort from shape to shape.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer>\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorInformation\">\n<div class=\"quoteAuthorName\">Sarah Perry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>At our recent\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/?tags=open%20house\">Open House<\/a>, Sarah Perry hosted a session on character analysis, using Laban. Laban Movement Analysis is a theoretical framework using movement, specifically observing how the quality and quantity of movements feed into the way we understand physical conditions, environments, cultural issues, and communication between bodies. This can be really useful for an actor\u2019s character development. Laban can help bring subconscious awareness to the forefront, gives us a vocabulary to define kinds of movement, to stimulate the imagination, help find natural affinities or lack of affinity (a \u2018baseline\u2019) within ourselves versus that of a character, and more. Key principles include:<\/p>\n<h3>Body<\/h3>\n<p>This means thinking about the body of your character, versus your own body. What is their posture, alignment, strength or stamina like? \u201cTensions affect how the body organises itself,\u201d Sarah says. She encourages incorporating a movement practice that works for you into your routine &#8211; whether this is yoga, Laban, Alexander Technique, or many others. They are all a great way to get started in becoming aware of your body!<\/p>\n<h3>Effort<\/h3>\n<p>This is about understanding how we move. By understanding our habits and mannerisms, the limits of our own bodies are better understood. If you\u2019re feeling physically \u2018stuck\u2019 or \u2018predictable\u2019, taking note of the cliched ways in which we physically respond to stimulus is helpful for becoming unstuck!<\/p>\n<h3>Space<\/h3>\n<p>Where are we moving? Space is about where we move &#8211; taking into account the world around us. Picturing the architecture, objects, people, or even the universe covers what is meant by \u2018space\u2019 in Laban. By remaining conscious of these factors, a single actor is able to convey a lot simply through movement &#8211; including the texture and light quality of a space they are in.<\/p>\n<h3>Shape<\/h3>\n<p>The ways our body can move &#8211; the shapes we create, and the way they flow together. Laban considered five different types of shape the body could form (pin, ball, wall, screw and pyramid). This is all about thinking further on how our body expresses our feelings.<\/p>\n<p>In her workshop, Sarah encouraged experimenting with moving freely at different levels (low, medium or high) as well as with different effort drives &#8211; strong versus lightweight (the \u2018weight\u2019 effort factor), direct versus indirect (the \u2018space\u2019 effort factor), sustained versus quick (\u2018time\u2019 effort factor) and bound versus free (\u2018flow\u2019 effort factor). By switching between these continuously, bodies are freed up and the movements each individual had a natural affinity for became clear.<\/p>\n<p>When it came to using this for a text, Sarah encouraged looping the words with free movement: saying the words over and over, while experimenting with the different levels and weights.<\/p>\n<p>By continuing through to a kind of exhaustion, and leading with the breath, the natural reactions of the actor are able to surface. \u201cWe are all a body in a space moving with effort from shape to shape,\u201d Sarah says, paraphrasing Laban. By finding your own baseline versus a character\u2019s baseline, Laban broadens the ability to be creative or imaginative in finding a character.<\/p>\n<p><em>Check out the rest of the great information from our recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/?tags=open%20house\">Open House<\/a>\u00a0in London.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Thank you to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.shapesinmotion.com\/\">Sarah Perry<\/a>, Movement Director, for this workshop. Sarah&#8217;s initiative\u00a0<a title=\"The Shapes in Motion Fitness and Wellness Club\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/news\/the-shapes-in-motion-fitness-and-wellness-club\/\" data-id=\"2267\">Shapes in Motion<\/a>\u00a0helps promote wellbeing for actors.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An introduction to the potential benefits of Laban Movement Analysis for actors We are all a body in a space moving with effort from shape to shape. Sarah Perry At our recent\u00a0Open House, Sarah Perry hosted a session on character analysis, using Laban. Laban Movement Analysis is a theoretical framework using movement, specifically observing how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":2878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[85,112,84],"class_list":["post-1789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-essentials","tag-christina-care","tag-making-work","tag-open-house"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Laban Character Analysis with Sarah Perry | Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock new ways to develop your characters using Laban Movement Analysis. 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Learn how body, effort, space, and shape can transform your acting.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/the-essentials\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-29T15:32:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T13:37:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/430dfce1-8065-41a6-8d8d-2bbd53b47cc3-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christina Care\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christina Care\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Christina Care\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32565ab7ea0fc6f82ccdf7e994ac4069\"},\"headline\":\"Laban Character Analysis with Sarah Perry\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-29T15:32:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T13:37:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":577,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/430dfce1-8065-41a6-8d8d-2bbd53b47cc3-scaled.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"christina care\",\"making work\",\"open house\"],\"articleSection\":[\"The Essentials\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/\",\"name\":\"Laban Character Analysis with Sarah Perry | Spotlight\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/news-and-advice\\\/the-essentials\\\/acting-techniques-laban-character-analysis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/430dfce1-8065-41a6-8d8d-2bbd53b47cc3-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-29T15:32:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T13:37:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.spotlight.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32565ab7ea0fc6f82ccdf7e994ac4069\"},\"description\":\"Unlock new ways to develop your characters using Laban Movement Analysis. 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