A STONE IN YOUR SHOE

"Nothing will bring you more into the present moment than the agony of aching feet". — Sara Wiseman

Sometimes I see actors thinking so much that they lift up out of existing and rise into working too hard.

I wanted to research ways that actors can remind themselves that they have a body.

So, I started musing on ways actors can be in character, but not lose connection with being in their body. We want to have a rich inner life as well as being grounded and connected with the real world around us.

So, I asked my husband, playwright and director Stuart McKenzie. He has a degree in comparative religion, he knows all about the relationship between the spirit and the body. He said "Look into Early Church Mortification of the Flesh, and Penitence".

My research was alarming! There is a long history of saints, martyrs, penitants and pilgrims mortifying and scourging their flesh. Saint Catherine… Saint Anthony… Saint Jerome… Saint Perpetua... they all sought out pain and suffering in order to feel closer to God. These worshippers would use objects to create discomfort for the body like a scour…