The Stanislavski SHARP PAIN

Method
Name: ________________________________

Date: ____________________ Period: ______

Objective
• Assess your progress with your relaxation efforts
• Assess your progress with your ability to concentrate
• Recreate the sensory experience of experiencing sharp pain.

Preparation
You will need some privacy to complete this assignment. First begin by relaxing your body and quieting your
mind through the relaxation techniques we have learned in class. Take as much time as you need. Recall a
experience you have had with a sharp pain—perhaps caused by a cramp, a Charlie Horse, a toothache, a cut,
or a particularly sharp headache.

The source of the sharp pain: _______________________________

Recollection Record
For this exercise, you (obviously) will not be asked to practice with the real sensation first. This exercise will
be enacted purely based on your memory, and therefore requires some very careful, concentrated recall work.
Your responses to the prompts below MUST be almost ridiculously specific. Use metaphors and similes to
accurately conjure up the sensation. Be specific about how the sensation physically affects you.

1) Which part(s) of your body were affected?

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2) Explain the sensation as specifically as possible, including the “journey” of the sensation (How did it
start? What did it feel like at first? How did it change?)

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The Exercise
Now, clear your mind. Spend at least 10 minutes relaxing in a chair—as you have been taught. Recreate the
experience of the sharp pain. You are not doing this exercise in order to learn to pantomime. Work on
reliving each of the specific sensations you recorded above. Do not move on to the next step until you fully
recreate each sensation fully and vividly and specifically.

Work on this several times for roughly ten-minute intervals.

You will be completing this exercise in class, and will be expected to have worked on this significantly at
home. You will be guided through each step, and you will be asked to recreate and describe each sensation.

Due Date: ________________________________

Reflection [To Be Completed After Your In-Class Performance]

Respond to the following prompts sincerely and with specific detail. Keep in mind that sense memory work
is intended to be a continual process. You are not learning your times tables; these are exercises not unlike
sit-ups or yoga. You continue to develop your ability with no end zone in sight. To achieve any kind of
success you must commit yourself to continually working on it.

1) How did you feel working on this exercise?

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2) Which specific sensations gave you the most trouble?

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3) What specific goals do you have for yourself as you continue to work?

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Assessment [for teacher use only]

PREPARATION 5 4 3 2 1
RELAXATION 5 4 3 2 1
CONCENTRATION 5 4 3 2 1
DETAIL OF WORK 5 4 3 2 1
ABILITY TO SUSTAIN 5 4 3 2 1
SELF-EVALUATION 5 4 3 2 1

Total ________ out of 30