ΑDVANCED LABORATORY FOR ACTORS/PERFORMERS
Long-Term Actor Research Process
Bodily Experienced Approach in Acting
Research Direction: Michael Seibel, PhD
Stage Director · Theatre & Opera · Acting & Vocal Coach · Researcher
The Advanced Laboratory for Performers is a long-term artistic research and training programme designed for actors, performers, directors and theatre practitioners who wish to deepen their creative practice through an embodied and research-oriented approach to acting. Rather than offering conventional actor training, the laboratory provides an ongoing environment for artistic investigation in which theory and practice continuously inform one another.
The encounter with theatre is understood as an open process of exploring human presence. Every creative act requires a willingness to engage with the unknown, the unfamiliar and the unexpected that emerge through the artistic process itself. Consequently, acting is approached not merely as the acquisition of techniques but as a process of discovery in which the performer investigates how presence, relationships, action and ultimately dramatic character come into being.
The laboratory is grounded in the research platform Phenomenology of Acting, which investigates the embodied and perceptual conditions of artistic creation. This phenomenological approach does not begin with psychological interpretation or emotional representation, but with the lived experience of the body itself. Acting is understood as a process of embodiment in which the dramatic character is not artificially constructed but gradually emerges through the performer’s relationship to body, space, time, other performers and the dramatic text.
The practical work is based on the methodology Bodily Experienced Approach in Acting, which regards bodily perception as the primary source of creative work. Through carefully structured practical investigations, participants will explore presence, perception, attention, creativity, movement, voice, relational awareness and dramatic action. Concepts such as inspiration, creativity and stage presence are approached as embodied processes that can be consciously cultivated through artistic practice.
The laboratory functions as a continuous environment for artistic research in which participants gradually develop their own creative practice through practical experimentation, reflective observation, collaborative investigation and artistic application. Individual artistic development is understood as an ongoing dialogue between bodily experience, creative practice and phenomenological reflection.
The work is guided by a simple but fundamental principle:
“Technique can create form, but not presence.”
Michael Seibel
Information
Start of the Research Programme:
25 September 2026
Laboratory Duration:
9 months
Working Languages:
Greek and English
Participation:
Maximum 10 participants
Admission is by application and personal interview.
Participation Fee: €140 + VAT per month
Schedule: Every Friday, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Venue: Central Athens
Telephone: +30 698 1912 696
Office Hours: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Email: masterclassseibel@gmail.com
Website: www.michaelseibel.eu, https://michaelseibel.eu/index.php/future-workshops/