What have I learned about acting after years of training, performing, and teaching?

In this episode, I share 10 things that have fundamentally shaped the way I approach acting. Drawing on my training in the Demidov technique with Andrei Malaev-Babel, classical acting with Jonny Epstein, and my own experience as an actor and teacher, I explore what it means to trust the moment rather than try to control it.

We talk about why preparation isn't performance, why accepting your nerves can actually help you, and what happens when you follow your first impulse instead of second-guessing yourself. I also explore the importance of letting go before you start, resisting the urge to recreate a good performance, finding freedom in comedy, and learning to trust your own unique talent.

Other lessons include developing a process you can trust, practicing daily, and remembering why you wanted to act in the first place.

This episode started as my first TikTok Live, and I decided to share the conversation here as well.

The 10 lessons:

• Preparation isn't performance.
• Don't deny what you're feeling.
• Pay attention to your first impulse.
• Letting go is just as important as preparation.
• Don't try to recreate a good take.
• Comedy needs freedom, not just technique.
• Trust your own unique talent.
• Develop your own process.
• Practice daily.
• Are you enjoying yourself?

The Actor's Nervous System explores the intersection of acting, embodiment, psychology, neuroscience, and the creative process.

Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem

Email: theactorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.com

If you're an actor looking to develop your own process, I'm offering 1:1 acting coaching and self-tape feedback. Learn more at https://brianzane.com.

Support the podcast and writing at: buymeacoffee.com/brianzane

Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane.
Music by Penguinmusic from Pixabay.

Learn more: https://brianzane.com

What happens when you try to control your breath? You tighten. You grip. The effort to manage something that normally happens automatically can become another source of tension. So what actually helps when the pressure is on?

I talk with Erin Sandral, breath educator and founder of The Breath Place, about the relationship between control and allowing, and why she starts with awareness. We explore how breathing and the nervous system influence one another, why the body can respond to everyday stress as though we’re facing immediate danger, and how to work with the breath before a high-stakes moment without forcing it. Erin also shares practical exercises, including small breath holds, humming, the physiological sigh, and coherent breathing (five seconds in, five seconds out).

We also explore breath, impulse, and emotion in acting, including the Demidov “losing the body” exercise and the culture of calm.

Find Erin: thebreathplace.com | Instagram @the.breath.place

The Actor’s Nervous System explores the intersection of acting, embodiment, psychology, neuroscience, and the creative process. Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem

If you’re an actor looking to develop your own process, I offer 1:1 acting coaching and self-tape feedback. Learn more at brianzane.com.

Support the podcast and writing: buymeacoffee.com/brianzane

Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane.
Music by Penguinmusic from Pixabay.

What can acting learn from ritual? I sit down with Christopher Fuelling — theater director, tenor, and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans physical theater, ritual, and immersive performance — for a conversation about what happens when performance becomes a deeply embodied experience instead of something we just watch. We talk about Meyerhold's biomechanics and the otkaz/stoika principles, his Atlantis production that opened with "everything we're about to tell you is complete bullshit we made up," Boal's critique of Aristotelian catharsis, and the ethical question at the center of his work: does your ritual expand agency, or concentrate it in the hands of the people who wrote it? We close with three communal breaths.

Find Christopher here: Teatro Korazon — teatrokorazon.org

The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system.

Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.

If you're an actor looking to develop your own process, I'm now offering 1:1 acting coaching and self-tape feedback. Learn more at BrianZane.com.

If you'd like to support the show, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/brianzane.