Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Angelin.

Hi Patricia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

Every actor dreads the question: “Well, tell us about yourself.” Despite all the hundreds of times I have been asked this question by agents, managers, producers, and people at cocktail parties, I never got the “elevator pitch” streamlined. Unlike a lot of actors, I’ve always considered myself absolutely normal. Friends and colleagues have told me otherwise, but at this point I think my association with normalcy has served my own journey from actor and critic to master practitioner of Alba Emoting, in long association with the great neuropsychologist Susana Bloch, to master teacher and expander of her Alba Emoting system at Alba Technique in New York… Because Alba Technique works with the whole person just as we are and where we are at. I think that assuming I’m normal is okay. Because, after all, the Alba Emoting Standard or Basic Emotions identified by Bloch and colleagues identify the body patterns that actually produce our subjectively felt emotional states. Working with the universal human patterns we become, if not “normal” then definitely healthier and more wholly ourselves. Becoming more wholly who one is is a truly great path to take. And I’m delighted that this pursuit is now my 100% focus.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Yes.
As smooth as human emotions can be. Seriously, I’m thinking of the wonderful quote from the great author Louisa May Alcott, to paraphrase slightly, “I am no longer afraid of [emotional] storms, for I am learning to pilot my ship!” Human emotions are volatile, the biochemicals changing from moment to moment. To quote another great woman, Teresa of Avila, “Only God never changes.” We human beings are constantly reacting to our circumstances, and so the struggles and challenges and sufferings along the way of life mean that nobody has a smooth road! But really learning how to discover what one’s own body chemicals are telling a person does serve to smooth out emotional reactivity to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Hamlet, of course. And he certainly knew about unsmooth roads!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

What am I known for? Helping anybody… not just artists, but any body – because we’ve all got emotions – to discover how to manage those emotions in-the-moment. In the Self and to accurately observe the Other. This is no small feat! To really be able to control one’s emotions, one comes to Know One’s Self and the signals one’s own body is giving in response to stimuli both from within and without. As an actor, I am known amongst students and colleagues for my ability to have total emotional flexibility. I can turn on a dime. And it’s absolutely authentic and real. My students gradually get to know themselves in a fascinating unfolding of body/mind knowledge. It is fascinating! And so much fun for everybody. I am really proud of how those with whom I work become so much more themselves: in both Life and Art. They understand themselves so well. They become more compassionate towards themselves and towards other people. I think this work, yes I will say it unequivocally, helps us become better persons. What sets Alba Technique apart from any other body work and any other breathing work is its clarity and specificity. Within an extremely gentle approach that respects the dignity of each person, going at each individual’s pace within the small group, we “make haste slowly,” to quote my Pennsylvania Deutsch great-grandmother Angelin. A lot of artist-training makes people more bound by their own habits of mind and body and this modality frees people from their own bindings. The acting profession in particular can create such neurotic people, and this work is the antidote for that.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?

Ooof. Yes: Psychological extroverts often became neurotic, psychological introverts often became reclusive, and everyone in the entire world got a generalized anxiety disorder! We are still dealing with that. But people are resilient. And we’re all coming out of it. We need to never again totally shut ourselves off from each other, because the human person is made for relationship. And I do mean Never again! However, for those of us able to be genuinely mindful, and who are willing to take the great leap to learn how to accurately observe the emotions, the COVID-19 extremes can teach us A LOT about ourselves and how we function moving forward. I’m thinking of the great Sufi mystic Rumi, “Leap: The net will appear.” Investigating the emotions need not be scary and it is, in my view, a solution to working with ourselves in our anxiety, depression, and anger. To finally quote my own mother, “Work with yourself, my dear, not against yourself. Work WITH yourself.” At Alba Technique, people discover the How: HOW to do that.

Pricing:

• We offer a variety of opportunities at differing pricing. Opportunities are listed with descriptions on our website: https://www.albatechnique.com/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.albatechnique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/albatechnique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbaTechnique
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alba-technique
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@albatechnique

Image Credits

Alba Technique Studio