Born from the passion of two artists in quest for human creative integrity, Momentum Acting Studio champions Direct-able Authenticity through craftsmanship
With our respective backgrounds -as an Irish triathlete and actor, and as a French actress, singer and dancer-our shared multicultural journey began in Dublin when touring a play in 2000. We immediately recognised our mutual thirst for authentic creative expression and connected experience in a world losing its innocence..
Liza Michael
Robbie Byrne
Introduced to Method Acting in Ireland by Tim McDonnell who studied with Lee Strasberg in New York, we soon sought deeper training with the esteemed Sarah Eigermann, who was Lee Strasberg's assistant and taught in NYC at the Lee Strasberg Institute in the 70s before co-founding "the Real Stage" in Paris with Lee's son, John Strasberg and her own school F.A.C.T..
She gave us first-hand premium expertise on this method that, mishandled, can be mentally unhealthy. Throughout her tutelage, we were welcomed to classes in the famous but secretive Actors Studio NYC in 2004, alongside luminaries like Harvey Keitel and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. This highlighted the noble legacy attached to our profession and inspired our commitment to excellence. A quest, which, even if illusory, is still worth undertaking for the richness of its teaching. Thanks to Sarah and her humanistic Alive Technique, we delved deep into the art of creative emotional availability through imaginative exploration.
If Sarah helped us restore wings to the creative wealth of our original emotional potential, it was the next chapter that saw us develop the art of calibrating it and playing with precision across its entire range, present and future
Wanting to exercise his skills in his native language, Robbie headed to London where he began teaching LAMDA courses and at the Brian Timoney Actor’s Studio. Always seeking to deepen his own process, he encountered the Meisner Technique at the original Actor’s Temple and introduced Liza to its power. Five years under the guidance of Tom Radcliffe, who had received Sanford Meisner's blessing to develop his teaching, will propel us on an even deeper path of discovery.
Far from the clichés and shortcuts often associated with this technique, we discovered how to harness the versatility of our humanity with a specificity and adaptability previously unimaginable, and in direct result with step by step exercises respecting each actor's integrity. From the repetition exercise to the intricacies of channeling one's authentic behaviour, it deepened, secured and empowered our ability to do our job as we wished within the specific demands of a director, with a consistency losing nothing to spontaneity, and without fear of being asked something we didn't know how to technically ensure.
Owning control over the creativity of our emotional depth, over the prerogative to make our own choices to accurately respond to a director's demands, and over a spontaneity enhancing the consistency we always wanted, Robbie embarked on delving into the active secrets of text analysis according to the tenets of Practical Aesthetics with Gaby Santinelli, a student at the Atlantic Theater Company with David Mamet and William H. Macy, their creators.
The loop was beautifully closed, allowing us to always leave the door open to new adventures and refine our approach to coaching professionals from various backgrounds (actors, dancers, singers, authors, directors, creatives, business leaders, etc.).
Thankful for our journey, we embarked on a mission to give back and share our knowledge with Dublin.
Building Momentum
Inspired, still to this day, by our session at the Actor’s Studio, Robbie took over an office space, and turned it to a functioning theatre space.
Momentum Acting Studio was born, committed to celebrate individual artists’ creative authenticity and growth.
Our studio, more than just a space for instruction, became a sanctuary for actors to explore and expand their artistic capabilities. While fulfilling the demands of the Industry the artists we had the chance to accompany on their ever evolving journey, re-discovered the empowering value of investing in their own personal work, whether in acting, writing or directing for screen and stage.
Our Direct-able Authenticity Technique
©️ 2016 Momentum Acting Studio
The Momentum Acting Studio's Direct-able Authenticity Technique is based on:
The Meisner Technique for its practicality
in anchoring the actor in the moment
with its ability to channel the actor's authentic humanity with specificity, flexibility, and consistency
without resorting to the often traumatic impact of “Emotional Recall”.
The Alive Technique for its ability to unleash the actor's imaginative and emotional availability.
Certain elements of Lee Strasberg's Method for its physical relaxation and physical activation (energetic).
"Practical Aesthetics" by deepening its performative text analysis specifically for actors.
Combining and building upon their benefits enables the Direct-able Authenticity Technique to adapt precisely and deepen each participant’s process specifically.
“Failing to come up with what you need emotionally for a scene is not a failure of talent: it’s a failure of technique” - Paul Sorvino
Why have we developed the Direct-able Authenticity technique? Because it works!
This structured approach eliminates the ambiguity often associated with acting and equips you with practical professional skills.. With a more fluid and authentic emotional and behavioural availability, with an ability to stay in the moment, connected to your fellow actors or your environment, you are free to make your own choices to give “life” to the “characters” you are responsible to portray, while remaining open and available to collaborate with your director .
“Acting has never been the problem -everybody acts all day long. It's realising and accepting the complexity of the human goods each actor actually possesses. By taking the time to get out of their own way, actors can learn to use them in their work and create on the scale of the original artist that only they can be.” —Liza Michael & Robbie Byrne
No, acting is not the problem. The secret lies in the preparation. With the Direct-able Authenticity technique, the actor learns how to prepare specifically so that they can then simply perform in the moment, confident that their instinct, framed by their preparation, will take over in the specifically targeted manner.
Yes, it's a high-flying technique. It allows for meticulousness like no other and leaves the actor completely available, ready to collaborate, after each take, even after an emotionally-charged sequence. To start with, an actor must first step out of their own way to re-invest in all the richness, warts and all, that they possess. But for this, they need a technique they can rely on when necessary, or set aside when they don't need it.
"Robbie and Liza's Direct-able Authenticity technique is the all-terrain ready-to-action technique!" -Kate Murphy
A technique being measured by its results, we are proud of the concrete and undisputed results of our common-sense, practice-based approach.
“Actors are way more able & flexible than they "think". Their ongoing professional development demands a teaching specific to each one of them, with tailored practical exercises, so these individual artists, who often have an iron will, can rediscover how to use themselves beyond the limitations and preconceptions of that same will. It is about allowing and inviting them to play once again at their own real size, learning how to impel themselves specifically and truthfully moment to moment. The aim is that they are independent professionals holding the keys to their ability to be directed while remaining authentic and truthful to their humanity.” —Liza Michael & Robbie Byrne
Our Ethos
At Momentum, we reject the notion of a one-size-fits-all approach to acting. Instead, we embrace the individuality of each artist, guiding them towards a deeper understanding and deepening of their craft as an independent artist in charge of their development. This is why we chose to offer a “studio” and not a “school”, a laboratory where artists are free to dare and make genuine “mistakes" that will propel them to enter the next level of their craftsmanship. With expertise spanning Meisner, Method, Alive Technique, and Practical Aesthetics, we offer actors of all backgrounds a way to build and nurture their own comprehensive toolkit, so they can renew with the uniqueness of the original and authentic artist only they can be.
Our journey, rooted in dedication and fueled by passion, has led us to cultivate a community of artists committed to excellence. With a blend of French and Irish influences, we bring an open, accessible, and unique perspective to the acting craft, as well as enriching our students’ linguistic experiences, broadening their horizons. As we continue to evolve and innovate, our core mission remains unchanged: Empowering actors with the means to access and use as they see fit their full potential while honoring the long and noble tradition of our profession.
“Root your acting in authentic love. It will set you free to create and act beyond whatever limitations you believe in.”
—Liza Michael & Robbie Byrne
As we continue to evolve and innovate, our core mission remains unchanged: Empowering actors with the means to access and use as they see fit their full potential while honouring the long and noble tradition of our profession.
Acting is a profession in the most noble usage of the term, bringing us all together on the scale of our human nature. And our Direct-able Authenticity Technique enables us to respect the richness of its vibrant imperfections.
More than ever, we need true artists who have the courage to speak from the heart and, through their work -whether commercial or personal- tell the truth about the world as they experience it.
The purpose of our training is to get you working professionally, while keeping on growing, without compromising your primary passion.
More about our training
Watch Elaine & Luke rehearse a scene on stage and talk about their experience of our training.
