Course description
A 5-day intensive to help actors stop overthinking and start acting from the body through impulse, presence and expressive movement.
If you’re an actor you probably know this feeling. The text is clear, you understand the lines but inside - nothing. You want to connect, to feel, to act honestly but the body doesn’t respond. This course shows you how to bridge that gap.
You’ll get a clear, step-by-step method for building a role through movement, using the Psychological Gesture technique by Michael Chekhov. You’ll learn how to work on a monologue or scene from the outside in - not by forcing emotion, but by activating it through action.
And you’ll leave with tools you can rely on - in auditions, rehearsals, or anytime you feel stuck.
Student Level
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Format
Bilingual instruction: the course is conducted in Russian with consecutive translation into English. The format is live speech with real-time translation during the session.
Lessons
5 Lessons
Date / Time
December 2, 3, 9, 10, 11
7 pm - 10 pm
Location
Theatre Puget Sound
Armory, 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
What changes after 5 days
If you're just starting out:
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Get a clear and simple roadmap for entering a role so you don’t feel lost.
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Start embodying the character through your body, not just the text.
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Let go of control and awaken spontaneity.
If you’re more experienced:
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Break out of patterns and refresh your performance.
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Explore your body in a deeper and more nuanced way.
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Remember that the body is not secondary, but primary.
Program modules
Quality of action
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Learn why honest emotion is born from physical action - not the other way around
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Discover what it means to play between states, not play a fixed “emotion”
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Explore stillness as a powerful, active choice
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Combine movement “qualities” to create layered, alive performance
1
Expressiveness of gesture
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Unlock the core principles of physical expressiveness - form, direction, contrast
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Connect impulse to gesture - no more mechanical movement
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Work with props as extensions of the body
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Find meaning in the smallest details - like where your gaze lands, or how you use your hands
2
Psychological gesture
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Step-by-step: from finding your gesture to weaving it into a full scene
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Learn to read the text through physical verbs and inner action
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Build your own gesture “library” - and know when to use what
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Discover how to enter a role quickly - from the body, not the brain
3
Bonus
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Get individual feedback on your gesture and your monologue
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Take home checklists + visual guides for your own practice
4
Participation requirements
To get the most out of the course, you’ll need the following:
Material for practice
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A memorized poem (about 16–20 lines).
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A monologue you’re currently preparing for an audition or working on in rehearsals.
This will allow you to immediately apply the technique in practice.
Dress code
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Training clothes and soft shoes.
We recommend not wearing everyday clothing, but something specifically chosen for movement.
It’s like switching your body into “work mode” — to tune in and engage fully in the process.
Meet your instructors
Anna Karpukhina
The course is led by Anna Karpukhina — an experienced movement coach and director with over 22 years of work in dramatic theater. She has contributed to more than 35 successful productions as a choreographer and movement director, and has just won the "Outstanding Choreography" award at 2025 WSCTA Kaleidoscope festival in Spokane.
“I help actors and directors turn the body into a powerful tool of expression — creating unforgettable performances that speak without words.”
Mike Lion
Mike is a director, actor, translator, and clown. He is the Co-Artistic Director and co-founder of Seattle's Dacha Theatre, which specializes in site-specific productions, immersive spectacles and original work.
Our students say
Peter
Anna has developed her own approach to teaching and working with actors doing Chekhov’s psychological gesture. It has great clarity, and it's challenging. And within just a few days you find people in class doing these creative, inventive, magnificent pieces. It's pretty darn marvelous.
May 29, 2025
Valerie
I think just the awareness of our entire body communicating something — like, use your feet, use your spine, use everything — that awakening. I'm still not perfect at it yet, but that was a tool that really gave energy to my body. And I feel like if I did that all the time, I would be a great actor.
May 29, 2025
Rizo
I felt it actually reflect somewhere in here, in my chest. It caused me an emotion, was a really fun way to use this work.
May 29, 2025
Paula
The idea that language was part of it was also very fun, just because it gave us expressionality and opportunity to listen — and then listen again in a different language. It gave a little more treat, and a little more opportunity to hear it, see it, and feel it in different ways.
May 29, 2025
Angel
I changed my mind and how I uh feel my acting and the tools that I can use uh to analyze the text uh and the emotions of the characters. The workshop is extremely helpful.
May 29, 2025
Daisy
It was really fun. It was not like scary or hard like I was worried it might be.
May 29, 2025
Nelya
Diving into this acting training reminded me that I’m an actress — and that feels amazing! I’ll be using these tools both in my own work and when teaching my students.
March 17, 2025
Vladimir
The Psychological Gesture changed me forever — now I have several ways to come into rehearsal with a vivid, prepared character. And working with Anya is always a celebration, even if she were teaching physics or the phone book — it would still be a joy!
March 17, 2025
Natalya
Now I have a clear method that helps me understand what to do and how to do it on stage. It’s not just the director giving directions — I can bring my own ideas to the table.
March 17, 2025
Grigoriy
A whole new layer was uncovered — something to feel, lift up, and work through. Anya’s way of teaching is unique, and there was so much to discover!
March 17, 2025
Alexey
I understood how the body connects to emotion — there are actual tools for this, and they really work. With consistent effort, it becomes something you can control and develop.
March 17, 2025