The Working Action Group is a creative research community - and a pioneering new acting studio - led by Dr Benjamin Askew.
Through our flagship #ACTforActing project, we aim to refresh and revitalise psychological approaches to character
​and place psychoeducation and care for well-being at the heart of an actor's training. 

About.

The Working Action Group was formed during the lockdowns of 2020 as an attempt to do something meaningful for our profession - and something useful for young actors - amidst the chaos and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to see if we could make a positive difference to our experiences of acting and actor training by exploring these processes through the prism of contemporary psychology. This led to the #ACTforActing project and to an approach to acting that promotes psychoeducation, prioritises well-being, and offers new tools and techniques for the interpretation of characters.

​No longer just a lockdown project, The Working Action group is a growing artistic community, delivering ongoing classes and workshops, advocating for change in our sector, and engaging in a process of continuous research and development.

What is ACT?

ACT is an evidence-based model of behavioural psychology that is used therapeutically (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and to provide psychoeducation and skills-training in a variety of different settings (Acceptance and Commitment Training).

Its aim is the development of psychological flexibility: the ability to "open up, be present and do what matters" even in the presence of difficult thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, the purpose of ACT is to help us to live lives that are meaningful to us. We believe that developing psychological flexibility, both individually and collectively, can be of enormous benefit to actors and other practitioners.

In addition, the theories underpinning ACT offer fascinating and pragmatic accounts of human behaviour and of human language and cognition. Our work is based on the idea that these principles can help us, not only to understand ourselves, but to interpret the minds and behaviours of characters in ways that are coherent, credible and reflect our lived experience.

What is #ACTforActing?

#ACTforActing is our attempt to apply the principles of ACT to the processes of acting. Through our work thus far, we have developed a '3-ACT Structure' for the project:

ACT 1 is about people. Here we explore how ACT-based education and skills-training can help us as human beings (who just happen to be involved in acting).

ACT 2 is about plays. Here we explore how ACT tools and techniques can be adapted for the interpretation of dramatic texts and characters.

ACT 3 is about process. Here we explore how ACT principles can be employed to develop new exercises and strategies for the rehearsal room​, allowing us to pursue our artistic goals more effectively whilst also maintaining appropriate boundaries and always affirming the agency of the actor.

One of the most exciting discoveries has been the way in which each of these three strands informs and enriches the others. In combination, we believe that they represent a radical reframing of the acting process - not discarding the techniques that have worked for us in the past, but changing them, we hope, for the better.

Our Founder

Benjamin Askew, Ph.D
Founder and Director

Ben is an acting teacher, writer and director. He is the originator of the #ACTforActing project and is one of the UK's leading exponents of Theatre Analysis and the Laban-Malmgren System of Movement Psychology. He led the teaching of Theatre Analysis at Drama Centre London for over six years and continues to work at some of the UK's top drama schools, recently directing a number of rehearsal projects for the Manchester School of Theatre and delivering specialist ACT Matrix training for staff and students at the Oxford School of Drama. He also works as a freelance acting coach and runs regular classes and workshops through The Working Action Group. Trained as an actor, his professional experience includes work in the West End and for companies including Shakespeare's Globe and the Manchester Royal Exchange, along with roles for television and radio. His dramatic writing has been produced at various venues around the UK and his academic research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, most recently an article on acting and mentalization published in 'Stanislavski Studies'. He received his doctorate from CSM in 2017 for a thesis exploring psychophysical approaches to verse and heightened text and he continues to conduct research in this area. Ben is a Certified ACT Matrix Facilitator and a Registered Mental Health First Aider. He lives with his family in Yorkshire.

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