Larry Moss’s Acting Technique as a Continuation of Traditional Acting Methods (Points of Convergence and Development)

Abstract

In his book “The Intent to Live Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor” widely recognized in the field of acting, the renowned acting coach Larry Moss recounts, in the opening chapters, an episode from his encounter with one of the most emblematic figures in the pedagogical development of acting, Stella Adler.
When we finished our entrée, she suddently turned to me and asked imperiously, “What do you do, young man?” “Well,” I sad, “I’m an acting teacher Stella.” Her eyes blazed for a moment and then she sad, challengingly, “And what do you teache?” And I sad, almost shyly, “I was in your script analysis class for three years and I’m hoping to carry on some of the traditions and techniques that I learned from you.” (1 Moss, 2006:7-8 ).
As can also be observed from the aforementioned paragraph and from the biographical information on Larry Moss, he is a product of the legacy of the great followers of Konstantin Stanislavski’s System in the United States. He emerges from the lineage of the founders of acting techniques that evolved from the Moscow Art Theatre to the American Laboratory Theatre and the Group Theatre, eventually giving rise to the renowned Actors Studio. Konstantin Stanislavski, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner are among the figures to whom we will refer in the following sections.
In this study, through the method of comparison, I will attempt not only to identify what Larry Moss’s technique has inherited from traditional acting methods, but also what it has developed further, constituting his originality and the distinctive qualities that characterize his approach. This difference in his technique may also be understood in light of Stella Adler’s observation in her book The Art of Acting: ‘Nowadays it is very fashionable to be a Method actor. Therefore, it is time for a change. When something becomes truly fashionable, something is wrong.’(2 Adler, 2018:9) What becomes evident in Moss’s technique is its practicality in achieving results. Like any serious acting technique, it begins with the preparatory elements for the actor, continues with the phase of text analysis and interpretation, and also emphasizes professional ethics in the working process.