Have you heard of the second circle before? Today’s blog post focuses on Patsy Rodenburg’s secret to obtaining the ultimate power, which is “presence,” making you have that special spark among the crowd. What is that “it” thing? I am sharing a crash course on “Circle Theory” to introduce Rodenburg’s principles and ideas revolving around presence, which started as a tool for actors and led to something amazing to cultivate in life in general.

Who is Patsy Rodenburg?

Patsy Rodenburg, is a British voice coach, author, and theatre director. In her early years of teaching in India, UK and many more. She taught in prisons teaching inmates how to read and write and then later on act and perform Shakespeare. She is a formidable acting and voice coach that pioneered practical techniques to foster the space of keen presence to which she called “second circle”. Rodenburg’s theories with the voice and the performer illustrates how solving the frustration of performance is found in the breath and voice.

1st Circle

Great theatre is an act of awakening. It is the act of breathing life into the text, and that every word matters to the story. Rodenburg, in discussion with Christopher Potter, pointed that presence is about survival. It is about awareness and ease in this environment. So what is the opposite? First circle energy is where we are very connected to ourselves. Thinking and looking inward, energy is coming in. Voice drops, shoulder tight or closed, eyes avoiding contact, gaze low or internal. It’s what people are like all the time during the pandemic – closed off. Overly aware of ourselves than the people around us not willing to connect.

Many of us actors find ourselves in this state when we feel insecure either with the text or ourselves. Sometimes we start that way during rehearsals, then gradually enter the second circle and become present. Rodenburg considers this state the least ideal. And prevents the performer from understanding the characters, taking direction, making choices, and harnessing that power to be impacted and impact.

3rd Circle

The first circle is very introverted, while the third circle is “BIG ENERGY,” which takes up as much space as possible. The energy we have surrounded by competition or the way amateur actors perform comes across as overacting. There is a layer of narcissism and flexing involved. I find many dancers are in this place a lot and come across as “too much” (no offence to dancers). Like the first circle, this energy is very desensitizing and lacks a real connection with your scene partner. An example of this is when an actor is speaking their lines “at” their scene partner instead of speaking “to” and “with” them.

2nd Circle

Low and behold, the holy grail of the circles- second circle. The Second Circle is the balance of confidence of the third and ease of first but full attention/intuition and awareness that the other two lack. The second circle is found in the breath and voice. It is kind of meditative but not subdued. Athletes are in the second circle all the time during their games and training. There is this feeling of readiness in the body. Children are often in this state, if not always, and then adopt the other placements because of their growing environment. Rodenburg recommends that actors should perform and rehearse in this state of readiness. And I will share that rehearsing in this state of awareness has allowed me to be more specific with my choices, either physically or verbally. The second circle is where the actor should be in, but the character does not have to be portrayed in that state they can be in first or third. But the importance is that these are choices you, the actor, made and not a force of habit.

Try Patsy Rodenburg’s exercises today! I have linked her books and videos of her discussing the “Circle Theory.”

Online Resources

Second circle is a practice, something that everyone can cultivate to harness your real power as a performer and actor! This is an introduction to Rodenburg’s principles of circle theory which started as a tool for actors and led into something amazing to cultivate in life in general.

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