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This workshop is being held in three cities in 2026
Working with emotion is central to performance—yet many traditional approaches place significant psychological demands on performers and offer few tools for emotional regulation and recovery.
Emotional Fluency Training for Actors (EFTA) offers a trauma-informed, somatic, and skill-based approach to emotional work using the Emotional Effector Patterns system. Participants learn how emotions function physiologically and how to enter, exit, and regulate emotional states with precision, control, and agency. EFTA provides a shared language and practical toolkit that supports emotionally demanding work while aligning with contemporary expectations around mental health, consent, and respectful workplace practices.
Participants who have completed EFTA workshops report:
This workshop is designed for:
Participants may be early-career, mid-career, or experienced professionals; the work is adaptable across all levels and training contexts. Although no experience with the Emotional Effector Patterns is required, theatre practitioners with experience in them who are interested in exploring ways of integrating the Emotional Effector Patterns into theatre practice are welcome.
EFTA emerged from many years of professional practice and pedagogy in actor training, movement, and somatic approaches to emotion. Its foundations lie in the teaching of Alba Emoting™ and The Emotional Body® method, both of which employ the Emotional Effector Patterns — a somatic system that uses breath, posture, and facial expression to stimulate and regulate emotional states.
In 2018, Ines Buchli, Tom Stroud, and Gayle Murphy undertook a two-year SSHRC-funded research project to adapt the Emotional Effector Patterns specifically for the acting process, focusing on emotional accessibility, repeatability, and performer well-being.
Since that time, Buchli and Stroud have continued to refine EFTA through ongoing teaching and practice with professional and student actors, educators and coaches, working nationally and internationally, resulting in a model that is somatic, consent-based, trauma-informed, and specifically tailored to the needs of performers and those who work with them.
Participants will:
In addition, participants will receive reference materials outlining the history and evolution of the Emotional Effector Patterns, the development of EFTA, and its relationship to current research in emotion science.
Halifax
Dalhousie Arts Centre & The Fountain School of Performing Arts Dalhousie University
6101 University Avenue & 1385 Seymour Street
Halifax, NS
April 22 - 26, 2026
Wednesday - Sunday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Vancouver
B.C. Binning Studios
University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus
Vancouver, B.C.
May 28 – June 1, 2026
Thursday - Monday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Toronto
Centre for Indigenous Theatre
#209 – 180 Shaw St.
Toronto, ON
June 18 - 22, 2026
Thursday - Monday
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
In recognition of ongoing financial challenges, all five-day workshops are offered at the following rates:
Full Price: $600. CAD
Early Bird: $500. CAD on or before
Special Discount: $450 (for returning participants)
Enrolment is limited to support a focused and individualized learning environment.
How to Apply
Please email the following information to emotionalfluency@gmail.com :
Once your application is submitted you will be notified of your acceptance into the workshop within 3 business days at which point registration is required to secure your place.
Registration
A deposit of 25% of the workshop fee is required to hold your place upon acceptance, with full
payment for the early bird price due: March 26th for Halifax; April 30th for Vancouver; and May
21st for Toronto. Payment can be made via e-transfer tstroud5398@gmail.com or by PayPal.
For any questions, please contact us at emotionalfluency@gmail.com
Stay tuned for more information on upcoming workshops!
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An accurate attendance count is critical in the planning and success of our workshops. If an attendee needs to withdraw from a workshop, they must inform us in writing via email prior to the first day of the scheduled workshop. If you need to cancel your participation in a workshop, the following refund schedule applies:
The Emotional Fluency project follows the professional guidelines of conduct outlined in Not in Our Space on the Canadian Actors Equity website.
This agreement makes our working environment safe and productive for all participants. If these guidelines are breached the faculty has the right to terminate your participation in the workshop, and in this case, no refund will be provided.
Although it is highly unusual, if a workshop must be cancelled for any reason, participants will be notified immediately and will receive a complete refund of all workshop fees. The Emotional Fluency workshop is not responsible for expenses incurred beyond the registration fees.

