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Emotional Fluency Project
Emotional Fluency Project
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Upcoming Workshops

Working with Emotions

A Practical Approach for Actors, Acting Teachers, Coaches, and Directors

This workshop is being held in three cities in 2026

Why Attend

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:

  • Greater emotional range
  • Increased ability to repeat performances consistently
  • Stronger moment-to-moment connection with scene partners
  • Increased confidence working courageously and safely
  • Clearer separation between personal emotion and performed emotion

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

  • Actors seeking practical methods to embody the emotional life of a character that is reliable, repeatable, while supporting resilience and well-being
  • Acting teachers and coaches looking for a somatic, consent-based framework that supports student agency and emotional safety
  • Directors who want practical tools for guiding emotional work in rehearsal without psychological intrusion
  • Educators and trainers interested in integrating current research in emotion science into studio practice


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. 

Development & History of Emotional Fluency Training for Actors

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.

What the Workshop Covers

Participants will:

  • Learn the basic Emotional Effector Patterns and how to combine them to create complex emotional states
  • Practice safe strategies for entering, exiting, and regulating emotion
  • Explore somatic exercises that build emotional awareness and resilience
  • Apply EFTA principles by acting in or coaching a short monologue or scene

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.

Workshop Schedules & Locations

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

Cost

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 

  • March 26 (Halifax) 
  • April 30 (Vancouver)
  • May 21 (Toronto)

Special Discount: $450 (for returning participants)

Enrolment & Registration

Enrolment is limited to support a focused and individualized learning environment.


How to Apply

Please email the following information to emotionalfluency@gmail.com : 

  1. Briefly summarize your theatre experience and level of proficiency with the Emotional Effector Patterns if applicable. 
  2. Briefly summarize your interest and goals in taking the workshop.

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!

Subscribe to get notified about upcoming events!

Emotional Fluency Workshop Cancellation Policy

If you need to cancel

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:


  • More than 30 days before the start date: A cancellation fee of 10% of total workshop registration paid applies
  • Less than 14 days before the start date: A cancellation fee of 40% of total workshop registration fees paid applies
  • 48 hours or less before the start date: No refund is available


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.

Workshop Cancellation

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.

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