ArtsPerforming Arts

The Actor's Nervous System

Brian Zane

The Actor’s Nervous System is a podcast exploring acting, embodiment, and the nervous system. Hosted by AEA actor, teacher, and MFA-trained performer Brian Zane, the show features insights from experts, artists, and practitioners across a range of disciplines. It examines how presence, tension, breath, and emotional truth emerge through regulation rather than effort. Drawing from the Demidov technique, classical training, somatic practices, and conversations with people across fields, each episode asks what happens in the body when we perform, create, and connect. Learn more: brianzane.com

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11 episodes
Avg 39 min
English

Episodes 11

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S1 · E11
September 7 · 1 hr 13 min
What Do Sexual Energy and Creative Energy Have in Common? with Josephine Lauer
What if sexual energy and creative energy are connected? I sit down with Josephine Lauer, an embodied leadership and sacred intimacy coach based in Chicago and host of Universal Intimacy, for a conversation that takes The Actor’s Nervous System somewhere new. We explore embodiment, intuition, archetypes, surrender, presence, and Josephine’s perspective on the relationship between sexual and creative energy. She shares the personal journey that led her into somatic and tantric practice, and we talk about what actors might learn from approaches centered on becoming more fully expressed and available to experience. I also reflect on connections I notice between Josephine’s ideas and experiences from my own acting training, including practices around emptying, releasing tension, conserving energy, and presence. We close with a guided embodiment practice led by Josephine involving breath, sound, grounding, visualization, and awareness of the body. The Actor’s Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system. Podcast episode shot at Chicago Podcast Studio. Studio Engineer and Video Editor: Luke Bechtel. Podcast created and hosted by Brian Zane. Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.
S1 · E10
August 31 · 1 hr 6 min
Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable – with Amy Schloerb
What happens when two podcast hosts exploring the same territory finally sit down and compare notes? I'm joined by Amy Schloerb, host of The Aligned Actor, for a conversation about mindfulness, presence, and what actually gets in the way of actors staying grounded. We talk about being comfortable "in the shit," why pretending you don't want something is usually a sign you want it badly, and why acknowledging a hard feeling is often the fastest way through it. We also try something new on the show — a live, unscripted improv exercise, right in the middle of the conversation — plus a demonstration of a technique for interrupting exhausting, repetitive thoughts. The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system. Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack. If you'd like to support the show, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/brianzane.
S1 · E9
August 24 · 54 min
The Body is a Dress for the Soul – with DeAnna S. Wright
Care harder. Try harder. Hold on tighter — that's what we're taught actors and artists need to do. What if it's exactly what's working against us? I sit down with DeAnna S. Wright — MFA-trained actor, director, and educator — for a conversation about letting go of gripping so tightly and trusting the circumstances to carry you, instead of carrying them yourself. DeAnna and I go back to our FSU/Asolo Conservatory days together, where she returned to teach text work and acting alongside Andrei Malaev-Babel — so this one's got real shared history behind it. We talk about caring less without caring less, the body as "a dress for the soul," nervous system tension in the solar plexus before an audition, and what it means to bring gratitude and intention into a rehearsal room. The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, and the nervous system. Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram and Substack — and we're now on TikTok too! If you'd like to support the show, you can buy me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/brianzane 🎙️
S1 · E8
August 17 · 1 hr
Episode 8: Get Out of Your Own Way – with Andrew Bosworth
What does it actually mean to get out of your own way? I sit down with Andrew Bosworth — actor, teacher, and curator of Demidov Chicago — for a conversation that's both personal and professional. Andrew was one of the people who first introduced me to Demidov technique back in 2020, and here we trace his path: an undergrad program that left him coasting on instinct with no real training, grad school under Andre Malaev-Babel, and eventually becoming a certified teacher of the technique himself. We talk about the bravery Demidov asks of an actor — the cliff metaphor of throwing yourself off and trusting your scene partner to catch you — why mainstream acting technique has been "sanded down," and Demidov's story of a cat wandering onto a stage that reveals what real aliveness looks like on stage. We also get into what it means to teach rather than perform this work, and a closing practice for learning to truly see something without trying to interpret it. The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, and the nervous system. Follow @theactorsnervoussystem on Instagram and Substack.
S1 · E7
August 10 · 1 hr
Empty On Purpose- with Hetty-Jo Taylor
What does surrendering control actually look like in the body? I sit down with actor, musician, and yoga practitioner Hetty-Jo Taylor for a conversation about neurodivergence, letting go of the need to control a performance, and the years she spent away from acting — in yoga, in luxury brand management, and eventually back again with a completely different relationship to her body. We talk about the nervous system states that show up before an audition, why "keeping busy" can be its own kind of avoidance, and a moment that echoes Demidov's practice of emptying before an etude — arrived at from a totally different direction. Hetty also walks through nadi shodhana, a breathing practice for rebalancing the nervous system, live on the episode. Find Hetty here: Instagram: @hettyperforms Personal/yoga: @wellhettysays The Actor's Nervous System explores acting, embodiment, psychology, and the nervous system. Follow along on Instagram and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem Email: theactorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.com Music by Penguinmusic ("Thoughtful Minimal Ambient") from Pixabay. Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane. Learn more: https://brianzane.com
S1 · E6
August 3 · 52 min
What Does It Mean to Be Present- With Jenna Pacelli
What does a neuroscientist who treats trauma have in common with a 20th century Russian acting teacher? More than you would think. In this episode, Brian Zane sits down with Jenna Pacelli - licensed therapist, molecular neuroscientist, and founder of The Holistic Neuroscientist - for a wide-ranging conversation about presence, the nervous system, trauma, creativity, and what it actually means to be in your body. Jenna shares her journey from wilderness therapy with at-risk youth to somatic experiencing and nervous system regulation. She talks about why talk therapy alone was not enough, what dissociation actually looks like in the body, and how presence is not just a feeling but a trainable skill. The conversation touches on sense memory vs. the subconscious approach in acting, the "1% less bad" technique for staying present in intense emotional states, and a surprising overlap between the Demidov technique and the foundations of somatic experiencing. Featured guest: Jenna Pacelli - The Holistic Neuroscientist Instagram: @theholisticneuroscientist Website: https://www.jennapacelli.com/ The Actor's Nervous System explores the intersection of acting, embodiment, psychology, neuroscience, and the creative process. Follow along on Instagram and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem Email us at: theactorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.com Music by Penguinmusic and QuietPhase from Pixabay. Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane. Learn more: https://brianzane.com
S1 · E5
July 31 · 17 min
You're Not Just Learning Lines
How do you learn lines? Most actors have been taught to memorize as quickly as possible, get the words into their heads, and move on to the "real" work of acting. But what if the way we learn our lines is actually shaping the way we perform them? In this episode of The Actor's Nervous System, I explore the relationship between memorization, anxiety, embodiment, and creative freedom through my own experience playing Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls during my first year of graduate school. I share how I discovered that I hadn't just learned the lines — I had assigned the anxiety right along with them. The idea that the nervousness we experience while learning lines can become associated with the lines themselves was something I learned from Andrei Malaev-Babel during my graduate training. Using the Demidov acting technique and the practice of "assigning" text, we explore: • Why learning lines is more than storing words in your memory • How the nervous system state you bring to rehearsal can follow you onto the stage • The difference between assigning text and performing text • Why calm, curiosity, and patience create more freedom for the actor • Practical approaches for working with difficult lines and building a deeper relationship with text The question isn't only: "How do I memorize my lines?" The deeper question is: What am I building into myself while I learn them? The Actor's Nervous System explores the intersection of acting, embodiment, psychology, neuroscience, and the creative process. Follow along on Instagram and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem Email us at: the actorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.com Music by Penguinmusic and QuietPhase from Pixabay. Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane. Learn more:https://brianzane.com
S1 · E4
July 18 · 14 min
The Courage to Feel
In episode 4 of The Actor's Nervous System, Brian Zane explores the relationship between emotional courage, physical tension, and the nervous system through a personal story of chronic pain during actor training. What happens when the body braces against feeling? How can actors learn to release rather than force? Drawing from the Demidov technique, somatic tracking, and neuroplastic pain research, this episode eplores the connection between embodiment, creativity, and presence. Follow along on Instagram and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystem Email us at: the actorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.com Music by Penguinmusic and QuietPhase from Pixabay.Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane. Learn more: https://brianzane.com
S1 · E3
July 7 · 8 min
Self-Consciousness vs. Presence: Getting Out of Your Own Way
In this episode of The Actor’s Nervous System, I explore one of the central struggles of acting: the difference between being trapped in self-consciousness and living with genuine presence.Drawing from my training in Nikolai Demidov’s technique, as well as my own experience as an actor and teacher, I discuss why creativity disappears when we start monitoring ourselves — and how we can return to instinct, impulse, and truth.Presence isn’t about trying harder. It’s about removing the obstacles that prevent our natural creativity from emerging.Follow along on Instagram and Substack: @theactorsnervoussystemEmail us at: the actorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.comMusic by Penguinmusic - "Thoughtful Minimal Ambient" from Pixabay.Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane.
S1 · E2
June 22 · 18 min
Fight, Flight, or Act? The Actor's Nervous System Ep. 2
Episode 2 of The Actor's Nervous System.What do Harold Hill, the fight-or-flight response, and Christof from The Truman Show have in common? In this episode, I explore how nervous system states affect performance, presence, and freedom in acting.Follow along on Instagram: theactorsnervoussystemEmail us at: the actorsnervoussystempodcast@gmail.comMusic by Penguinmusic - "Thoughtful Minimal Ambient" from Pixabay.Podcast created, hosted, and edited by Brian Zane.
S1 · E1
June 19 · 8 min
Episode 1: Introduction- The Actor's Nervous System
Most actors think tension means emotion. I used to believe that too. In this first episode of The Actor’s Nervous System, I explore how effort, control, and “trying harder” often lead to less truth in performance—and how the actor’s nervous system shapes presence, spontaneity, and emotional availability. Drawing from classical training, Demidov technique, and somatic work, this episode introduces the core idea of the podcast: that truthful acting is not just psychological or technical, but physiological. I’m Brian Zane, an actor and teacher, and this is the beginning of a larger exploration into acting, the body, attention, emotion, and presence. In this episode, we explore: tension and performance effort vs receptivity nervous system regulation in acting early Demidov insights cultivating calm and presence This is the first step in an ongoing inquiry into how actors become more available to experience.

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