The science behind Gonsalves Method

‍Dr Tracy Irish is an experienced teacher, theatre practitioner and scholar with expertise in communication and complex texts. Her PhD, awarded by the University of Warwick’s Business School, explored the value of theatre-based practice with Shakespeare for developing communication skills. In addition to being a long-term collaborator on the Gonsalves Method, Tracy is an Associate Learning Practitioner with the Royal Shakespeare Company and develops impact projects with the University of Birmingham.

All the world’s a stage

At least since the work of Erving Goffman in the mid-twentieth century, social scientists have explored the various roles we take on and the ways we perform them in our daily lives as family, friends, teachers, traders and so on. Theatre has always been a space to explore not just how we express, question, challenge and reflect on who we are, but also how we are in relation to others and how we perform those roles. The Gonsalves Method helps actors and non-actors to recognise, understand and more effectively inhabit whatever role they need to play.

Expressing and reading intentions

Humans are a highly social species and we have evolved to be unconsciously but acutely attuned to the emotions of others to help us survive and, through sociality and co-operation, thrive. A key focus of the Gonsalves Method is exploring more consciously what we interpret about the intentions of others, and how and why we respond. The exercises and approaches used are underpinned by the notion of embodied cognition, a term which captures how we make sense of the world through our sensory, visceral interactions with it. Theory of Mind is another key concept for us in exploring and understanding relationships and relationship building.

You are unique

Institutions, systems and processes often push us toward the illusion that people behave in rational, predictable ways; but while people might, a person may well not. Every individual is a unique blend of genetic material that is impacted by and responds to a particular environment in particular ways. Each one of us is a dynamic sum of innumerable biological and cultural variables, a crucible of dispositions, inclinations, circumstances and opportunities. Recognising this is a cornerstone of how the Gonsalves Method works with you to develop your skills of communication as a unique individual in a world of unique individuals.

Actions and words

A concept of communication, popularised from the work of Albert Mehrabian, suggests that 93% of how we communicate is through tone and body language, while the words we use make up only 7%. These figures are not simple facts but research does confirm the high significance of non-verbal aspects of communication. ’The 93%’ has become shorthand in the Gonsalves Method to remind performers in any role how much their tone and behaviours are communicating to their audience, beyond any words they use. Our approaches also, however, recognise the power of verbal language that has given us ways to explore, explain and pass on learning - and how the right words, underpinned by authentic contingent delivery, can build consensus, reshape ideas and bring about change.

Ensemble

The best companies, whether acting companies, business companies or any group of people with a shared endeavour, will recognise the feeling of being part of an ensemble - a sense that the individual contributions of everyone working together add up to more than the sum of the parts. Acting companies invest time in exercises that promote the collaboration, trust and connection that build this sense of ensemble. The same exercises can support other groups too. Crucially a Gonsalves Method ensemble means not just respecting difference but embracing the possibilities that sharing our differences can bring. This embracing of diversity is increasingly recognised in both the world of the arts and business as core to sustained success.

More details on the research underpinning the effectiveness of the Gonsalves Method can be found in:

Gonsalves, A. and T. Irish (2026) The Gonsalves Method: Meisner Updated for the Modern Actor, London: Bloomsbury

Gonsalves, A. and T. Irish (2021) Shakespeare and Meisner: a practical guide for actors, directors, students and teachers, London: Bloomsbury

Irish, T. and J. Kitchen (2024) Teaching and Learning Shakespeare Through Theatre-Based Practice, London: Bloomsbury