An Investigation into Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture, Through the Contemporary Framework of Conceptual Blending Theory

This thesis examines how the experience of using Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture can be understood through the thought model of Conceptual Blending Theory, proposed by Fauconnier and Turner. The analysis integrates Chekhov’s encounters with the Spiritual Sciences and the language commonly used to describe the experience of the Psychological Gesture, with the language and analysis of thought presented in modern cognitive science. By breaking down and analysing key moments within the method, we gain insights into the internal/external experience of the actor that were not explicitly discussed within its original framework.The work is not intended to be a holistic review of the method, nor a rejection of the original framing of the process. Rather it is to introduce a line of enquiry within the work, in which we begin to analyse methods through a cognitive framework in order to better understand the internal/external experience.