The Emotional Fluency Training for Actors (EFTA) in Canada 

WORKSHOP 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
For further information, application details, and registration, please visit emotionalfluencyproject.com or contact us at emotionalfluency@gmail.com.

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

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 andsafely
  • 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.

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 (along with research and teaching consultation from Laura Bond) 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

Practically, 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.

For Past Participants that have completed an Emotional Body® and/or an Emotional Fluency Training for Actors workshop

Many participants who have already completed an Emotional Body® and/or an Emotional Fluency Training for Actors workshop choose to repeat it to reinforce and deepen their foundation. For those wishing to advance their practice further, we are pleased to be offering an individualized Level II pathway within the Level I workshop. We will meet individually with each Level II participant to identify specific challenges, learning goals, and areas of interest. At times, Level I and Level II participants will work together on shared exercises and at other times, Level II participants will work in a second studio with workshop leaders on advanced material and applied work. We will tailor our instruction and feedback to support each individual’s ongoing development and remain responsive to the goals identified during the consultation process. We are genuinely excited about this combined Level I and Level II integrated model.

Workshop Instructors:
Tom Stroud Emotional Body® Lead Instructor/Trainer, Founding Member: Emotional Fluency Project

Ines Buchli  Emotional Body® Lead Instructor/Trainer, Founding Member: Emotional Fluency Project

Gayle Murphy, Emotional Body® Apprentice Instructor, Founding Member: Emotional Fluency Project