F. Matthias Alexander
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Frederick Matthias Alexander (January 20, 1869–October 10, 1955) was an Australian actor who developed the educational process that is today called the Alexander Technique—a method of helping people learn to free habitual reactions of moving, learned by improving one's kinesthetic judgment. He was born in Tasmania, later moved to Melbourne, Australia, and finally settled in London in 1904.
Alexander developed such concepts as the primary control, verbal visualization, avoiding reaction during speaking, and using modeling in teaching (guiding movement in contact with the student to show quality and direction.)
There are now many books about the Alexander Technique. One of the first was Freedom to Change by Frank Pierce Jones.
Alexander himself was a Shakespearean orator who suffered from the problem of losing his voice on stage. Careful observation of himself with mirrors revealed that he habitually pulled his head slightly backwards and down when about to recite or to a lesser extent before speaking. After long experimentation he discovered the means to prevent what he described as problems in the way he used himself.
Many famous actors, writers and philosophers at the of the turn of the nineteenth century and during the first third of the twentieth century were his students. According to some, the technique was important in the career of educational philosopher John Dewey. The two men met around 1918 in New York City when Dewey had a series of lessons. Dewey felt that Alexander taught him how to stop and think before acting. He said that his study of the Alexander Technique enabled him to hold a philosophical position calmly once he had taken it or to change it if new evidence appeared.
