The Chubbuck Technique is a 12-step method used by performers, writers and directors across the globe in their quest to bring their characters to life. Acting teacher Ivana Chubbuck created the process, and she details each step in her bestselling book, The Power of the Actor, which has been translated into 20 languages and has a new edition releasing in 2025.
Ivana’s long list of students-turned-A-list actors includes Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Jared Leto, Brad Pitt, Elisabeth Shue, Beyoncé Knowles, Djimon Honsou and Jon Voight. Many have gone on to win an Academy Award for their performance.
“The difference between the Chubbuck Technique and those developed in the past is that I teach actors how to use their emotions not as an end result, but as a way to empower a goal. My technique teaches actors how to win,” Chubbuck said.
Chubbuck’s Beginnings
Decades ago, Chubbuck moved to Los Angeles to become an actress. She and her acting buddies would work with one another, trying to bring out their best performances. It soon became apparent that Chubbuck’s insights were having a significant impact on her friends’ performances. She started getting hired as an acting coach, discovering her love for the work.
Eventually, Chubbuck quit acting to coach full-time. Over three decades later, she continues to enjoy empowering actors as the head of the Ivana Chubbuck Studio in Los Angeles and hosting workshops worldwide.
Chubbuck’s Winning Philosophy
Chubbuck’s 12-step technique draws on psychology and human behavior as a basis for creating authentic characters and bringing scripts to life.
“Take whatever it is—insecurities, fears, a trauma you’re going through, a split-up you’re going through, whatever it is you’re going through or you live with and that you’d like to get rid of—and use the material in front of you,” she says, suggesting actors should take their life experiences and “Use it to impassion and fuel your ability to overcome it. On the other side, you become a winner because of the pain.”
When portraying a character who’s experiencing strife, Chubbuck considers that the actor may also be going through that struggle or conflict.
“You overcome [the difficulties] for the character, therefore overcoming it for you because you live the part… And therefore you give hope to your audience that they can prosper in spite of and because of the things that they’re going through. That’s how a star is born,” Chubbuck says, convinced that audiences will want to keep seeing the person who reminds them that they too can overcome the troubles in their lives.
How the Chubbuck Technique Inspires Hope
Chubbuck is against actors giving emotional performances with the end goal of stirring up sympathy from the audience. She implores actors to stretch beyond telling a story in which the audience comes to relate and feel for the character. Chubbuck considers it an obligation for actors to portray how even the most grim of life’s circumstances can be overcome.
“I want people to walk away from the performances I help create and say, ‘I can change my life, too. I can have a better life,’” she says.
When describing her time at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio and her acting technique, Charlize Theron said, “Ivana taught me how to take my emotions and take everything that has happened in my life and use it to make me an effective actor.”
No Victim Choices Allowed
If there’s one thing that Ivana will not tolerate from her students—it’s making the creative choice to victimize their character. “You’re better than that,” she says. Chubbuck wants her actors to remove all victimization from their lives.
“[Ivana] has taught me that my fears, insecurities, neurosis, and generally all those things that make me one screwed up human being—are actually the elements that make the substance and journey of the characters we create together—unique and special,” said Aubrey Plaza.
When it comes to acting techniques, Ivana Chubbuck’s 12-step process is one of the most effective tools in the business. Her world-renowned coaching has helped actors craft iconic scenes, creating life-changing experiences for her students and their acting careers.
If you want to learn more about the Chubbuck Technique, you can pick up a copy of her famous book or preorder the new edition; and if you’d like to learn from the master, check out the Ivana Chubbuck Studio.
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Written by Casting Frontier
