The Van Kamp Method: How Years of Training Became One Powerful Technique

By Merete Van Kamp — Le Van Kamp Studio

Photo © Jean-Jacques Bugat

I am a Method Actor. I do NOT ACT- I AM

Method Acting — developed further by Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio — is not simply a technique. It is deep sensory work , I myself had several unforgettable breakthroughs with being able to go back in time and remeber the smells apperance of the place with precision. it teaches you to bring genuine emotional life to every moment, to never pretend but always be. It demands total commitment, deep personal investigation, and a willingness to immerse yourself completely into the character with all your five senses.

The Training Years

I was very lucky to get to study with — the Stella Adler Conservatory, the Ivana Chubbuck Masterclass, The Loft, Lee Strasberg and beyond. Each gave me something invaluable.

Stella Adler taught me the power of imagination — how to break down a character,how to make it personal between you and the character you are building, find similarities rather quickly compared to other Acting Techniques, Stella Adler gave me a solid foundation to work from and how to use and apply it to my work.

Chubbuck gave me the engine: a driving, specific, unstoppable objective — and the concept of the unforgettable traumatic event. I applied it to a scene and character at the Ivana Chubbuck Masterclass theatre on Melrose Blvd. What happened that day I will never forget. I experienced a powerful breakthrough — going into one of the worst traumatic events of my life, deeper than I had ever gone before. It was raw, unguarded, completely exposed. The performance that came out of it was extraordinary. Everyone clapped. And I — in a kind of daze — pushed through the crowd and hurried home.

I lay in bed for three days, crying. Asking myself why I was so committed to being an actress when it comes at such a great emotional cost and is so very painful when you truly touch and enter the dark places you have to live inside of as you honor the character, the situation, the overall objective.

But something else happened in those three days. Once the storm passed, I found I could look at what had happened — not from inside it, but from a distance. Like a spectator of my own experience. I could see it clearly, almost clinically: what had unfolded, why it had hit so hard, what it had unlocked. That overview — that ability to step outside yourself and observe — turned out to be one of the most valuable things the work had ever given me. It is, I now believe, an essential part of the actor's craft: to feel everything fully, and then to be able to witness it.

The Loft sharpened my instincts for truth in the moment — with Peggy Feurey. I was in her Masterclass with Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Emilio Estevez, and all the upcoming future stars.

Learning multiple Acting techniques enriched the craft of Acting. They gave me more tools, more skills. More knowledge.

And I kept asking the same question: why does it have to be one or the other?

The Synthesis

After years of study, performance, and work on set, I began to notice something. The techniques— they were complementary. Each one addressed a different layer / of the actor's instrument. The challenge was knowing which tool to reach for, and when.

So I began building. Quietly, methodically, session by session. With Method Acting as the spine, I wove in the most effective elements of each Acting Technique learned into a single, coherent approach — one that could flex to meet any actor, at any level, in any scene.

I call it The Van Kamp Method.

What Makes It Different

Most techniques ask you to commit to a single philosophy. The Van Kamp Method asks you to commit to the truth of the scene the truth of you your capacities weaknessess and strengths— and then gives you every tool you need to get there.

It is rooted in three pillars:

• Method Acting — I do NOT ACT, I AM
• Driven objectives — drawn from Chubbuck's powerful goal-based approach, giving every moment a spine and traumatic events.
• Imagination  — inspired by Stella Adler.  A higher Meaning.
• Camera intelligence — because today's actor must be as fluent on screen as on stage

The result is a technique that is practical, flexible, and deeply effective.

Who It's For

The Van Kamp Method is for actors who are serious. Who have perhaps studied before and felt something was missing. Who want to work at a level where technique disappears and only truth remains.

Sessions are available online or in person, individually or as an ongoing practice. Every session is tailored — because no two actors are the same, and no two journeys are identical.

🎬 Book a session — from €50 per session, or €240/month for weekly sessions with homework.

Le Van Kamp Studio — Paris