Faint sounds of a flute trickle in through the window of Emmanuelle Chaulet’s office on the second floor of Corthell Hall on USM’s Gorham campus. With nothing but a desk lamp on, the office is dark and cool. On the wall, Chaulet displays her certificates and awards. Newly hung is a framed cover of her recently published book.
Chaulet, 47, has always been involved in performance arts, an international actor in films and theater in the U.S. and France. Chaulet is now a director, teacher and author.
Originally from France, Chaulet spent time studying and performing in New York. Now a Gorham resident, she began working for USM and directing performances in 1994. As an adjunct faculty member, Chaulet teaches an introduction to acting course and manages the university’s performing arts events.
Chaulet joined the list of published faculty this year with her book, “A Balancing Act”. In April, Chaulet’s book was one of 30 works selected and honored at USM’s Authors’ Wall Ceremony. At the ceremony, Chaulet presented the book to the audience and received a framed cover of the book. Besides the one that hangs in her office, another is displayed on the Authors’ Wall.
“Its an honor to me because not all the books faculty published this year were selected,” Chaulet said.
Chaulet decided to write the book because of encouragement from her students and colleagues. She said “A Balancing Act” is geared toward actors, giving them a method to keep them sane, help develop creativity and balance their emotions. It is a balancing act she had to overcome on her own.
She said she turned from acting to directing when she felt her emotions playing various roles were becoming too intense.
“As a director, I realized many actors had the same problem I had,” Chaulet said.
The problem was that as actors, people become consumed by the roles they play and often have a hard time returning to themselves, she said. In her book, Chaulet includes an interview Oprah Winfrey conducted with actor Anthony Hopkins, known for his role in “Silence of the Lambs,” who said the dark roles he has played have taken a toll on him.
“When you are a performer, you go through many roles and you go through something I call ‘post performance stress,’” Chaulet said.
Chaulet recognized the need for actors to overcome their roles and to hold more balance between their acting and real lives.
“A Balancing Act” sums up all the research Chaulet has been conducting on energy work, holistic healing and applying the techniques to acting. After all her research, Chaulet said the book is the only one of its kind in publication. She intends the book to be a tool to help actors work on their own holistic healing and develop their highest creative self.
Chapters in the book include descriptions of the energy system, the anatomy of the energy system, clearing the energy system and ways of working on character development. Chaulet said by following the approach in the book could help performers achieve their highest level of creativity and maintain a balance between performance and reality. She addresses actors and directors in two separate chapters, and concludes with a series of meditations for performers.
“‘A Balancing Act’ will give you a lot of knowledge to work on our own, but there are certain things you can’t get over on your own,” she said.
Despite the focus on performers, the basis of the techniques could apply to anyone Chaulet said. Most of her research involved energy work and holistic healing. Her book synthesizes the methods, but applies them very specifically to developing creativity she said.
After discovering these methods, she said she has gone back to acting. Recently, she applied her techniques in a film role as a caretaker for an elderly man with Alzheimer’s. Chaulet said she was able to maintain a balance while playing the character and did not experience the same post performance stress as before.
While writing and publishing the book has only occupied the past three years of her time, her research began 10 years ago when she met Bernadette Curtis, owner of Holistic Pathways in Gorham.
“Bernadette had done a lunch workshop on therapeutic touch, polarity and energy work. I had heard all these words she used, but I had no idea what it was. She opened my eyes to the world of holistic healing,” Chaulet said.
She continued working with Curtis at Holistic Pathways and the holistic healing methods Curtis used helped her energize and regain balance in her life.
As she continued to work with Curtis, Chaulet decided to become a certified RYSE (Realizing Your Sublime Energies) practitioner, and began applying the energy work to her profession in performance arts.
“RYSE is teaching an advanced form of healing. It’s all based on polarity – we work solely on the energy system,” Chaulet said.
She used her knowledge on energy work in her classes by teaching the techniques to her students and applying holistic methods to her own acting.
“When people don’t pay attention to their energy – it’s kind of like not brushing your teeth and getting cavities – you start losing energy,” Chaulet said.
In 2004, Chaulet directed “El Cid au Flamenco” at the Saint Lawrence Art Center in Portland. The performance was a trial of Chaulet’s idea to “energize your acting.” She said the majority of the actors in the performance were impressed by her holistic approach. This idea became the basis of “A Balancing Act” and has encompassed Chaulet’s work.
Now, she offers workshops and personal sessions. A session with Chaulet begins with a discussion to focus the energy work. Her clients lie down on a comfortable mat to work on the energy system.
“It is not a tangible thing when you talk about it, but it becomes tangible when you go through it. Some people sense heat, chills, thoughts or visions, and come out with more sense of calm,” Chaulet said.
“It is very similar to Reiki, except I don’t touch my clients while Reiki practitioners use their hands to work with a client’s energy,” Chaulet said.
Her clients deal with a range of problems with their acting. She said she works on anything from stage fright, close connection to a character that makes it scary to perform and even expectations set too high.
In longer sessions, she has her clients perform a monologue to help with any mental blocks the client may be having. Sessions to clear energy systems last about 90 minutes, while sessions that include coaching last at least two hours. She also recommends closure sessions after performance of a role ends.
 “Basically, I work with the energy vibrations of a character, not just the intellect of a character. The intellect usually gets in the way,” Chaulet said.
 “A Balancing Act” is currently available at USM’s bookstore for $24.95 or can be previewed  at balanceyouract.blogspot.com. For more information on the book, contact Chaulet via e-mail at energize@starlightacting.org.