Languaging the Actor

LANGUAGING THE ACTOR AN EXAMINATION OF THE TERMINOLOGY USED IN ACTOR TRAINING Bernadette Anne Pryde Diploma of Teaching Graduate Diploma in Dramatic Art in Voice Studies Faculty of Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology Submitted for the award of Master of Arts (Research) 2002 FORMALIA KEYWORDS The following is a list of keywords that appear within the thesis, or are associated with the thesis topic. These keywords have been listed for cataloguing purposes. Keywords that apply to this study are: acting; actor training; Australian actor training; grounded theory; and language. i ABSTRACT Throughout the twentieth century increased interest in the training of actors resulted in the emergence of a plethora of acting theories and innovative theatrical movements in Europe, the UK and the USA. The individuals or groups involved with the formulation of these theories and movements developed specific terminologies, or languages of acting, in an attempt to clearly articulate the nature and the practice of acting according to their particular pedagogy or theatrical aesthetic. Now at the dawning of the twenty- first century, Australia boasts quite a number of schools and university courses professing to train actors. This research aims to discover the language used in actor training on the east coast of Australia today. Using interviews with staff of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the Victorian College of the Arts, and the Queensland University of Technology as the primary source of data, a constructivist grounded theory has emerged to assess the influence of last century‟s theatrical theorists and practitioners on Australian training and to ascertain the possibility of a distinctly Australian language of acting. ii LANGUAGING THE ACTOR: an examination of the terminology used in actor training TABLE OF CONTENTS FORMALIA ..................................................................................................................... I KEYWORDS .................................................................................................................. I ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... II TABLE OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ VII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................... VIII STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP .......................................................... IX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ X CHAPTER ONE .............................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 The Problem ............................................................................................................... 1 The Hypothesis ........................................................................................................... 3 The Terms of the Study ............................................................................................... 4 Implications and Limitations ..................................................................................... 5 An Overview of the Study ........................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................... 10 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 10 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 10 Section One: Actor Training .................................................................................... 12 The Origins of Training: the twentieth century phenomenon .............................. 12 The Areas of Study: acting, movement and voice ............................................... 15 Saint-Denis: a model for training ......................................................................... 17 An Age of Paradigms: eclecticism, internationalisation or boutiqueing? ............ 20 Problems and Challenges: what of the future? ..................................................... 22 Section Two: Actor Training in Australia ................................................................ 24 The Origins of Training: a question of taste ........................................................ 24 NIDA: vocational training.................................................................................... 25 VCA: the community alternative ......................................................................... 28 QUT: local or international? ................................................................................ 30 Methodologies of Autonomy: Yat, Impulse and Morris ...................................... 32 Today: the state and the art .................................................................................. 35 Section Three: Languaging ...................................................................................... 37 Language: that which makes us human ............................................................... 37 The Function or Use of Language: can we count the ways? ................................ 38 iii Meaning: a glass of the elusive ............................................................................ 40 Understanding: translation or conceptual guesswork? ......................................... 42 Culture: a linguistic phenomenon ........................................................................ 43 Metaphors: do we live by them? .......................................................................... 44 Language in Education: a limited or hidden awareness ....................................... 46 Section Four: The Language of Actor Training ....................................................... 50 Acting Terminology: describing the indescribable .............................................. 50 A Common Vocabulary: an ongoing debate ........................................................ 53 A Free Instrument: what do you mean? ............................................................... 54 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER THREE ....................................................................................................... 59 RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................. 59 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 59 Constructivist Grounded Theory .............................................................................. 60 Constructivism: an awareness of multiple perspectives....................................... 60 Constructing Knowledge: a personal account ...................................................... 61 Grounded Theory: a process of discovery ........................................................... 61 Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 64 The Research Tools: laying the foundations ........................................................ 64 Interviewing the ATC: adapting the grounded approach ..................................... 65 The Case Study: experiencing the phenomena of languaging ............................. 68 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 70 Strategies of Analysis: from Glaser to Charmaz .................................................. 70 Design Limitations ................................................................................................... 73 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER FOUR .......................................................................................................... 76 THE ACTOR TRAINING COMMUNITY .................................................................. 76 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 76 Section One: The Search for an Appropriate Job Title ........................................... 83 Lecturer and Tutor: the great misnomers ............................................................. 83 Job Titles: a relationship between job function and job context .......................... 86 The Modes of Instruction: to deposit or withdraw ............................................... 87 Billing: the title, function and context relationship in action ............................... 90 Old Favourites and New Ideas: the job title search continues ............................. 92 Section Two: The ATC Training Aesthetic ............................................................... 93 An Aesthetic?: “oui mais non” ............................................................................. 93 Ensemble: relinquishing the ego as a career strategy........................................... 93 Notions of Truth: believability and embodiment ................................................

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