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A Proposal for an Integrated Rehearsal Methodology for Shakespeare (And Others) Combining Active Analysis and Viewpoints
“UNPACK MY HEART WITH WORDS”: A Proposal for an Integrated Rehearsal Methodology for Shakespeare (and Others) Combining Active Analysis and Viewpoints by GERALD P. SKELTON, JR. BSc, MFA, MA A practice-based thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Kingston University in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2016 I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Gerald P. Skelton, Jr. ABSTRACT The performance of Shakespeare represents a distinct challenge for actors versed in the naturalistic approach to acting as influenced by Stanislavsky. As John Barton suggests, this tradition is not readily compatible with the language-based tradition of Elizabethan players. He states that playing Shakespeare constitutes a collision of “the Two Traditions” (1984, p. 3). The current training-based literature provides many guidelines on analysing and speaking dramatic verse by Shakespeare and others, but few texts include practical ways for contemporary performers to embrace both traditions specifically in a rehearsal context. This research seeks to develop a new actor-centred rehearsal methodology to help modern theatre artists create performances that balance the spontaneity and psychological insight that can be gained from a Stanislavsky-based approach with the textual clarity necessary for Shakespearean drama, and a physical rigour which, I will argue, helps root the voice within the body. The thesis establishes what practitioner Patsy Rodenburg (2005, p. 3) refers to as the need for words, or the impulse to respond to events primarily through language, as the key challenge that contemporary performers steeped in textual naturalism confront when approaching Shakespeare and other classical playwrights. -
Lloyd Richards in Rehearsal
Lloyd Richards in Rehearsal by Everett C. Dixon A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Theatre Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario September 2013 © Everett Dixon, September 2013 Abstract This dissertation analyzes the rehearsal process of Caribbean-Canadian-American director Lloyd Richards (1919-2006), drawing on fifty original interviews conducted with Richards' artistic colleagues from all periods of his directing career, as well as on archival materials such as video-recordings, print and recorded interviews, performance reviews and unpublished letters and workshop notes. In order to frame this analysis, the dissertation will use Russian directing concepts of character, event and action to show how African American theatre traditions can be reformulated as directing strategies, thus suggesting the existence of a particularly African American directing methodology. The main analytical tool of the dissertation will be Stanislavsky's concept of "super-super objective," translated here as "larger thematic action," understood as an aesthetic ideal formulated as a call to action. The ultimate goal of the dissertation will be to come to an approximate formulation of Richards' "larger thematic action." Some of the artists interviewed are: Michael Schultz, Douglas Turner Ward, Woodie King, Jr., Dwight Andrews, Stephen Henderson, Thomas Richards, Scott Richards, James Earl Jones, Charles S. Dutton, Courtney B. Vance, Michele Shay, Ella Joyce, and others. Keywords: action, black aesthetics, black theatre movement, character, Dutton (Charles S.), event, Hansberry (Lorraine), Henderson (Stephen M.), Molette (Carlton W. and Barbara J.), Richards (Lloyd), Richards (Scott), Richards (Thomas), Jones (James Earl), Joyce (Ella), Vance (Courtney ii B.), Schultz (Michael), Shay (Michele), Stanislavsky (Konstantin), super-objective, theatre, Ward (Douglas Turner), Wilson (August). -
Acting in the Academy
Acting in the Academy There are over 150 BFA and MFA acting programs in the US today, nearly all of which claim to prepare students for theatre careers. Peter Zazzali contends that these curricula represent an ethos that is outdated and limited given today’s shrinking job market for stage actors. Acting in the Academy traces the history of actor training in universities to make the case for a move beyond standard courses in voice and speech, move- ment, or performance, to develop an entrepreneurial model that motivates and encourages students to create their own employment opportunities. This book answers questions such as: • How has the League of Professional Theatre Training Programs shaped actor training in the US? • How have training programs and the acting profession developed in relation to one another? • What impact have these developments had on American acting as an art form? Acting in the Academy calls for a reconceptualization of actor training in the US, and looks to newly empower students of performance with a fresh, original perspective on their professional development. Peter Zazzali is Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Kansas. John Houseman and members of Group I at Juilliard in the spring of 1972 reading positive reviews of the Acting Company’s inaugural season. Kevin Kline is seated behind Houseman. Photo by Raimondo Borea; Courtesy of the Juilliard School Archives. Acting in the Academy The history of professional actor training in US higher education Peter Zazzali First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Peter Zazzali The right of Peter Zazzali to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. -
Anti-Theatrical Ideology in American Method Acting Michael L. Quinn
Fall 1995 5 Self-Reliance and Ritual Renewal: Anti-theatrical Ideology in American Method Acting Michael L. Quinn American Method acting is not only a realistic artistic technique but also an ideological formation. Almost every account of the adaptation of the Stanislavsky system by the Group Theater generation describes the new "Method" as distinctively American, yet this nationalist aspect of the project has rarely been examined from a historical standpoint that relates it to the dominant forces of American artistic culture; either the Method's arguments for its objectivity have been accepted as scientfically progressive, or its roots are traced to progressive European models (Ashby 1). On the contrary, the Method represents perhaps the most successful merging of a theoretcially conceived theatrical technique with the intellectual traditions that shape the history of American artistic culture. Most critics of the Method in America have produced explanations of the Method's dominance by taking issue either with its artistic claims for superiority or with its satisfied closure into a repressively conceived realism—both arguments that could be carried out solely on the basis of Stanislavsky's work, rather than considering that of his American epigones (Marowitz; Dolan 84-86). I view the emergence of the Method as the productive juncture of a theatrical practice and a revolutionary ideology, an imaginative intersection of innovation and energy that resulted in a remarkable body of work before its force subsided in the face of subsequent, similar cultural transformations; though American debates about the finer points of its technique still continue, the intellectual vitality of the Method revolution has been in a steady decline for about three decades (Schechner). -
Flashes of Modernity: Stage Design at the Abbey Theatre, 1902- 1966
Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Flashes of modernity: stage design at the Abbey Theatre, 1902- 1966 Author(s) McCormack, Christopher Publication Date 2018-08-31 Publisher NUI Galway Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/14988 Downloaded 2021-09-28T08:53:59Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. FLASHES OF MODERNITY: STAGE DESIGN AT THE ABBEY THEATRE, 1902-1966 A Doctoral Thesis Submitted to the O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance at National University of Ireland Galway By Christopher McCormack Supervised by Dr. Ian R. Walsh August 2018 2 ABSTRACT Responding to Guy Julier’s call for a “knowing practice” of design studies, this doctoral thesis reveals Ireland’s negotiation with modernity through stage design. I use historian T.J. Clark’s definition of modernity as “contingency,” which “turn[s] from the worship of ancestors and past authorities to the pursuit of a projected future”. Over the course of 60 years that saw the transformation of a pre-industrialised colony to a modernised republic, stage designs offered various possibilities of imagining Irish life. In the same period, the Abbey Theatre’s company shuttled itself from small community halls to the early 19th-century Mechanics’ Theatre, before moving to the commercial Queen’s Theatre, and finally arriving at the modern building that currently houses it. This thesis shines new light on that journey. By investigating the design references outside theatre, we can see how Abbey Theatre productions underlined new ways of envisioning life in Ireland. -
The Vocabulary of Acting: a Study of the Stanislavski 'System' in Modern
THE VOCABULARY OF ACTING: A STUDY OF THE STANISLAVSKI ‘SYSTEM’ IN MODERN PRACTICE by TIMOTHY JULES KERBER A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS BY RESEARCH Department of Drama and Theatre Arts College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham September 2016 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis aims to examine the extent to which the vocabulary of acting created by Konstantin Stanislavski is recognized in contemporary American practice as well as the associations with the Stanislavski ‘system’ held by modern actors in the United States. During the research, a two-part survey was conducted examining the actor’s processes while creating a role for the stage and their exposure to Stanislavski and his written works. A comparison of the data explores the contemporary American understanding of the elements of the ‘system’ as well as the disconnect between the use of these elements and the stigmas attached to Stanislavski or his ‘system’ in light of misconceptions or prejudices toward either. Keywords: Stanislavski, ‘system’, actor training, United States Experienced people understood that I was only advancing a theory which the actor was to turn into second nature through long hard work and constant struggle and find a way to put it into practice. -
Radiation and the Transmission of Energy: from Stanislavsky to Michael Chekhov
Performance and Spirituality Number 1 (2009) RADIATION AND THE TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY: FROM STANISLAVSKY TO MICHAEL CHEKHOV R. ANDREW WHITE In the first volume of his masterpiece, An Actor’s Work on Himself, Konstantin Stanislavsky cites Ophelia’s speech wherein she confides to Polonius that Hamlet’s strange behavior has frightened her. She recalls: He took me by the wrist and held me hard; Then goes he to the length of all his arm, And with his other hand thus o’er his brow, He falls to such perusal of my face As he would draw it. Long stay’d he so; At last, a little shaking of mine arm And thrice his head thus waving up and down, He raised a sigh so piteous and profound That it did seem to shatter all his bulk And end his being: that done, he lets me go. “Can’t you sense within those lines,” Stanislavsky asks immediately, “a speech which travels through silent communication between Hamlet and Ophelia? Haven’t you noticed, whether in real life or on stage, during mutual communication, sensations of strong-willed currents emanating from you, streaming through your eyes, through your fingertips, through the pores of our body?”1 Then, Stanislavsky struggles to find a single word to define this “internal, invisible, spiritual”2 current of energy, which he deems necessary for actors to transmit during performance either to each other or to the audience. For sending out energy, Stanislavsky proposes the word “radiation” and for receiving energy, he suggests “irradiation.” 3 White 23 Performance and Spirituality Number 1 (2009) Compare the following observation made by Stanislavsky’s star pupil, Michael Chekhov, in his own classic text, On the Technique of Acting. -
Acting and Essence
ACTING AND ESSENCE Experiencing Essence, Presence and Archetype in the Acting Traditions of Stanislavski and Copeau ASHLEY WAIN DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2005 UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY ©Ashley Wai 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to ack owledge my debt to the ma y people who ha,e co tributed this thesis a d the research o which it is based, particularly/ • Those pio eers who first formulated acti g as a serious artform a d spiritual e dea,our i moder Wester theatre. amely Sta isla,ski. 1ichael Chekho,. 1aria 2 ebel. Copeau. Grotowski a d Peter 3rook. a d those who keep this traditio ali,e. i cludi g Le, Dodi . Leco4 a d his artistic desce de ts a d ma y others. Also Sharo Car icke. 3ella 1erli . 6ea 3e edetti. Richard Tar as a d 6orge Ferrer. to whom my research owes a sig ifica t i tellectual debt. a d A.H. Almaas a d Sta isla, Grof. to whom I owe a i estimable i tellectual. spiritual a d perso al debt. To spe d time i the compa y of the writi gs a d practices of such fi e mi ds. a d such e7traordi ary souls. has bee o e of the true pleasures a d pri,ileges of u dertaki g this research. I hope that I here do 8ustice to the traditio s they represe t a d co tribute to the u foldi g life of those traditio s i positi,e ways. • The staff a d stude ts of the Victoria College of the Arts School of Drama. -
Stanislavsky in Context
The S Word: Stanislavsky in Context An International Symposium 5, 6, 7 April 2019 1 2 The Stanislavsky Research Centre Advisory Board Honorary Patron: Anatoly Smeliansky, President, Moscow Art Theatre School Marie-Christine Autant-Mathieu, CNRS, Paris Andrei Malaev Babel, FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, USA Sharon Marie Carnicke, University of Southern California, USA Kathy Dacre, Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance Jan Hancil, Akademie múzických umění, Prague Bella Merlin, University of California, Riverside, USA Jonathan Pitches, University of Leeds Laurence Senelick, Tufts University, USA David Shirley, Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts/Edith Cowan University Prof. Sergei Tcherkasski, Russian State Institute of Performing Arts Director: Paul Fryer, University of Leeds/London South Bank University Deputy Director: Jonathan Pitches, University of Leeds Stanislavski Studies (Taylor and Francis) Editor in Chief: Paul Fryer, University of Leeds/London South Bank University Editors Julia Listengarten, University of Central Florida, USA Sergei Tcherkasski, Russian State Institute of Performing Arts Luis Campos, Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance, UK Reviews Editor: David Matthews, Kings College London Social Media Editor: Michelle LoRicco, Mill Mountain Theatre, USA Consultant Translator: Anna Shulgat, Writers Union of St Petersburg, Russia Editorial Advisory Board Stefan Aquilina, University of Malta, Malta David Chambers, Yale School of Drama, USA Alexander Chepurov, St Petersburg State Theater Arts Academy, Russia Carol Fisher, Sorgenfrei, UCLA, USA Adrian Giurgea, Colgate University, USA Jan Hyvnar, DAMU Prague, Czech Republic Nesta Jones, Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, UK David Krasner, Five Towns College, USA Tomasz Kubikowski, Theatre Academy, Warsaw, Poland Bella Merlin, University of California, Riverside, USA Vladimir Mirodan, University of the Arts, UK. -
The Abbey Theatre Interviews and Recollections in the Same Series
The Abbey Theatre Interviews and Recollections In the same series Morton N. Cohen LEWIS CARROLL: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS Philip Collins (editor) DICKENS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) THACKERAY: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) J. R. Hammond (editor) H. G. WELLS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS David McLellan (editor) KARL MARX: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS E. H. Mikhail (editor) BRENDAN BEHAN: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) LADY GREGORY: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS OSCAR WILDE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) W. B. YEATS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) Harold Orel (editor) KIPLING: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) Norman Page (editor) BYRON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS HENRY JAMES: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS D. H. LAWRENCE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) TENNYSON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS. DRJOHNSON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS R. C. Terry (editor) TROLLOPE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS Series Standina Order If you would like to receive future titles in this series as they are published, you can make use of our standing order facility. To place a standing order please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address and the name of the series. Please state with which title you wish to begin your standing order. (If you live outside the UK we may not have the rights for your area, in which case we will forward your order to the publisher concerned.) Standing Order Service, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG212XS, England. THE ABBEY THEATRE Interviews and Recollections Edited by E. H. Mikhail Professor of English University of Lethbridge, Alberta M MACMILLAN PRESS Selection and editorial matter© E. -
Applying Constantin Stanislavski's Acting 'System'
APPLYING CONSTANTIN STANISLAVSKI’S ACTING ‘SYSTEM’ TO CHORAL REHEARSALS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF ARTS BY BOGDAN ANDREI MINUT DISSERTATION ADVISOR: DUANE KARNA BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA DECEMBER 2009 ii Copyright © 2009 by Bogdan Andrei Minut All rights reserved iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my doctoral committee members, Dr. Duane Karna, Dr. Douglas Amman, Dr. James Helton, Dr. Jody Nagel, and Dr. Elizabeth Bremigan, as well as former committee member Dr. Jeffrey Carter, for their guidance and support throughout my doctoral studies at Ball State University. Special thanks go to Dr. Jeffrey Pappas, former Director of Choral Activities, for his support of my research and for allowing me to work with his student ensemble on this study, to Dr. Kirby Koriath and Dr. Linda Pohly, former and present Coordinators of Graduate Studies in Music, respectively, for their constant care and support, and to Mrs. Linda Elliott for her administrative work. The talented singers of the Ball State University Chamber Choir, including Assistant Director and accompanist (now) Dr. Jill Burleson, and of the Concert Choir played a major role in this research and I want to thank them all for their patience, understanding, and willingness to try something a little different. I would also like to express my deep appreciation for the life, work, and artistry of Constantin Stanislavski who gave so much in particular to the art of the theater but also to all performing arts in general. His vision and ideals of true art are inspiring to me. -
Tonality As Drama: Closure and Interruption in Four Twentieth
Tonality as Drama Closure and Interruption in Four Twentieth-Century American Operas Edward D. Latham University of North Texas Press Denton, Texas ©2008 Edward D. Latham All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Permissions: University of North Texas Press P.O. Box 311336 Denton, TX 76203-1336 The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, z39.48.1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. Latham, Edward David. Tonality as drama : closure and interruption in four twentieth-century American operas / Edward D. Latham. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-57441-249-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Operas—Analysis, appreciation. 2. Opera--United States--20th century. 3. Joplin, Scott, 1868-1917. Treemonisha. 4. Weill, Kurt, 1900-1950. Street scene. 5. Gershwin, George, 1898-1937. Porgy and Bess. 6. Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990. Tender land. I. Title. MT95.L37 2008 782.10973--dc22 2008013679 To Cara—for the inspiration, and the perspiration. Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface x Acknowledgments xv Chapter 1 Tonality as Drama: An Introduction 1 Merging Tonal and Dramatic Analysis 2 The Permanent Interruption and the Multi-Movement Ursatz 4 Strategic Tonality in Four Post-Wagnerian Operas 8 Chapter 2 Dramatic Closure: the Stanislavsky System and the Attainment of Character Objectives 19 Scoring a Role 27 Sample Analyses: Griboyedov and Shakespeare 31 Stanislavsky