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Developing a Theatre of the Integrated Actor

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Developing a Theatre of the Integrated Actor DEVELOPING A THEATRE OF THE INTEGRATED ACTOR THE APPLICATION OF THE SUZUKI ACTOR TRAINING METHOD WITHIN THREE THEATRICAL CONTEXTS Joanne Marie Loth Bachelor of Arts Diploma of Education Academy of the Arts Queensland University of Technology Submitted for the award of Master of Arts (Research), April 2001 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: Suzuki Method, Tadashi Suzuki, Japanese theatre, J acqui Carroll, phenomenology, actor, collaborative theatre, and integrated actor. ii ABSTRACT This research project examines the application of the Suzuki Actor Training Method (the Suzuki Method) within the work ofTadashi Suzuki's company in Japan, the Shizuoka Performing Arts Complex (SP AC), within the work of Brisbane theatre company Frank:Austral Asian Performance Ensemble (Frank:AAPE), and as related to the development of the theatre performance Surfacing. These three theatrical contexts have been studied from the viewpoint of a "participant- observer". The researcher has trained in the Suzuki Method with Frank:AAPE and SP AC, performed with Frank:AAPE, and was the solo performer and collaborative developer in the performance Surfacing (directed by Leah Mercer). Observations of these three groups are based on a phenomenological definition of the "integrated actor", an actor who is able to achieve a totality or unity between the body and the mind, and between the body and the voice, through a powerful sense of intention. The term "integrated actor" has been informed by the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty and his concept of the "lived body". Three main hypotheses are presented in this study: that the Suzuki Method focuses on actors learning through their body; that the Suzuki Method presents an holistic approach to the body and the voice; and that the Suzuki Method develops actors with a strong sense of intention. These three aspects of the iii Suzuki Method are explored in relation to the stylistic features of the work of SP AC, Frank:AAPE and the performance Surfacing. iv DEVELOPING A THEATRE OF THE INTEGRATED ACTOR THE APPLICATION OF THE SUZUKI ACTOR TRAINING METHOD WITHIN THREE THEATRICAL CONTEXTS CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE Page INTRODUCTION Thesis question 1 The "integrated actor" 2 Three views of "integration" 3 The Suzuki Method and the artists 3 A practical and comparative approach 5 The purpose of this study 7 Strengths and limitations 8 Thesis overview 8 CHAPTER TWO THE RESEARCH DESIGN 12 CHAPTER THREE THE LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction 18 Phenomenology and integration 18 Phenomenology and the actor's body 27 Suzuki's approach to the actor's body 31 Exercises for integration and unification 36 Summary 42 CHAPTER FOUR THE WORK OF TADASHI SUZUKI: "becoming the fiction" through the body 44 Part A: The themes and structure of Suzuki's works 45 Part B: 1. The SP AC company in training 52 • The framework of the body 52 • The body and the voice 55 • An actor's sense of intention 57 2. The SPAC company in rehearsals and performances • The framework of the body 59 • The body and the voice 61 • An actor's sense of intention 63 Summary 65 v CONTENTS (continued) Page CHAPTER FIVE FRANK: AAPE: FROM MYTHICAL TO MODERN 67 The company's theatre productions from 1993 - 2000 CHAPTER SIX FRANK:AAPE'S TRAINING IN THE SUZUKI METHOD 72 Why the Suzuki Method? 72 Thinking through the body 74 An holistic approach to the body and the voice 81 An actor's sense of intention 84 Summary 86 CHAPTER SEVEN FRANK:AAPE'S REHEARSAL PROCESS "Mapping out a production": Jacqui Carroll's developmental process 88 An holistic approach to the body and the voice 92 "Filling the form" with intention 95 Summary 98 CHAPTER EIGHT THE SURFACING PROJECT Introduction 99 Ismene 100 Leah Mercer's background 103 Surfacing 106 • Developing the concept 106 • "Physically exploring" the ideas of the piece 108 • Structuring the work 112 • Polishing the performance 115 The project's strengths and weaknesses 118 Vl CONTENTS (continued) Page . CHAPTER NINE FINDINGS AND FUTURE APPLICATIONS FOR THE "INTEGRATED ACTOR" 120 Tadashi Suzuki's theatre and the "integrated actor" 120 Frank:AAPE and the "integrated actor" 121 Surfacing and the "integrated actor" 121 The Suzuki Method in relation to theatrical style 122 • The relationship between mental and physical energies 122 • Physical expression 124 • Vocal training 125 Implications from the Surfacing Project 126 Further implications from this study 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY 128 APPENDIX 1 133 Interview with Jacqui Carroll and John Nobbs (14/8/99) APPENDIX2 135 Interview with J acqui Carroll Interview with John Nobbs APPENDIX3 145 Interviews with members of Frank:AAPE APPENDIX4 174 Interview with Leah Mercer APPENDIX 5 181 The exercises of the Suzuki Method SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL Surfacing, the video Filmed and edited by Will Bligh and Zac Tooth vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations have been used throughout the main text of the thesis. ADSA Australasian Drama Studies Association CalArts - The Californian Institute of the Arts Frank:AAPE- Frank: Austral Asian [sic.] Performance Ensemble SITI Saratoga International Theatre Institute SPAC- Shizuoka Performing Arts Complex WFS - Waseda Free Stage viii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Date: ................ ;?f/-?./. ?~9. 2 ........... .. ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Jacqui Carroll, John Nobbs and Leah Mercer, and tothe members of Frank: Austral Asian Performance Ensemble. This thesis is dedicated to these artists' passion, and commitment to Brisbane theatre. Special thanks also to Christine Comans and Brad Haseman for their supervision and advice. Thank-you to the artists involved in Surfacing: Lighting Designer: Christine Akers Stage Manager: Daniel Sinclair Original music composed and performed by: Julie Adler Costume design: Emma Pursey Poster/flyer design: Andrew Stockwell Thanks for feedback on performances and/or thesis: Kathleen Doyle, Helen Gilbert, Julie Robson, Nigel Peame, and Stacey Callaghan. Thanks for contribution to the performance/ filming of Surfacing: Naoko Ide, Will Bligh, Zac Tooth, Sascha Hardwick, Conan Dunning, Belinda Bauer, and Jason Roberts. X CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Thesis question This research project will explore three applications of the Suzuki Method in order to explore the question: How can the Suzuki Method be applied to develop a theatre of the integrated actor? This question will be addressed through a study of applications of the Suzuki Actor Training Method (or Suzuki Method) within three groups of artists. Firstly, I will examine the way it is used by the Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki and his theatre company the Shizuoka Performing Arts Complex company or SP AC company (previously the Suzuki Company of Toga or SCOT). Secondly, I will explore the way the Suzuki Method is applied within the Brisbane theatre company Frank: Austral Asian Performance Ensemble (Frank:AAPE). Thirdly, I will explore the method in relation to my own artistic practice working with Brisbane director Leah Mercer to create the performance Surfacing. My personal experience is at the heart ofthis research as an actor training in the Suzuki Method with SP AC and Frank:AAPE; an actor performing with Frank:AAPE; an artist developing theatre performances; and as an observer of Suzuki's rehearsal process in Japan. My thesis question is therefore: How is the Suzuki Method applied to develop a theatre of the integrated actor in the work of SP AC and Frank:AAPE, and in the Surfacing project? The "integrated actor" Each ofthese three groups of artists (SPAC, Frank:AAPE, and Leah Mercer and myself) place enormous emphasis on the actor's body as a means of theatrical expression and exploration. The "integrated actor" is a term I have used to describe an actor who is able to achieve a totality or unity between the body and the mind and between the body and the voice through a powerful sense of intention. This is a term taken from Becker (1986: 130, 187) who describes an "integrated actor" as one who is able to achieve a 'completeness' and 'unification' between the 'intellectual' and the 'physical'. Further, Becker (1986: 186) describes an "integrated actor" as one who treats 'the physical instrument as a whole, integrated unit'. However, while Becker (1986: 130) based her term "integration" on Japanese Zen philosophy, I have defined "integration" through a phenomenological approach to theatre that views human experience as being based within a "lived body". From the phenomenological viewpoint, humans are able to reach their maximum potential through an holistic approach to the body and the mind. The terms "lived body" and "integration" and their basis in phenomenology will be further expounded in Chapter Three. 2 Three views of "integration" This thesis will document three different approaches to the "integrated actor". Tadashi Suzuki's directorial style aims to produce actors with the ability to "become the fiction" through committing their whole being to the theatrical event. As co­ artistic directors ofFrank:AAPE, Jacqui Carroll and John Nobbs train their company in the Suzuki Method in order to fulfil director Jacqui Carroll's artistic vision. The work ofLeah Mercer and myself aims to communicate the emotional content ofthe text through a heightened, physically-based performance style. These three processes are linked by their emphasis on the actors' body but differ in their aims, rehearsal techniques and performance style. The Suzuki Method and the artists The Suzuki Method is a modem actor training method developed by Japanese theatre director Tadashi Suzuki and the Suzuki Company ofToga in the 1970s.
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