The Actor Training Reader is an invaluable resource for students and teachers of acting, offering access to a wide range of key texts that identify, explore, illuminate and interrogate the challenges, practices and processes involved in training the modern actor.
A companion volume to the highly-acclaimed Actor Training (Hodge 2010), this book collects key writings by influential actor training practitioners of the twentieth century, introduced with essays from leading academics in the field of actor training. Key practitioners included are:
Eugenio Barba;
Anne Bogart;
Bertolt Brecht;
Peter Brook;
Michael Chekhov; and
Konstantin Stanislavsky.
The book sets established, widely used texts alongside less well-known ones in order to trace the development of actor training from the pioneering advances of Eastern Europe to the acting games of Augusto Boal. The texts are grouped into thematic sections rather than chronologically in order to encourage a comparison of different approaches to similar aspects of the craft. Each section will have a specially commissioned introductory essay by an expert in that area of actor training, which will bring context, critical engagement and contemporary relevance to the extracts and offer provocations for further discussion.
Introduction
Mark Evans, Coventry University, UK.
Prologue
Jacques Copeau: Rudlin, J. & Paul, N. (eds.) (1990) Copeau: Texts on Theatre
Konstantin Stanislavsky: Stanislavski, C. (1980) My Life in Art
Purpose
The Purpose of Actor Training
Ian Watson, Rutgers University, USA.
Extracts:
Mike Alfreds: Alfreds, M. (2007) Different Every Night: Freeing the Actor
Eugenio Barba: Barba, E. (1979) The Floating Islands
Augusto Boal: Boal, A. (1995) The Rainbow of Desire: The Boal method of theatre and therapy
Michael Chekhov: Chekhov, M. (1985) Lessons for the Professional Actor
Edward Gordon Craig: Craig, E. G. (1983) Craig On Theatre
Jerzy Grotowski: Grotowski, J. (1997) 'Performer', in Schechner, R. & Wolford, L. (eds.) (1997) The Grotowski Sourcebook,
Jacques Lecoq: Lecoq, J. (2000) The Moving Body: Teaching creative theatre
Yoshi Oida: Oida, Y. & Marshall, L. (1997) The Invisible Actor
Konstantin Stanislavsky: Stanislavski, K. (2008) An Actor’s Work
Technique
Training the Actor’s Voice and Body
Jonathan Pitches, University of Leeds, UK.
Extracts:
Antonin Artaud: Artaud, A. (1970) The Theatre and its Double
Eugenio Barba: Barba, B. (1986) Beyond the Floating Islands
Augusto Boal: Boal, A. (2002) Games for Actors and Non-Actors
Moshe Feldenkrais: Feldenkrais, M. & Schechner, R. (1966) ‘Image, Movement, and Actor: Restoration of Potentiality - A discussion of the Feldenkrais Method and Acting, Self-Expression and the Theater’
Dario Fo and Franca Rame: Fo, D. & Rame, F. (1983) Theatre Workshops at the Riverside Studios
Jerzy Grotowski: Grotowski, J. (1969) Towards a Poor Theatre
Rudolf Laban: McCaw, D. (ed.) The Laban Sourcebook
Jacques Lecoq: Lecoq, J. (2006) Theatre of movement and gesture
Kristin Linklater: Linklater, K. (1976) Freeing the Natural Voice
Vsevolod Meyerhold: Bruan, E. (1969) Meyerhold on Theatre
Michel Saint-Denis: Saint-Denis, M. (1982) Training for the Theatre
Tadashi Suzuki: Suzuki, T. (1986) The Way of Acting: The theatre writings of Tadashi Suzuki
Yevgeny Vakhtangov: Malaev-Babel, A. (ed.) (2011) The Vakhtangov Sourcebook
Phillip Zarrilli: Zarrilli, P. (2009) Psychophysical Acting: An Intercultural approach after Stanislavski
Character and Composition
The Self and the Fictive Other in Creation, Rehearsal and Performance
Bella Merlin, University of California, Riverside, USA.
Extracts:
Stella Adler: Adler, S. The Art of Acting (2000)
Eugenio Barba: Barba, E. (2010) On Directing and Dramaturgy: Burning the House
Anne Bogart and Tina Landau: Bogart, A. & Landau, T. (2005) The Viewpoints Book
Bertolt Brecht: Willett, J. (ed.) (1978) Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic
Michael Chekhov: Chekhov, M. (2002) To The Actor
Dario Fo: Fo, D. (1991) The Tricks of the Trade
Jacques Lecoq: Lecoq, J. (2000) The Moving Body
Sanford Meisner: Meisner, S. & Longwell, D. (1987) Sanford Meisner on Acting
Odin: Christoffersen, E. E. (1993) The Actor’s Way,
Open Theatre: Pasolli, R. (1972) A book on the Open Theatre
Konstantion Stanislavsky: Stanislavski, K. (2008) An Actor’s Work
Presence
Presence, Physicality, Play and Communion
Dick McCaw, Royal Holloway University, UK.
Extracts:
Peter Brook: Brook, P. (1993) There Are No Secrets: Thoughts on Acting and Theatre
Joseph Chaikin: Chaikin, J. (1991) The Presence of the Actor
Jacques Copeau: Rudlin, J. & Paul, N. (eds.) (1990) Copeau: Texts on Theatre
Philippe Gaulier: Gaulier, P. (2006) The Tormentor: le jeu, light, theatre
Keith Johnstone: Johnstone, K. (1981) Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre
Jacques Lecoq: Lecoq, J. (2006) Theatre of Movement and Gesture
Joan Littlewood: 'Working with Joan: Theatre Workshop actors talking to Tom Milne and Clive Goodwin'
Ariane Mnouchkine: extracts from: Féral, J., Mnouchkine, A. & Husemoller, A. (1989) ‘Building up the Muscle: An Interview with Ariane Mnouchkine’
Wlodzimierz Staniewski: Staniewski, W. with Hodge, A. (2004) Hidden Territories: the theatre of gardzienice
Ruth Zaporah: Zaporah, R. (1995) Action Theater: The improvisation of presence
Epilogue
Yoshi Oida: Oida, Y. & Marshall, L. (1997) The Invisible Actor
Afterword
Mark Evans, Coventry University, UK
Biography
Mark Evans is Professor of Theatre Training and Associate Dean at Coventry University. He researches actor training and theatre education. He has published books on movement training for actors and on the work of Jacques Copeau, written several articles on theatre training, and is an Associate Editor for the Theatre, Dance and Performance Training journal published by Routledge.
'There’s plenty here for any serious student needing to get to grips with the theory and would make an excellent accessible starting point for anyone hungry for information but as yet not quite ready for any single practitioner’s complete oeuvre.' - Susan Elkin, The Stage
