TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED THEORY OF ACTOR TRAINING

353 Pages·2014·5.34 MB·English

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED THEORY OF ACTOR
TRAINING: CONJUNCTIO OPPOSITORUM AND
THE IMPORTANCE OF DUAL CONSCIOUSNESS

by

RUFUS SWART

Dissertation presented for the degree Doctor of Drama and Theatre
Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
at Stellenbosch University

Supervisor: Professor Marie Kruger

Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Co-Supervisor: Professor Paul Allain

Kent University, Canterbury, U.K.

December, 2014
Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za

By submitting this thesis, I declare that the entirety of the work
contained therein is my own original work, that I am the sole
author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that
reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University
will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not
previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any
qualification.

Signed: Rufus Swart Date: 17 November 2014

Copyright © Stellenbosch University
All rights reserved
Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za

I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the following people for their
contributions to this research:

 The students who took part in my practical research in South Africa,
and those in Australia and England, who all deepened my
understanding of the acting teacher’s role.

 My supervisor, Professor Marie Kruger, and co-supervisor Professor
Paul Allain, for their advice, encouragement and support throughout
this enquiry.

 Professor Anatoly Smeliansky, the Rector of the Moscow Art
Theatre’s Studio-School, for assisting me to procure key Russian texts
that were translated for use in the dissertation.

 Professor Sergei Tcherkasski, Head of the St. Petersburg Theatre Arts
Academy’s Acting Studio, for providing me with additional Russian
materials that were also translated for use in the research.

 Professor Temple Hauptfleisch, my initial supervisor, who helped me
to streamline my research proposal.

 My family and friends for their patience with me over the past few
years while I devoted much of my time to this endeavour.

Dedicated to the memory of my father

Barend ‘Ben’ Swart
11/09/1932 – 26/11/2010

and to my mother,
as always.
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Abstract

The proliferation of Western actor training methods in the past century had mainly been
derived from the groundbreaking research undertaken by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
and Constantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre, as well as their students Michael
Chekhov, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Evgeny Vakhtangov. Poor translations of their original
Russian texts have however meant that many of the principles they discovered were
compromised due to misinterpretations. Yet, the ‘system’ of Stanislavski, a veritable
repository of these theories, served as a template for acting teachers ranging from former
American Group Theatre members such as Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, Robert Lewis,
Sanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, and the Polish director Jerzy Grotowski, to formulate
their own distinctive techniques. The result has been a challenge to traditional notions of
actors as impersonators to a more holistic view of actor-performers; versatile, multi-skilled
artists willing to reveal themselves through sincere disclosures to an audience, as the theatre
poet Antonin Artaud advocated they should. Although this interrogation of the essential
nature of the 2,600 year old art of Thespis was necessary, there is a danger that its core tenets
may have been marginalised in the process, a setback which might further delay the
formulation of its own science. This research was undertaken to identify the core principles
of the actor’s art that distinguish it from the other performing arts, as well as to determine
how these might best be conveyed to student actors in a contemporary context.

Employing the ‘system’ as a guide, in particular its ‘work on oneself’ process, which refers
to an actor’s personal training, as opposed to ‘work on a role’, which relates to
characterisation and performance, the theories of the abovementioned practitioners were
examined and compared to Stanislavski’s to ascertain if they contributed to the further
evolution of the art. Once an integrated theory of training emerged it was then tested in
praxis, working with different groups of students during a three year period. This thesis
documents the findings of both the literary research, based on an analysis of texts related to
actor training, and those derived from ‘real-world’ applications of these theories in an Higher
Education environment. A key aim of the study was thus to determine whether a ‘work on
oneself’ form of training could be offered in the formal education sector, despite its
psychological implications, and how this might be approached in a ‘healthy’ manner. A
selection of audio-video recordings done during the empirical investigation accompanies the
thesis in order to substantiate its theory.
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Abstrak

Die verspreiding van opleidingsmetodes vir Westerste akteurs in die afgelope eeu het
hoofsaaklik ontstaan uit die baanbrekers-navorsing van Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko en
Constantin Stanislavski aan die Moskou Kunsteater, sowel as dié van hul studente Michael
Tsjechov, Vsevolod Meyerhold en Evgeny Vakhtangov. Swak vertalings van die
oorspronklike Russiese tekste beteken egter dat van die beginsels wat hulle ontdek het weens
misverstande gekompromiteer is. Tog het die 'stelsel' van Stanislavski, as neerslag van
hierdie teorieë, as 'n templaat vir toneelspelopleiders gedien wat wissel van voormalige lede
van die Amerikaanse Groep Teater soos Stella Adler, Morris Carnovsky, Robert Lewis,
Sanford Meisner en Lee Strasberg, sowel as die Poolse regisseur Jerzy Grotowski, om hul eie
kenmerkende tegnieke te formuleer. Die gevolg was 'n uitdaging van tradisionele sienswyses
van akteurs as nabootsers tot 'n meer holistiese sienswyse van akteurs as veelsydige, multi-
bekwame kunstenaars wat gewillig is om hulself opreg te onthul voor 'n gehoor, soos die
teater-digter Antonin Artaud voorgestel het hul moet. Alhoewel hierdie bevraagtekening van
die essensiele aard van die 2,600 jaar oue kuns van Thespis nodig was, is daar 'n gevaar dat
sy kern-beginsels in die proses gemarginaliseer is, 'n terugslag wat die formulering van die
kunsvorm se eie wetenskap verder mag vertraag. Hierdie navorsing is onderneem om hierdie
kernbeginsels van die akteur se kuns te identifiseer wat dit van die ander uitvoerende kunste
onderskei, asook om te bepaal hoe hulle die beste oorgedra kan word aan student-akteurs in
'n kontemporêre konteks.

Deur die 'stelsel' as 'n gids aan te wend, in besonder die ‘werk aan jouself’ proses wat verwys
na 'n akteur se persoonlike opleiding in teenstelling met ‘werk aan 'n rol’ wat verwys na
karakterisering en performance, is die teorieë van die bogenoemde praktisyns ondersoek en
vergelyk met Stanislavski s’n om te bepaal of hul bygedra het tot die kunsvorm se verdere
ontwikkeling. Toe 'n geïntegreerde teorie van opleiding te voorskyn gekom het, is dit
prakties getoets met verskeie groepe studente oor 'n tydperk van drie jaar. Hierdie tesis
dokumenteer die bevindinge van beide die literêre navorsing, gebaseer op 'n ontleding van
tekste wat verband hou met akteuropleiding, en die bevindinge wat uit die toepassing van die
teorieë in 'n Hoër Onderwys omgewing gegroei het. 'n Belangrike doel van die studie was
dus om te bepaal of 'werk aan jouself’ as opleiding in die formele onderwys sektor aangebied
kan word, ten spyte van die sielkundige implikasies, en hoe dit dalk op 'n ‘gesonde’ wyse
benader kan word. 'n Seleksie van klank-en-video opnames wat tydens die empiriese
ondersoek gedoen is, word dus by die tesis ingesluit om sekere teorieë te ondersteun.
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Table of Contents

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Problem statement 6
1.3 Research questions 7
1.4 Aims of the study 11
1.5 Methodology 17
1.6 Structure of the study 22

Chapter Two The evolution of Stanislavski’s ‘system’

2.1 From amateur to theatre professional 24
2.2 The search for a new approach 28
2.3 A methodological template 30
2.4 The early ‘system’ 34
2.5 From conceptualisation to pragmatic application 39
2.6 The ‘system’ comes of age 43
2.7 Founding the First Studio 47
2.8 A search for heightened forms 51
2.9 Towards an ideological synthesis 55
2.10 A catalyst and a confluence 58
2.11 From naturalism to ‘imaginative realism’ 64
2.12 The MAT’s American tour (1923-4) 70
2.13 The dawn of a new era 73
2.14 A search for new directions 79
2.15 Attempting to document the ‘system’ 83
2.16 Towards a psychophysical approach 85
2.17 From physical actions to active analysis 92
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2.18 A brief encounter and a methodological key 98
2.19 ‘I am being’, the basis of a new approach 100
2.20 The challenge of transmission 105
2.21 From organic behaviour to sincere self-expression 109
2.22 Towards an ideological integration 112
2.23 Reviving the true lost art of the actor 116
2.24 The tragic culmination of a theatrical epoch 120

Chapter Three The ‘system’ after Stanislavski

3.1 Chapter overview 123
3.2 Stella Adler, and the founding of the Group Theatre 127
3.3 Morris Carnovsky, and the actor’s Self 142
3.4 Robert Lewis, and the dissolution of the Group Theatre 150
3.5 Sanford Meisner, and the imperative of spontaneity 158
3.6 Lee Strasberg, and the American Method 164
3.7 Michael Chekhov, and the imperative of form 173
3.8 Sonia Moore, and the quest for psychophysical unity 191
3.9 Jerzy Grotowski, and the conjunction of opposites 198
3.10 A postscript to the chapter 225

Chapter Four Towards a theoretical integration

4.1 Chapter introduction 226
4.2 The two axes of acting 230
4.3 The role of logic and tempo-rhythm 237
4.4 The actor as marionette 240
4.5 The role of the Ego and the Id in acting 245
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Chapter Five From theory to pragmatic application

5.1 Framing ‘work on oneself’ training 250
5.2 Devising a ‘work on oneself’ process 261
5.3 Applying ‘work on oneself’ in HE 270
5.4 Defining a basal training process 280
5.5 An argument for a basal technique 287

Chapter Six Conclusion 290

Bibliography 302

Appendix 308
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Chapter One Introduction

It is utterly obvious that the actor is at the center of his or her character. The
playwright may provide the words, the director the staging and the costume
designer the apparel, but it is the actor who implements the role with her
voice, body, phrasings, timings, inflections, modulations, movements,
expressions, emotions, authority, appeal and charisma […]. Getting the „best
of oneself‟ onto the stage … is therefore the actor‟s fundamental job. (Cohen
2013: 17)

1.1 Background to the study

In many respects this investigation is a continuation of an enquiry that began in 2003 at
an Australian university where I conducted extracurricular workshops with twenty first
year drama students over a five month period. Since the early 1980s I had worked as an
actor, director and occasional writer in film, radio, television and theatre, but in the late
1990s I began giving workshops to members of a young ensemble I formed in England
and found the experience fulfilling. The Australian study was thus to determine whether I
could teach in a more formal environment, and I employed an Action Research strategy
to improve my classroom manner on a weekly basis, given the model‟s cyclic nature. To
assist my transformation from practitioner to teacher-trainer I had a cameraperson video
the workshops, and conducted regular interviews with individual participants. They also
kept personal journals which they submitted to me at the end of the training, just as I too
engaged in extensive reflexive writings throughout. At the study‟s conclusion I realised
that my grasp of an actor‟s creative processes mainly stemmed from personal experience,
a subjective perspective that limited my pedagogic outlook. I therefore felt compelled to
examine the methods and techniques of other teacher-trainers in order to develop a more
objective viewpoint so that I might better position my own thinking about the actor‟s art.

In 2005 I conducted a similar study with first year drama students at the University of
Kent in Canterbury, England (UKC), again employing an Action Research strategy and
associated methods. The aim of this particular investigation, besides continuing to refine
1
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my pedagogic approach, was to ascertain if the Meisner technique,1 which I had studied
in Los Angeles in the late 1980s, would be a suitable training vehicle for student actors in
Higher Education (HE). My findings formed the basis of an MA Practice as Research
thesis entitled: Basal Training for Adolescent Actors: Grotowski, Meisner, Stanislavsky
and the state of „I am‟ (2008). Although my knowledge increased, and I was therefore
able to convey more universal acting principles without resorting to personal examples, I
realised I had merely touched the surface of a deep reservoir comprised of the theories of
various practitioners. This posed a problem. Either I had to favour a particular „school‟ of
training, or else make sense of these theories for myself if I hoped to provide my students
with a holistic technique. The latter option held more appeal, which meant I had to try to
integrate these theories as a basis for my praxis; the motive prompting this investigation.

During the UKC research, which also entailed extracurricular workshops and devising a
production entitled Scenes in Corridor 666, I realised that the Meisner approach, which
emphasised instinctive behaviour, no longer satisfied my emerging ideas. After watching
films of the Actions created at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards
in Pontedera, Italy,2 it became clear that structure was equally necessary in performance,
and that both aspects had to be integrated during training. This concept, which Grotowski
termed “conjunctio oppositorum – the contradiction between spontaneity and discipline”
(Kumiega 1987: 134), became a central question in my investigation; namely how “the
whole problem of spontaneity and discipline, this conjunction of opposites which gives
birth to the total act” (Grotowski 1991: 93, his emphasis), might be resolved.

I was not convinced that Grotowski had solved the conundrum in his own work however,
which I found too insular; a form of active meditation akin to martial arts katas in which
structure dominated the individual‟s expression. In addition, he dismissed the actor‟s art,
instead calling himself (in Schechner & Wolford 2001: 376) “a teacher of Performer,”

1 A contemporary of Stella Adler (1901-1992), Robert Lewis (1909-1997) and Lee Strasberg (1901-1982),
Sanford Meisner (1905-1997) was one of the foremost American actor teacher-trainers of the 20th century.

2 Grotowski (1933-1999) is widely considered one of the most significant theatre practitioners of the latter
half of the 20th century, especially insofar as his research into training for performers is concerned. In his
final years he named Richards his “essential collaborator” (in Richards 2003: ix), effectively his successor.
The Workcenter engaged in an outreach programme called „Tracing Roads Across‟ between April 2003
and April 2006, visiting UKC in 2005. During a three day seminar I met Richards, Mario Biagini and Lisa
Wolford. They screened films of the opuses created under Grotowski‟s guidance, namely Main Action,
Downstairs Action, filmed by Mercedes Gregory in 1989, Action, filmed in 2000 by A.C.C.A.A.N. (Atelier
Cinéma de Normandie and Centre Dramatique National de Normandie), and a documentary entitled The
Twin: an action in creation. „Action‟ means “a precise performative structure, an opus” (Richards 2008: 3).
2