Table Of ContentAn Actor’s Tricks
by Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall
An Actor Adrift
The Invisible Actor
by Lorna Marshall
The Body Speaks
AN
ACTOR’S
TRICKS
Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall
LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY
Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square 175 Fifth Avenue
London New York
WC1B 3DP NY 10010
UK USA
www.bloomsbury.com
First published 2007
Reprinted 2010
© Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall, 2007
Foreword © Peter Brook, 2007
Extract from The Actor’s Analects. Dust in the Ears, Item XIX, translated by
Charles J. Dunn (Columbia University Press, 1969). © Tokyo
University Press.
Reprinted text from The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks with John
Moyne, A J Arberry and Reynold Nicholson (Penguin Books, 1999).
© Coleman Barks, 1995.
Reprinted text from The Treads of Time by Peter Brook (Methuen Drama, 1998).
© Peter Brook, 1998.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without
prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall have asserted their rights under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identifi ed as the authors of this work
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining
from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by
Bloomsbury or the author.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: PB: 978-0-4137-7449-1
ePDF: 978-1-4081-4096-3
ePub: 978-1-4081-4095-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Contents
Foreword by Peter Brook vi
Introduction viii
1 The Morning of the Show 1
2 On the Way to the Theatre 17
3 Entering the Theatre 35
4 In the Wings 46
5 On the Stage 54
6 After the Show 88
Appendix: Teaching and Learning 90
Foreword
The proof of the pudding
In the East, a teacher never teaches. At least, not in the way we think.
A true teacher never explains, never gives out recipes. He – or
sometimes she – is a living example of what is possible, of what can
be achieved with endless patience and unshakeable determination.
One of our musicians went to India to learn to play a very special
form of horn unknown in the West. After a long search he found a
teacher. The teacher never spoke, he simply played. First simple
notes, then a few notes together and occasionally a complex series of
magnificent sounds. Day after day, the pupil was encouraged to do
the same. For many weeks he blew, cheeks swollen, muscles tense
but no sound came. Then, suddenly one day, an ugly snort burst out
of the instrument. It was a beginning and now he listened to the
teacher more deeply, trying to understand, passing through
moments of utter despair. At last the day came when quite naturally
he found he could play. The instrument was no stranger, it had
become his own.
However, nothing in the Oriental tradition can be applied
directly to the West. This is what first brought Yoshi Oida to
Europe. What lessons could he find in this unknown hemisphere? In
his books, he generously shares with us his search. He reveals his
difficulties and vividly evokes the examples past and present that
Foreword vii
have guided him over the years. He refrains from giving out
methods and he does not try to teach. Instead, with humour and
modesty he brings his working day to life – with its dreams, its
defeats, its ideals and its discoveries – nourished by the special
understanding given to him by his own tradition.
But he tricks us with his title. There are no tricks, there are no
explanations. There are only experiences. This is the real teaching.
Peter Brook
Paris, 16 November 2006
Introduction
People often ask how our books (this one as well as The Invisible
Actor) have been put together. Over the years, Yoshi and I have
spent many hours discussing theatre and various aspects of Japanese
practice and culture. Out of those conversations I wrote the bulk of
the text, using Yoshi’s ideas and typical voice. I then added other
sections in my own voice, usually to clarify a point or to add
background on some aspect of Japanese culture. My interpolations
are in italics, followed by L.M.
In addition I have written an appendix on training (and the
problems involved in describing what is essentially a living, dynamic
process). This is my own point of view, but since Yoshi and I have
worked together extensively (on taught workshops and theatrical
productions, as well as three books), his influence is inevitably
present. The exercises I outline are ones I have observed him teach
in workshops; nevertheless, the descriptions and interpretations
(and any errors) are my own.
As both of us are aware, creative process is elusive and individual.
There are no fixed techniques, or recipes to be followed that
guarantee success. What works for one person will be irrelevant to
another. And much will depend on when and where a person
encounters an idea or experience. This problem is even greater
when it comes to writing down artistic concepts and processes in
concrete phrases. One particular idea might open an entire universe
Introduction ix
of possibility to one reader, seem trite and obvious to a second, and
totally incomprehensible to a third. For this reason there are no
prescriptions in this book, only our personal interests and
experiences, plus some suggestions and hints. We hope they may
prove useful.
I would like to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council
of Great Britain, and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, whose
generous fellowship gave me the time to write this book.
Lorna Marshall
