Table Of ContentTHE
BODY
SPEAKS
LORNA
MARSHALL
Methuen Drama
MethuenDrama
13579108642
Thisrevisededition2008
FirstpublishedbyMethueninGreatBritainin2001
Copyright©LornaMarshall2001,2008
Theauthorhasassertedhermoralrights.
ACIPcataloguerecordforthisbook
isavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
MethuenDrama
A&CBlackPublishersLtd
36SohoSquare
LondonW1D3QY
www.methuendrama.com
ISBN9781408106822
TypesetbySXComposingDTP,Rayleigh,Essex
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyCaligravingLtd,Thetford,Norfolk
Thisbookissoldsubjecttotheconditionthatitshallnot,bywayoftradeor
otherwise,belent,resold,hiredout,orotherwisecirculatedinanyformofbinding
orcoverotherthanthatinwhichitispublishedandwithoutasimilarcondition,
includingthiscondition,beingimposedonthesubsequentpurchaser.
ByLornaMarshallandYoshiOida
AnActorAdrift
TheInvisibleActor
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements iv
ForewordbyYoshiOida v
Preface vi
PartOne DiscoveryandPreparation
Introduction 3
Chapter1 ConnectingtotheBody 9
Chapter2 ImpulseandResponse 33
Chapter3 Emotion 55
Chapter4 VoiceandWords 72
PartTwo ExtendingYourRange
Chapter5 Habits 97
Chapter6 GoingFurther 100
Chapter7 WhatStopsUsWorking 119
Chapter8 LearningandTeaching 136
PartThree PuttingitintoPractice
Chapter9 GettingtoWork 151
Chapter10ConnectingtoOthers 158
Chapter11Character 180
PartFour CreatingMeaning
Chapter12TheAudience 209
Chapter13HintsonStyleandTechnique 233
Conclusion 245
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It’shopeless.IhavetoacknowledgeeverybodyIhaveeverworked
withinBritain,France,Japan,andAustralia,sincetheyhaveallhad
an impact on my thinking. Sometimes directly, sometimes in
unusualorunexpectedways.Butalwaysusefully.
Inaddition,muchofthematerialinthisbookisobvious,orhas
beenincurrencyforalongtime.Ihavenoideawheremuchofthis
material originated, and so cannot provide suitable acknowledge-
ments. Even worse, I have ‘created’ many of these exercises in
isolation, working through the logic on my own. And then I have
often discovered afterwards that others have ‘created’ similar
concepts.Thisshouldn’treallybeunexpected;ifyouhaveanumber
of people all trying to find a useful design for a wheel, quite a few
will come up with a similar round shape. So if in this book you
discover material that overlaps with other people’s work, don’t be
toosurprised.
Butthereisstillaneedforonespecialacknowledgement:Yoshi
Oida. He and I have worked closely together for fifteen years,
collaborating on the writing of three books, and the creation of
several shows. During that time, we spent months discussing,
arguing and clarifying our thoughts on performance. And on the
relationship between performance and life. Without him, I would
nothavefoundmyownpassionforunderstandingtheseprocesses,
or the desire to find ways to communicate whatever insight I can
offer. Thank you, Yoshi. Also, a thank-you to Pamela Edwardes,
withoutwhosesupportandencouragementthisbookwouldnever
haveappeared.
ForthissecondeditionIwouldalsoliketoexpressmythanksto
iv
theArtsandHumanitiesResearchCouncilofGreatBritain,andto
the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. Their generous fellowship
allowed me to undertake detailed research into the functioning of
thehumanorganism.Thisresearchinturnhelpedmetorefinemy
thinking,andclarifyvariousissuesforthisnewedition.
And finally, this book is dedicated to my students. They asked
therightquestions.Hereistheanswer.
FOREWORD
by Yoshi Oida
WithoutLorna,thetwobooksIwrote–TheInvisibleActorandAn
ActorAdrift–wouldneverhaveappeared.Shewasabletocleverly
transformandclarifymyideasforawesternaudience.
We wrote these books together, working through hours of
discussion, and by the end of the process neither of us could tell
which idea belonged to whom. At this point our writing
collaborationended,butLornadidn’tstayatthesameplaceinher
thinking.Ifshehad,itwouldhavebeenuselesstowritethisbook.
Fortunately,sheisnotstuckinthepast,andinsteadhasgoneon
todevelopherownideasandapproaches.
IhopeyoufindherasstimulatingandintelligentasIdo.
Paris,June2001
v
PREFACE
All aspects of performance involve communication. Writers
communicate their world and story through specific words and
language.Directorsandchoreographerscommunicatetheirunder-
standing and vision through careful selection and shaping of
performers, design, light, sound and rhythm. Performers in turn
communicate their comprehension of the depths and complexities
ofthedramatic(orcomic,orabstract)journeythroughtheirbodies.
The body is also the core of all real-world human communi-
cation;probablyseventypercentofeverydayconversationisbody
language.Youractions,yourreactions,howcloseyousittoanother
person while speaking, how tightly you hold your hands, are all
aspectsofbodylanguage.Afurthertwentypercentisthemusicof
thevoice(itsrhythms,pitch,volume,energyandpace),andonlyten
percentthesurfacemeaningofwords.Imaginesomeonesayingto
you:‘You’vegotanewhaircut.’Thewordsarestraightforward,but
depending on how the speaker says them, and where they place
their body, the phrase could mean ‘You look great!’, or ‘What’s
going on in your life all of a sudden?’, or ‘Good. I’m glad you’ve
finallygotyourselftogetheragain’oreven‘Fancyadrink?’
Performers have to take charge of this process; they need to
ensurethateverysinglephysicalactionreflectsandreinforceswhat
theywishtocommunicate.Eachactionmustbeclearandaccurate;
a direct channel to the audience. In addition, performers who use
voiceandlanguage(whetherasactorsorsingers)mustalsoensure
thatthebodyformsasingleunitwiththeseelements,sothatwhat
isrevealedtotheaudienceiscompleteandtruewithnoblocks,no
unintendedcontradictionsandnofalseness.
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Preface
This area of accurate communication is not confined to those
who make their living via artistic communication. It is relevant to
everyone.Weallcommunicate,weallseektobeclearlyunderstood.
But understanding and engaging with physical processes isn’t
simply a tool for ‘managing effective communication’. The body’s
role is more fundamental and all-pervading than that. The body is
thedirectpointofconnectionbetweenourinnerselfandtheouter
world. We communicate our desires and ideas outwards through
the physical activities of speech and action. We may plan and
consider in the privacy of our mind, but it is the body that puts
those plans into motion through spoken words, phrases, gesture
and movement. In addition, we receive all our incoming
information about the world via the body’s sense organs; through
oureyes,ears,skin,noseandtongue.Itisatwo-directionalprocess;
fromtheworldthroughourphysicalsensestoourinnerlandscape,
and then from our reactions and thoughts back into the world
through physical action. The body stands at the centre of this
constant exchange. It is the interface between our inner life
(thoughts, feelings, memory, dreams) and the outside world (other
people,objects,thephysicalenvironment).
Infact,itisthesolemediatorofhumanexperience.Itisourbody
thatclimbsthemountain,whispersinanother’sear,trembleswith
excitement,noticesthelightchange,gripsthebag,tenseswithfear,
laughs with delight. It is our body that actually lives our life. Our
mind may plan, and process, and recall, but it is the body that
directlyexperiencestherealityoftheworld.
Anditcan‘remember’thisexperience.Ifthisstatementseemsa
bitextreme,considerwhatoftenhappenswhenyoutrytorecallthe
words or tune of a song. You sit there thinking, but you cannot
remember what comes next. Your conscious mind cannot provide
theanswer.Soyoujuststartsingingoutloudand,ninetimesoutof
ten,asyousing,theforgottenpartofthetunejustfallsoutofyour
mouth. Maybe not immediately, but as you sing your body
somehow‘remembers’thetune.
Intermsoftraining,boththecentralimportanceofthebodyand
itsroleasbridgebetweentheinnerlifeandtheoutsideworldneed
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TheBodySpeaks
to be acknowledged. The body should aim to become a more
sensitive receiver for information from the world, and learn to
process this information in new and more creative ways. It also
needs to speak more freely, more clearly, more directly, and more
vibrantly, in order to communicate the richness of the interior life
totheoutsideworld.
The first section of this book is about preparation, getting
yourself ready to do the work. It focuses on becoming connected:
ensuring that the world and your inner life are in clear and direct
dialoguewitheachotherviathebody,andthatyoucanfullyengage
with the physical, emotional and creative resources you already
have.
Once this basic state of connectedness has been established, we
candecidetolookfurther.Toextendourrangebeyondthatwhich
we already know. To develop alternative areas of freedom and
control;newtechniques,newstyles,newphysicalpossibilities,new
imaginativeprocesses.Andwhenwechoosetoincreaseourrange,
it isn’t just the anatomical structure that benefits. New ways of
movingandinhabitingourbodiesenrichoursensesanddeepenour
direct experience of living. The more we allow our bodies to open
and explore unfamiliar territory and the more we permit new
reactions,thegreaterourunderstandingbecomes.Inaddition,this
second section looks at some of the elements that impede or
promotelearning,forbothteachersandstudents.
The third section of the book is about putting the process into
practice; doing the actual work in the rehearsal room, engaging
with text and other people. Looking at ways to apply the body to
thedelicatetaskofworkingtogetheronspecificperformances.And
incarnatinganotherhumanbeing.
In the fourth section we examine the process of creating and
clarifying meaning for the audience. How the performer and the
director can enhance understanding of situation, relationship and
emotionfortheonlooker.Thequestionofstyleisalsoconsidered.
Thefoursectionsofthebookareratherlikeacameragradually
movingtoawiderandwiderviewofthescene.Initiallythefocusis
tight;acloseshotof‘I’and‘Me’asIamnow.Thenitmovesoutto
viii
Preface
‘I’ and ‘Me’ as I could be in the future. Then a bigger picture
emerges; ‘Us’ and what we do together as performers. Finally, the
cameraopensuptotheentirereality;‘Us’and‘Them’;whatwedo
toshapewhattheaudiencesees.
As you read, you may find some of the exercises in the book
slightlypeculiar.Becausemyideasarebasedonthecentralityofthe
body and its role as a bridge for experience, I work through the
body and its knowledge, rather than on it. The body is seen as a
medium of learning in its own right, directly contributing to our
understanding, and not as an external object that ‘requires proper
training’. Hence, some of the exercises may seem odd or unlikely
when you read them. Don’t worry; they usually make sense when
you actually do them with your body. In addition, since the
exercisesseektointegratetheentirephysicalitywithboththeinner
and outer worlds, you will find very few exercises where the body
orthevoiceortheemotionsareworkedintotalisolationfromany
oftheotheraspects,orseparatelyfromtheworldaroundyou.
Ialsowanttoencourageyoutoworkinawaythatisdirectand
sensory, responding to the process, rather than simply going
throughtheexercisesinamechanicalmanner.Iamalwaystryingto
find words that will point you in the right direction, but without
telling you exactly what you ‘should’ experience. Everyone is
different,andrespondsintheirownuniqueway.Haveagoandsee
whattheexercisesofferyou.
Thisbringsmetomyreasonforwritingthisbook.Ihaveworked
inawiderangeofperformingstylesandsituations,includingdance,
classical theatre, physical theatre, performance art, opera, circus
and street performance, and in spaces ranging from structures
holding twelve thousand people to intimate studio theatres. I have
rehearsed with text and with improvisation, both devising and
interpreting. And what I have discovered through all this diversity
of experience is that the deep skills of the performer are similar,
irrespective of the style or the particular technical demands. The
abilitytobetrulyconnected,andthentocommunicatewithclarity
and authenticity, is universal; it applies in any context, culture or
medium.Goodperformersreachtheaudience,fullyconvincingand
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