ALL YOU NEED IS SUZUKI?
Adrian McGachie
An extended essay submitted in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for a BA Hons in Performing Arts, University of
Bedfordshire, April 2010
Abstract
The Suzuki Actor Training Method
has been compared and contrasted to Vsevolod Meyerhold’s Biomechanics and Constantin Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions in an attempt to rationalise whether
Suzuki training alone can provide all of an actor’s training needs.
It has been established that Suzuki training accomplishes nearly all of
the training requirements the modern actor may require, with some exceptions.
Most notably, to train fully under Stanislavsky’s system requires of the actor
to apply a thorough analysis of text, which he uses as the basis for
formulating physical actions as an inroad to discovering a way of recalling
specific emotions as they may be required by the informed reading of the play.
Suzuki training does not make the same demand on an actor, yet it may be
assumed that such a reading is necessary for preparing for performance. To some
extent Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, while a standalone method of training in
itself, will also be applied in conjunction to the same analysis. Suzuki
training is a rigorous training method which enables the actor to produce a
compelling performance, under the right directorship which acknowledges the
limitations of the method. Where no provision is made for textual analysis and
creative engagement within the training then it must be understood that this is
an actor skill addressed elsewhere.
Therefore, the accomplished actor needs to seek to broaden the knowledge
of his craft by combining training methods from more than one source. Is all
you need Suzuki? The answer to that question is almost as enigmatic – it nearly
is, but not quite.
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................Page
4
Chapter
1
Tadashi Suzuki: The Suzuki Actor Training
Method.......................Page 10
Chapter 2
Constantin Stanislavsky: The Method of
Physical Actions.............Page 21
Chapter 3
Vsevolod Meyerhold: Biomechanics............................................Page
24
Conclusion
All You Need is Suzuki? Conclusion..............................................Page
29
Bibliography................................................................................Page
33
Introduction
To read the prospectus of many of the National Drama Council for Training
(NCDT) accredited vocational drama schools gives the view that training, in the
field of performance and actor training, involves learning multiple
disconnected disciplines which, when mastered, will present the student with a
variety of skills that will provide them with a competitive advantage in which
to enter the industry and secure work – no guarantees given, of course. Adele
Bailey, executive director of the NCDT, in her article ‘Why Choose Drama
School?’ reduces the practice and
purpose of training to an economic outcome:
Acting and musical theatre students develop the discipline,
practical skills and intellectual understanding necessary for building a
lasting career, with accredited courses providing opportunities to be seen by
agents, casting directors, theatres and television companies, so vital in
securing that all important first job. Graduates of accredited courses also
qualify for full Equity membership on completion of their course. (Bailey, 2009)
To peruse the
prospectuses of the twenty-two of Britain’s accredited drama schools does little
to provide a clear sense of direction beyond this view of a disarticulated body
of training in which the student will learn from a breadth of subjects, typically comprising, in the case of the London Academy of Music and
Dramatic Art (LAMDA) :
·
Acting and
Improvisation
·
Voice, including the
Speaking of Poetry
·
Movement, including
Period Movement
·
Singing, including
Choral and Solo
·
Textual Interpretation
and Analysis
·
Alexander Technique
·
Physical Theatre
(including Mask, Clown, Bouffon and Melodrama)
·
Stage Combat
·
Dance, including Tap,
Jazz, Flamenco, Historic
Or at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art, where a similar programme exists which encompasses:
·
Acting,
·
Voice Training
·
Movement Training
The perception is that
each discipline within a module can be treated as separate specialisation
providing a variety of techniques, rather than perhaps a technique which the actor can employ within his work.
Why then, do we train? To level
the playing field against one’s peers, all eagerly attempting to secure too few
acting opportunities might be a noble enough pursuit for some, but can only be
part of the story, sounding as it does a product of a society which favours
results based on performance measurement (rather than pursuits towards
self-actualisation), ultimately producing a return on investment. Barker (1977, pp. 12-13) considers the work of the
actor in two parts, providing a convincing argument as to why he would need to
train. The first part of the actor’s work is to understand the content of the
work, both in terms of contextual understanding and in his approach to character.
This is derived from a variety of sources contained within the work, from
reading the text to considering historical and social modes in play. The second
part of the actor’s work is then in how he synthesises all of this information
and converts it to a physical intention in terms of his character, other actors
and ultimately to the audience. The actor has to take what we take for granted
in daily life – human responses to stimuli and the subsequent interaction
arising from that - and reproduce on command the same, repeatedly and as if
spontaneously. The activity of an actor, broadly speaking, requires him to
convert mental process into physical activity, whilst maintaining awareness of
the sensations created throughout. This is what training should provide – the
ability to contextualise on one hand, and the means to convert that into an
acting performance on the other.
Eugenio
Barba draws attention to the way we carry out ordinary activities without
needing to think, “The way we use our bodies in daily life is substantially
different from the way we use them in performance” (1991, p. 9). Performance should not be a recreation (literally) of
the daily life activity of the performer, which in itself produces a mundane
rendition for the audience. Barba
describes the purpose of the “daily” body technique as one carrying
‘communication’, in that daily behaviour is an amalgamation of subconscious
physical processes which have been learnt – how we sit, talk and conduct
ourselves in daily life. This behaviour reflects our culture and the role we
have assumed within it. The ‘extra-daily’ body carries ‘information’ and
describes our physical movements which are other than ‘daily”, which have to be
mastered for performance, such as a ballet dancer or Noh performer would learn
a new way of movement, or an actor to use his voice and within that lays
the excitement of virtuosity which transforms not just the performer’s body,
but the audience as well. (Ibid) In reaching
this seemingly obvious conclusion, Barba is making a strong case for the need
for training which will allow the performer to connect to the performative
body, enabling the performer to deconstruct physical activity, separating
pedestrian habitual movement from that which should be employed in performance.
Training,
it could be argued, is concerned with transformations. Physical conditioning is
part of it, where flexibility and body control provides the basis from which
the actor produces performance energy. It is necessary to make the distinction between energy expenditure in
daily and extra-daily contexts. It is argued that minimal energy is expended in
daily life to produce maximum output, whereas the opposite is true of
extra-daily energy, in which performer presence is located within the maximisation
of energy to produce, often, minimal outputs. (Watson, 1993: 34). To skilfully control the physical rendering of the
actor’s performance, Anne Dennis (1994, p. 18) agrees with Barba that movement
should be based on economy:
An actor’s movement methodology must be
based on a minimum of movement...and
where clarity is achieved through a lack of all excess and the power of
stillness.
Training facilitates the transformation of the
actor into a transmitter of text. The Occidental view has been traditionally
involved with training actors to receive, synthesise and then communicate the
dramatic written text to an audience.
Schechner (1991, p. 247) identifies the
six primary functions of training as:
·
Interpretation of a
dramatic text or performance text.
·
To train the performer
to transmit a performance text
·
Transmission of
performance “secrets” (as in Noh)
·
To help performers
achieve self-expression.
·
Mastery of a specific
technique.
·
To enable the
formation of groups.
In identifying these aims,
Schechner draws comparisons between the common principles found interculturally
in performance and which have developed as a result of that society’s culture,
at varying rates and degrees of absorption – some cultures having a more
integrated understanding of the principles as a result of generations of
continued inherent practice, whereas others have to learn, (or re-learn) those
principles, something covered in great detail by Eugenio Barba in his Dictionary
of Theatre Anthropology. Of ‘the actor as transmitter of the written
text”, Schechner argues that this is primarily a Euro-American preoccupation in
which the actor is not the guardian or author of the text. To look to other
cultures, such as Indian, Asian, or Native American culture will reveal a
tradition of the actor as a ‘transmitter of performance text’ which has been
handed down from generation to generation in highly codified structures. In view of this revelation Schechner argues
that the third principle, ‘The transmission of secrets’ is less culturally
aligned to Euro-American practices as it is to Asian/Japanese culture, where
codified performance tradition belongs to specific groups of people and where
the “secrets” are preserved and highly regarded, and to be selected to learn,
and train under these learned masters is highly prized. Training under such a
regime typically follows a rote method of learning, mastery of the technique
being offered by example, then practice, before advancing to the next level, as
observed by Nicola Savarese: ‘Starting
in early childhood, they often learn a performance score by imitating a master,
and repeat it until they have mastered it perfectly’ (Barba & Savarese, 1991, p. 249).
Whilst the rationale for learning through physical repetition may be
different within the Occidental tradition to that of the Orient, the idea of
training the actor through the physical, rather than psychological medium has
not been ignored. As will be discussed in later chapters, Constantin
Stanislavsky, and in turn, Vsevolod Meyerhold, came to understand the
importance of seating training within physical structures, and through the
process of recording their training systems have passed on the ‘secret’ of
knowledge, as have their intercultural counterparts.
Schechner continues to explain the fourth function of training to be
something found inherently in Euro-American traditions. Self-expression is
predominately the preserve of psychological attitude rather than behavioural
based practice. Rooted in all performance is the notion that the actor must externally portray the internal processes which reside within
him, which will include the portrayal of his emotional reaction to a given
situation, as the piece requires. It stands to reason that training has to
address the issue of reproducing ‘emotion’ on stage. How training responds, and
has responded, to this need varies greatly but can reveal much about the modes
of theatre being practiced in one culture to the next. For example, in post-war
America, the rise in popularity of the Americanised Stanislavsky system suited
the heightened form of realism being portrayed on stage and film. (Watson, 2001,
p. 67). However, as theatre
styles evolve and new writing challenges notions of realism on stage, training
which has served that form well may no longer address the needs of the actor as
he responds to new material.
Much of this discussion has described training practice between the
Occident and the Orient, yet this generalisation imposes geographic boundaries,
restricting our appreciation of the common performance principles which occur outside
of these borders but can be observed internationally, regardless of location.
Barba attempted to address that by preferring instead to refer to codified and
non-codified performance traditions as ‘poles’. Performers coming from a strong
codified structure (such as ballet) are described as ‘North Pole’, and
non-codified (perhaps predictably to include European theatre traditions) as
‘South Pole’. Still fraught with the risk of marginalising each sector by
categorising them, he argues that with this system each “pole” retains equal
status (Turner, 2004, p. 48).
In subsequent chapters I will look at the work and training methods of
Tadashi Suzuki, Constantin Stanislavsky and Vsevolod Meyerhold in order to try
and determine if one or more of these methods addresses the needs of the modern
actor and the challenges he faces today, according to the principles identified
in this paper, as to what actor training should ideally seek to provide. Whilst
that should be measurable, what any such study will of course fail to ascertain
is the suitability of one system or method over another according to an
individual’s needs and expectations.
Tadashi Suzuki: The Suzuki Actor
Training Method
It would seem that a study of the life and theatre practice of Tadashi
Suzuki constantly encounters oppositions and contrasts. Born in 1939, in
Shimizu, in Japan, Suzuki recalls early memories of growing up at home as one
in which traditional Japanese values clashed with emergent Western influences.
Indeed, even the short space of time between his birth and the end of World War
II saw the cessation of what was the traditional Imperial Japan to a defeated
Japan, with the associated political influence of the United States of America
that brought with it. After leaving high school to take a place at Waseda
University in the Nishi-Waseda district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, to study economics
and political science, he joined the Waseda Free Stage (WFS) theatre company
which ran from the university. It was here that Suzuki began to formulate some
of his ideas. Although the WFS had some highly ideological approaches to
performing, including asking their actors to research the historic and
contextual settings of plays to writing about their characters background,
personality, age etc (Carruthers, 2007, p. 9)
Suzuki became disillusioned with his own acting ability and that of his peers,
finding their performances to be weak and concluded that the apparent lack of
skill was indicative of the fact they had no training system in place (Ibid).
The WFS were involved in presenting Occidental staples, from Chekhov to Arthur
Miller, which found Suzuki trying his hand at directing, to Oriental classics.
Eventually falling out with the WFS for differences of opinion, Suzuki resolved
to set up his own company which he also called the Waseda Free Stage. Extremely
poor, and mostly disowned by their parents, the company shared jobs and food
alongside company duties and chores. Their fortunes changed when the owner of
their favourite coffee shop offered them a space for a studio theatre above the
shop on the condition that they met construction costs, which they did by
undertaking part time jobs. The development of the studio space was a significant
one for Suzuki, leading him to discover a keen interest in the idea of ensemble
group working, which would be seminal to the development of his training
method, which he had been developing from the 1970’s onwards. Suzuki eventually
relocated his company from Tokyo to his purpose built theatre village in Toga
in Toyama, Japan.
Suzuki recognises that rather than to make the distinction between
traditional and non-traditional theatre, (and thus abandoning one for the
other) there are techniques within Japanese Noh and Kabuki theatre traditions
which deserve to be studied and utilised in modern theatre. In particular,
Suzuki observes that, “The way in which the feet are used is the basis of a
stage performance” (1986, p.6). Suzuki
recognises that the position of the feet will profoundly affect the rest of the
body, influencing everything, even the timbre of the actor’s voice. He sees
this in ballet as well, remarking on how dependent this art form is on the
position of the foot, dispelling the idea that his observations are only
relevant to Japanese pre-modern art forms, which could be dismissed as
irrelevant by ‘modern’ practitioners. Developing a set of exercises, to which
the foot, and in particular the “stamp” of the foot, becomes integral, is
Suzuki’s response to his belief that, “One reason the modern theatre is so
tedious to watch...because it has no feet” (Ibid).
He recognises that the foot plays a spiritual, as much as a practical role,
too. The foot provides contact with the earth, and destiny determines that we
come from the earth and shall return to the earth, which has primitive,
shamanistic connotations. At this level contact between the ground and foot
creates a link to the energy of earth, as any ritual involving rhythmic
pummelling would. On a practical level, Suzuki’s exercises are designed to
create physical awareness in an actor of far more than just the foot. Exercises
involving stamping generate energy and disturbance in both the lower and upper
half of the body, which an actor must learn to control through the pelvic
‘centre’ – the core strength required is combined with the need to control breath
and maintain rhythm according to the nature of the exercise. The range of
exercises designed to challenge the actor comprise of basic stances, stamps (or
‘stomps’), marches (including walks), sitting and standing statues. At the same
time, a number of exercises will require vocal work as well, which consists of
reciting passages, quite often while under or having just completed arduous
physical activity. It should be stressed that although undertaken as a group
(most usually) ‘progression’, both physical and cognitive, is unique to the
individual. Australian theatre makers,
Frank Theatre, who have adapted the Suzuki Actor Training Method (SATM) of
training in their Frank Suzuki Performance Aesthetics (FSPA), and who rely on
this to form the basis of their work, acknowledge that a purpose of the
training is to provide the actor with a dialogue, one in which he questions
internally the process he is undertaking, in order to discover the extents, and
limitations, he is capable of. As John Nobbs describes:
For myself,
the most essential feature of the SATM can be termed the ‘via ablativa in extremis’. By this I mean the employment of
structural repetition in dynamic conjunction with reflective improvisation,
achieved within the arena of the body in crisis. (2006, p. 149)
In other words, what Nobbs describes is the concept that an actor is
capable of breaking away from habitual behaviour which inhibits him, through
the repetition of exercises which, whilst exhausting, causes him to reveal a
purer, truer self, “drawing his body and voice into a new experience” (Ibid).
It would be appropriate to describe the range of exercises which are practised
during training, and in doing so to discuss the variations introduced by Frank
Theatre, which it could be argued have been streamlined to appeal to a
westernised practitioner. In some respects the exercises have been made more
accessible to the curious novice who might encounter Suzuki training as part of
a suite of training methods, rather than one as an adopted technique. It is
common for an Occidental performer to question the expected outcomes to arise
from any practice, which is not so true of the Oriental performer coming from a
tradition of mimicking the trainer. The onus is on the performer to become
aware of the internal dialogue taking place. If the core becomes unstable, for
instance, and balance is affected, the automatic reaction to place a foot down
to regain composure is discouraged. Physical awareness and the ability to
correct the mistake will become more apparent by trying to stabilise the body
through continuing the exercise as intended, even if that means wobbling. Any
such action should also be accepted graciously and without revealing any
personal annoyance to the audience. Training is treated as if it is a
performance, even where the audience may be solely comprised of the group
participating in the activity. Part of the discipline of the performance is to
remain focused and to engage fully with the exercises, and mistakes which are
not revealed will defer attention from them, whilst providing a valuable
learning experience for the student which can be taken into the public arena.
(For the purposes of describing training movements the terms ‘trainer’ and
‘trainee’ will now be employed. It is not intended to confer status to either
participating party, as the process of learning and discovery is a bilateral
one).
Before embarking on
any exercise, trainees adopt the basic stance, which is the starting position.
Standing upright, yet relaxed, with legs and feet together, and the focus at a
fixed point in the distance, presenting the face towards the audience, the
trainee relaxes the knees, dropping slightly towards the floor, pushing down
through the legs yet extending upwards through the body. Arms are held to the
sides, with hands gently turned as if holding two sticks parallel to the floor.
Breathing should be controlled and steady, extending into the abdomen. The feet
are pushed into the floor with equal weight distribution throughout. The feet
may be adjusted slightly for some exercises.
From this position, with feet turned out at forty
five degrees, the trainee can perform Basic
Number One. The trainer will either call instructions, using numbers in the
first instance, or by banging a stick on the ground. On the call of “One!” the
right leg is lifted and thrown to the right, stamping down. This movement
should be fluid, resulting in the centre of balance being over the right foot.
This can be tested by lifting the left foot and observing if a shift in balance
is required to achieve this. The trainer calls “Two!” and the left foot slides
back towards the right, joining it at the heel. On “Three!” the trainee squats
to a plié, to a count ranging from one to ten, as
determined by the trainer. At the base of the plié the
trainee will be positioned on their toes, effectively sitting on their heels.
To the count of “Four”, the trainee pushes through the toes and legs to a
rising position, allowing the feet to fall back to the floor as soon as
practical to do so. The finishing position should now be as started, ready to
repeat the exercise to the left. In addition to the movement the trainer may
call for vocals to be included. This will be the recital of a short speech
learnt by the group. Favourite speeches encountered vary from speeches by
Shakespeare to an extract from Euripides’ The
Trojan Women:
O splendour of
sunburst breaking forth this day
Whereon I lay my
hands once more on Helen my wife.
And yet it is not
so much as men think
For the woman's
sake I came to Troy,
But against that guest, proved treacherous,
Who, like a robber,
carried the woman from my house.
In theory, any short speech could be used. The trainer will request
various vocal pitches, ranging from a whisper to full voice. It is the
responsibility of the trainee to work out how much breath is required under
stress. It is not a problem to run out of breath – that is part of the learning
process. In much of Suzuki training, the exhausted state provides some of the
most profound experiences.
Basic Number Two
assumes the basic stance, with heels and toes placed together. Instructions are
given as before:
“One!” – Right leg is lifted perpendicular to the floor, with the sole
of the foot being presented to the audience at speed and the knee as high as
can comfortably be maintained. Foot remains flexed upwards. This position can
be held for any length of time, determined by the trainer.
“Two!” Right foot stamps down, just slightly in front of the starting
position. Gradually, progression is made forwards in this manner, repeating
with the left foot. This exercise is then developed to incorporate further
movements which challenge the position of the centre of gravity, as follows:
“One!” and “Two!” are as above. “Three!” Right leg slides forwards
until the centre of gravity is over the knee and the left leg is straight.
Balance can again be checked by lifting the left leg and making adjustments as
necessary until the action becomes intuitive. “Four!” – The trainee rises onto
toes. The centre of gravity should be equally distributed between the two legs.
On the command of “Five!” the heels return to the floor and the exercise is
repeated with the left leg leading. The trainee will cover more floor space in
this variation of the exercise, so this needs to be taken into account when
choosing a place in the room to begin from. Trainers will introduce additional
challenges to this exercise. For example, the timing between commands “One!”
and “Two!” can vary and they could call on a speech at any point throughout.
Also, this exercise can be performed with the trainee holding a stick in front
of them. This presents a way in which rise and fall can be checked to maintain
an even height throughout, but also presents the trainee with a tool which can
add another dimension to their performance. The stick should be held firmly,
but not stiffly and in a ‘live’ manner, maintaining extra-daily energy. John
Nobbs describes the relationship which he encourages trainees to have with the
stick as one which invokes an opposite:
I might say to an
actor: “Hold a stick”, I will then say, “Let me take the entire weight of the
stick, you, think of holding on to the stick”, then I will say, “Now, think of
both, do both simultaneously.” This principle can then be extended so that the
actor can envisage the stick holding them. (2006,
p. 154)
In this
invocation Nobbs believes that the actor who takes this principle forward
produces a more compelling performance for both himself and the observer, by
bringing aliveness to a dead action – perform the action, invoke the opposite –
energise the action.
For Basic Number Three feet are again
turned out at forty five degrees with the basic position assumed. With “One!”
called, the right leg is lifted on the diagonal, with the foot turned into
towards the leg. On “Two!” the foot is stamped to the floor, slightly in front
of the other. The exercise is repeated, alternating the leading leg each time.
Finally,
Basic Number Four. The trainee can be instructed to begin the exercise in one
of two starting positions. The first is facing the front in the basic position.
On the command, he or she will pivot on the right foot around, simultaneously
dropping to a squat. (Alternatively, the trainee can start from the squatting
position, rising to the standing position). On the second command the trainee
returns to the starting position. Here
the trainee must attempt to move the centre smoothly through the space in an
arc, rather than just concentrating on the rise and fall which the speed of the
exercise will influence. Also, in the squatting position the trainee is
instructed to be relaxed, yet aware enough to await the next command without
anticipating it and thus moving before it comes. In this relaxed state the back
of the trainee, which faces the audience, should maintain extra daily energy.
The exercise is repeated to the left.
Of
all the exercises which appear in the repertoire, the one which many use to
define the training, particularly if coming from a relatively uninformed
background, is the three minute stomp. For Suzuki, the exercise should develop
a superior understanding of the body in trainees, in which they have to
regulate themselves in order to control the rise of energy throughout their
bodies as they strike the ground, containing it within their pelvic regions.
Breath control is equally important, which if unattended will cause the upper
body to tremble and the trainee to lose rhythm. As well as the physical
attributes of the exercise Suzuki emphasises the affirming nature stamping on
the ground will have, “Forcing the development of a special consciousness based
on this striking of the ground. This concept arises from my conviction that an
actor’s basic sense of his physicality comes from his feet” (1986, p. 9). In the Stomp, all trainees find a
starting position in the space and assume the basic position. To a piece of
rhythmic music they begin the stamping motion, which entails them lifting their
legs at the knee to as close to hip height as possible, with the foot running
parallel to the opposite leg (rather than trailing behind or pushing ahead of
the leg) and then stamping vigorously down. Alternating legs, they will make
incremental movements around the space, in which they are free to make their
own way around. In the FSPA version of this exercise sticks are often used,
sometimes held by two hands in front, at other times being held by one hand
with the end of the stick lightly contacting the floor, trailing either in
front or behind. This is done to increase the trainee’s awareness of the
relationship between him and the ground. The culmination of the three minutes
stomping is with the group making their way towards the back of the space when,
on the conclusion of the first half of the music’s they fall to the ground and
remain still, yet highly focused, with a store of energy residing in their
inner core. Then the music changes to a wistful Zen flute, to which the group
rise in their own time and make their way downstage, walking in a similar
fashion as in the exercise ‘Slow Ten Tekka Ten’. Their intention is to each
individually engage the audience, whilst remaining completely in the moment, in
which they move with time suspended, yet passing, in the space. As they
approach the front of the stage they will gather and wait, still holding the
gaze of the audience. Some trainers may ask for a vocal exercise to be
completed at the end, usually in quiet voice so as not to break the
spellbinding atmosphere that has been created.
The
Slow Ten walk is conducted as an exercise in its own right. It requires the
trainee to be aware of the size of the space, in order that they might cross it
in close formation at the same time, whilst listening to the rhythms in the
music and making directional changes in time to it. The group will usually be
split into two, each taking one side of the space, leaving gaps in between
themselves to pass each other in the middle. From a neutral position they have
the first twelve beats of the music to prepare themselves in, to assume the
basic stance, ready to move off together. Sometimes they will be instructed to
hold their arms in a position of their choosing, whereas in the FSPA variant
Nobbs and Carroll make extensive use of a range of props to complement the
exercise. This can be anything from sticks, soft toys, chairs and mirrors.
Whatever the variation the objective is still to prepare for walking in the
opening beats of the music, with the added challenge of picking up the soft toy
and holding it in a forward facing perspective, or at other times facing the
trainee – both metaphoric states suggesting the relationship between being
viewed and being the viewer. Using handheld mirrors the trainees are given the
opportunity to view themselves from a variety of viewpoints. This can commence
with a Slow Ten walk in which the trainee stares directly into the mirror.
During this intimate journey Nobbs will encourage the individual to fully
appreciate the face for its uniqueness, whilst reminding them that this is the
view the audience has. In other exercises they will view themselves from
multiple angles when instructed to change their view – the hand holding the
mirror subtly repositioning and the eyes, not the head, registering the change.
These are images which Nobbs says are now personal experiences, created within
the space and which serve to empower the individual and strip away ego.
A
fundamental principle underlying all of these exercises is not just in the
physical rendering of them, but more importantly that every exercise is
punctuated by stillness. Often just momentarily, at other times purposely
sustained, the stillness is to Suzuki more than just moments of passivity, but
crucially that they are the moments in which stage presence and full extra
daily energy have accumulated to their fullest potential. For Suzuki, an actor
should be like a Boeing 747 on the runway, with engines revving but the brakes
are applied (Carruthers, 2007, p. 80). In
the Basic Stances the stillness can exist at any point between each physical
change, during the stomp each stamp is accentuated by a fleeting stillness and
for the walks, to be described next, each step objectifies the principle – step
– still – step – still and so on. The walks are practiced in lines, one trainee
following the next, diagonally across the stage. As well as the spatial
awareness each trainee must maintain they should be aware that they are moving
their centres through space, which encounters resistance, as if a rope passes
directly through them. The rope, although pulling forwards also pulls
back. The walks can be summarised as
follows:
1.
Basic Stomp
2.
Triangular step, making toes meet.
3.
Walking on the outside of the feet.
4.
Flicking the feet to the outside with the
“attack” coming from the hip.
5.
Walking on toes.
6.
Stomping sideways.
7.
Stomping sideways, crossing feet.
8.
Sideways in plié step.
9.
Fast shuffle walk.
10.
Toe shuffle in crouched position arms
stretched out as if presenting a gift.
(Watson, 2001, p. 180)
During FSPA training the walks may be
practiced as duets, with both partners holding an end of the stick, increasing
the need for each individual to create an empathy with each other. Increased
challenges are introduced with one partner closing their eyes, or one
performing the routine backwards whilst the other travels forwards.
The
last of the most common exercises encountered in a training session to be
described are the statues. These can be sitting and standing. In sitting
statues the trainees adopts a neutral foetal position, with knees held against
the chest and head bowed down. Sitting statues are a development of Three Sitting Positions, which
Carruthers describes as:
On “One!” the body is tilted back to balance on the
coccyx with feet raised off the ground... (Body returns to neutral on a given
signal) On “Two!” the legs shoot forward together while the torso tilts
backwards to a point of balance... (Return to neutral) On “Three!” legs shoot
out again at an angle of forty five degrees, while the torso again tilts back
to find a counteracting point of balance (2007,
p. 88)
In statues the trainee assumes any
position from this seated position. As well as requiring core strength to
become developed the challenge is to remain relaxed in the upper body in order
to deliver a speech when requested. Each position should be created freely and
without repetition during changes. In standing statues similar principles are
applied in which the trainee goes from a low crouch, with feet spread apart,
high up onto toes, freezing the arms, head and torso in a statue, in complete
stillness. Returning to the neutral crouched position the exercise is repeated
for many minutes. The trainees may be requested to recite speeches when in
statue.
Although
predominantly “cut from the same cloth”, the examples described here between
the FSPA and SATM methods of practice shows how the style has been adapted by
Nobbs and Carroll to serve their training objectives. Nobbs states that
whatever they do in training is designed ultimately to unlock an actor’s
creative potential. In terms of physicality and vocalisation, the exercises are
designed to combine the two elements – vocal work is considered to be a
physical action in its own right, not a separate entity. Where perhaps the
weakness of the training method might be regarded to exist is in how much it engages
with the trainee to explore their imaginative and creative sides.
Improvisational freedom is alluded to in some aspects of the exercises, for
example Nobbs has introduced other vocal ranges to the basic four normally
used, which are:
1.
Full voice – the body using its entire energy
resources to speaking as powerfully as it can.
2.
Quiet voice- a standard stage voice.
3.
Super quiet voice- the quietest one can speak
with the vocal chords resonating.
4.
Whisper – The loudest one can speak with no
vocal chord resonance.
To now include the addition of:
1.
Freeform - any level, own choice.
2.
Change - switch to another free choice level.
3.
Crazy - any of the weirdest possibilities one
can invoke.
4.
Different- the most interesting and most
congruent with Butoh.
(Nobbs, 2008)
The emphasis is not on the trainee
mastering a particular vocal form over another. When asked to “switch” from one
range to another it should be done instinctively. Once switched, the voice
should be accepted in whatever style the trainee lands on, even if that
produces physical challenges for the individual for the duration of the
exercise. Nobbs is striving here to change the trainee’s perception to the
concept inherent within this exercise between the terms “change” and
“different”. It was only during a training session that the objective of the
exercise became apparent to Nobbs and began to yield results. Change suggests a
shift between styles of delivery. Different, Nobbs argues, shouldn’t denote any
alteration in vocal delivery but to the attitude behind the action. In totally
inhabiting the notional difference the transformation becomes apparent to the
observer as much as it becomes an experiential learning tool for the trainee.
Fundamentally,
the training is designed to enhance the physical presence of an actor on stage.
For both Suzuki and Nobbs, while a performance might be informed by the text of
a play on a dramaturgical level in which sub-text, psychology and emotion are
one element of the theatrical experience, it comes into its own when the event
is bound together in what Nobbs calls, “the expression of human visceral
energy”, and Suzuki simply, “animal energy” (Ibid). In this respect the
training excels. It should be noted, however, that the training does not begin
and end in a finite manner, after which one is regarded as being proficient in
this method. The process of learning the Grammar
of the Feet is a continuous journey.
Constantin Stanislavsky: The Method of Physical Actions
The one name that is synonymous with Western actor training is
undoubtedly that of Russian born Constantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938). Born to a
wealthy manufacturing family his life spanned a turbulent period in Russia’s
history, including the 1917 Revolution, which saw the transition from the late
nineteenth century in which all the major arts - theatre, ballet, opera and
literature were celebrated, to the more suspicious post-revolution age under
the Soviet authorities. Amongst the benefits of his privileged background was
the use of a theatre his father had built in 1877 on the family estate where
Stanislavsky would act and direct, with the security of the family wealth
behind him which also allowed him to found the Society of Art and Literature in
1888 (Carnicke, 2000, p. 11). In 1897 he
turned professional, handpicked by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko to co-direct
at the newly founded Moscow Art Theatre which was going to change the face of
Russian theatre. In 1912 he started the
First Studio where he began to develop his System for Actor Training – a task
he pursued until his death in 1938.
During this period towards the turn of the century other revolutions were
taking place which helped shape Stanislavsky’s career – Modernism and Realism
were the avant-garde, and the new science of psychology was emerging.
Stanislavsky was introduced to a vocabulary which became the foundation stones
of his exploration and pursuit to define an acting method into one definitive
system, dealing as he did with the study of human behaviour at a subconscious
level, believing that to grasp a firm understanding of the internal processes
which affected, amongst other things, human emotion, would provide a tool which
an actor could rely on to recreate the same for the stage in a highly realistic
manner, in what is termed “Psycho-physicality”, so that the internal experience
can be translated into an outward expression (Merlin,
2007, p. 18). To Stanislavsky, “All external production is formal, cold,
and pointless if it is not motivated from within” (Stanislavsky, 1936, p. 164). It was with his work with emotion
memory that Stanislavsky is perhaps most renowned for. Also known as Affective
Memory, (after the influential work conducted by French Psychologist, Theodule
Ribot) Stanislavsky believed that deep rooted emotional experience lies within
all of us inherently, and has naturally informed our development as people, as
well as providing the building blocks which informs our behaviour in any given
situation. He made the distinction between sensory memory and emotional memory,
remarking that they often run parallel to each other (Stanislavsky, 1936, p. 168) but that in art the senses provide a
role that is merely auxiliary and for the “purpose of influencing our emotional
memory” (Ibid, p.170). The means by which
the actor would recall his emotion memory is affected by a number of different
factors. Externally, a stage set, costume and props can all assist the actor to
find the stimulus necessary to perform the scene as will the internal recall of
an experience which will support the actor. The script provides a multitude of
sources from which stimulus can be garnered and that through practice an actor
can create a repertoire of memories from which to draw upon, and at the same
time he will be constantly adding to. Ultimately, the greatest resource the
actor possesses is their ability to internally recall from their memory, using
“Conscious means to reach the subconscious” (Ibid,
p. 176). The actor should always work within the range of their actual
experience to create the role. That is not to say that their lives have to
mirror the characters life – only the emotion most closely related to the scene
is necessary. The rehearsal process is a time when the vast palette of emotions
can be explored and the actor can imbue a sense of playfulness to his work.
Until relatively late in his career Stanislavsky promoted, through his
system, the idea that in order for the actor to produce a compelling
performance he should draw upon memories to evoke the emotion at a given point
in the scene, night after night. The same memory might not be sufficient for
every performance; therefore the actor needs to find inspiration from a variety
of sources. He provided a toolkit of ideas which the actor required to fulfil
his role, incorporating concepts which went far beyond that just of emotional
recall. The actor requires a good imagination and the ability to concentrate.
He can study the text of the play to inform his role, asking crucial questions
throughout concerning his characters motivation. He can learn mastery over his
body, enabling him to reduce any physical tensions which will impede his
rendition of the role. Stanislavsky never believed his system, or any aspect of
it should be treated as the gospel truth – the inquiring mind should test them
in rehearsal, drawing upon only the tools required – if required. If inspiration comes from other sources, then the
message is to allow them to. Bella Merlin, in the Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit, quotes one of Stanislavsky’s
actresses, Solovyova, observing that:
We use
‘emotional recall’ or ‘affective memory’ when our inspiration [fails], or in
Stanislavsky’s expression, when “Apollo does not answer readily”. But if your
intuition gives you what you need, you don’t have to use affective memory.
(2007, p. 149)
It was in later life from 1934 – 1938 that
Stanislavsky began experimenting with what appears to be a simple reversal of
the earlier principles that informed his system. It is obvious that emotions
affect actions. However, emotional recall can be exhausting and unreliable.
Stanislavsky addressed this problem by considering that if the countenance of
the actor who is channelling a required emotion is responsive to that moment,
then can the emotion be affected by his countenance? This simple premise was
what developed into Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions. By examining the
play the actor can identify points throughout when the action shifts within the
scene. This is what Stanislavsky termed the bits. The whole play can be scored
completely in this way (known as the Scoring of Actions). Within each bit the
actor must identify the objective behind the action and all the actions
necessary to perform it. When a bit is complete, the actors test the score by
performing all the actions as a silent étude. Each action must be
performed with fervent intent and conviction, with the idea being that the
external action will enable the actor to experience the psychological
connection to the emotions required within the scene. The actor will continue
in this way for many rehearsals, avoiding using the playwright’s words for some
time. He will check where he is in terms of the psychological progress of the
scene against the script before playing it again. Stanislavsky did not want the
play to block the actor’s progress throughout this process, preferring them to
improvise text to begin with, exploring the rhythm and tempo of the scene as
they practice. By the time they came to use it the only missing element that
the scene requires should be the text.
Vsevolod Meyerhold: Biomechanics
Meyerhold was born in 1874 in
Penza, Russia, to a wealthy family of German-Russian vodka distillers. The last
of eight children, he formed a close relationship with his mother, who
encouraged him to learn piano as part of his education. Meyerhold encountered
actors and musicians who came to his hometown on tour, where his passion for
theatre was ignited. Meyerhold harboured ambitions to be an actor which was
initially delayed when he was offered two possible career progressions, to either
study law or the violin. He opted to read law at Moscow University where he
graduated in 1895. Upon graduation he considered his options, which were to
join the University orchestra or undertake theatre training. He failed the
orchestra audition and embarked on two years theatre training at the Moscow
Philharmonic School under Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Meyerhold was a gifted
student, described by Danchenko as exceptional (Sullivan,
1990, p. 52) and upon graduation in 1899 he was invited to join the
Moscow Art Theatre (MAT), under Danchenko and Constantin Stanislavsky (Ibid). Undoubtedly coming into contact with
Stanislavsky had an influence on Meyerhold, although they had their
differences. Meyerhold was active at MAT, as both an actor and occasionally as
assistant director, and both he and Stanislavsky agreed passionately that a
comprehensive training system was required for actors, yet their relationship
was fraught with difficulties surrounding their opposing artistic views, which
also brought him into conflict with Danchenko. Meyerhold wanted to create
theatrical events using Symbolism, rather than Naturalism and in 1902 he left
the MAT to form his own company, the Comrades of the New Drama, where he
continued his work as a director. Here he took on an impressive programme of
work, staging three productions a week, which hindered any attempts he made to
train his actors in a stylised technique. He accepted an invitation to return
to work with Stanislavsky at his Theatre Studio in 1905 (Pitches, 2003, p. 10). This afforded him the opportunity to
experiment with a highly gestural, symbolist style, which would remain a
constant theme throughout his work and training method. Although Stanislavsky
was initially impressed with his work, it eventually brought Meyerhold into
conflict with him again and he left MAT to go to St. Petersburg, where he would
work from 1906 – 1917. His research and experimentation of the actor’s
physicality continued. He experimented with an investigation of commedia
dell’arte and with the sense of playfulness the form introduced, as well as
with traditional European and Eastern traditions. In all, he amassed a large
body of work with which he began to form a series of exercises which were the
basis for his études. His musical background played a
role too, as much of his work played with rhythm and tempo. Some of his études
were performed as mini-pantomimes, but the basic principle of these exercises,
to be later called “Biomechanics” was to use them to develop the actor.
Biomechanics, according to
Robert Leach (2000, p. 43),
trains the actor in the following ways:
1. Balance (Physical control).
2. Rhythmic awareness, both spatial and
temporal.
3. Responsiveness to the partner, to the
audience, to other external stimuli, especially through the ability to observe,
to listen and to react.
The most rudimentary element of
Meyerholds exercises, before the actor moves onto the études, is to train with sticks. Jonathan Pitches (2008)
describes the stick as the “prop of all props” bringing together as it
does a number of Meyerholds key influences: “Sport (the javelin, foil), circus
(the baton, juggling club), commedia (slapstick), silent comedy (Chaplin’s
cane)...it is an object which carries all the associations of these disciplines
but none of the baggage” (Ibid). As
well as providing the actor an opportunity to train with a prop, it provides
him with a tool which should be treated as an extension of the body, connected
by the hand to his physical core. The basic exercise is performed as a group,
enhancing the collaborative nature of the ensemble. To begin with they will
explore balancing the stick (about the size and dimension of a broom handle) on
the palms of their hands, using the space around them to make minor adjustments
with their feet to keep the stick in balance. This also increases their sense
of spatial awareness as they negotiate the space with the rest of the group.
From this they will practice balancing the stick on different parts of their
bodies. Theoretically, as each new demand increases in difficulty, the earlier
exercises should become simpler to perform as the body retains a memory of the
action and this body knowledge is developed with each progression. As this is
mastered the group will experiment with throwing the stick, at first quite
simply from one hand to the other, then with a half twist introduced. The
students focus on the changes which affects the weight and balance of the
stick, while assuming a collective responsibility to become proficient with the
exercise. If a stick is dropped the exercise is suspended until it (the stick)
is collected, for the group to then resume again. The natural progression is to
practice throwing the stick to each other in pairs. Here, as with all the
exercises, the student develops a rhythmic awareness, an important
characteristic of the études.
Throughout all of Meyerhold’s training runs a common rhythmic principle, an
acting cycle in three parts: Otkaz, (the intention), Posil (the action) and
Tochka, (the reaction, or subsequent intention) (Sullivan, 1990, p. 62).
From the twenty études devised by Meyerhold in the 1920’s, five are considered
by contemporary practitioner, Alexei Levinsky, fundamental to actor training
today. They are:
1. Throwing the
stone.
2. Shooting the
bow.
3. Slap in the
face.
4. Stab with
the dagger.
5. Leap on the
chest. (Pitches,
2003, p. 127)
These are
movement scores which tell a simple story. Each movement comprises of four
parts:
“Otkas
(literally, refusal), posyl (literally, the sending), stoika (or stance), and
tormos (the brake). The otkas is the movement in preparation of the action
itself and is manifested in a movement in the opposite direction, like a
spring. The posyl is the actual execution of the intended action, set up by the
otkas. And the stoika is both the completion of the movement (coming to a halt)
as well as the starting block for the next movement in an étude. Tormos is the
“brake” or “resistance.” (Unknown, 2008)
The tormos performs a similar function to the pause found punctuating
movement in Suzuki training. It denotes the start and the end of the phrase,
denoted by a brief moment of stillness in which the actor’s energy is held in
convergence, literally with the brakes on. Although appearing still, this is
not an immobile action. Each étude begins and ends with the Dactyl, an exercise
designed to prepare the student physically and mentally. Gordon, in Meyerhold’s
Biomechanics, describes the Dactyl as follows:
(A)
The actor, beginning with a complete relaxation of
all muscles,
(B)
suddenly claps his hands twice in a short upward
motion which
(C)
his body follows until he stands on the balls of his
feet.
(D)
Then, bending his knees,
(E)
he immediately claps his hands twice in a violent
and downward motion,
(F)
throwing his arms back as they separate after the
last clap.
(G)
This abrupt movement is transferred to the actor’s
entire body in a forward and downward motion as the momentum of energy is
conveyed to his calves and feet. The actor is now prepared to perform the étude. (1995, p. 112)
Perhaps
one of the best known sequences which will give an impression of a
biomechanical étude is Shooting from the Bow.
It should be remembered that these exercises were not intended to be
recreated on the stage, but were designed to provide the actor with a
repertoire of material with which he would be equipped to perform with
increased flexibility, spatial awareness and expressiveness. Leach (2000, pp.
49-50) describes the exercises:
Stance: as Dactyl.
1. Slow swivel
to left on right toe and left heel, arms by sides.
2. Bend and
straighten knees, rapidly flick left hand to left shoulder, completely bending
left arm, then extend the arm downwards and point with the finger (at imaginary
bow on ground).
Pause.
3. Slowly bend
knees, keep torso vertical, arms by sides.
4. Left hand
moves rapidly to the floor (to pick up imaginary bow), takes the weight of the
torso which is now parallel to the ground; right arm extended vertically, legs
bent, weight on left leg.
Pause.
5. Return to
position 3.
6. Slowly
stand, weight on both feet, arms by sides, spine straight.
7. Slowly bend
left arm so hand touches left shoulder, then extend left arm, hand vertically
upwards, weight on right foot.
Pause.
8. Right arm
makes a big arc parallel with the ground to draw imaginary arrow from belt at
left hip, left arm bends to shoulder, weight is transferred to left foot, torso
swivels left.
9. Right arm is
raised to vertical above head, left arm extended, hand upwards, torso leans
left, head half down, weight on left foot, right foot on toes, right leg bent,
left leg straight.
10. Right arm
rapidly bends, touches right hip, and extends vertically upwards again, torso
bends left to be parallel with ground, left arm remains thrust out.
Pause.
11. Rapidly
shift weight to the right foot as right arm arcs back to the horizontal, torso
is brought back to the vertical, head up, left arm still thrust out.
Pause.
12. Slowly, left
arm is bent, hand nearly to shoulder, as right arm is brought in big arc over
head to beside left arm, weight shifted to left foot.
13. Right arm
‘draws bow’, left arm extends horizontally, weight on left foot still.
14. Return to
position 12.
15. Rapidly
swivel torso to right and down, weight on right foot, both arms vertically down
(as if ‘firing’ bow at right foot), torso bent over to right, head down.
Pause.
16. Rapidly
swivel the torso to left and up, both arms raised, head up, weight on left
foot, back arched.
Pause.
17. Bend knees,
then rapidly straighten them and leap, left foot then right, pulling right arm
down rapidly to vertical, whilst stretching neck and spine upwards; at end,
weight equal, both feet firm on ground after leap.
18. Slowly bring
left arm to side, face front, as at start of exercise. Stand.
This
demonstrates the degree of precision demanded of the actor engaged in the
exercises. The expressive nature reveals the commedia influence, approaching
the grotesque, which Meyerhold pursued avidly. It also introduces the concept
of efficiency in movement, modelled on the work of the American engineer,
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) who sought to improve efficiency in
industrial processes in the newly emerging production lines of the early
twentieth century. This curried favour with the Soviet authorities who grew
rapidly suspicious of psychological practices after the revolution. However, in
spite of Lenin’s support of Taylorism, Meyerhold, and many experimental
practitioners like him could do little to appease Stalin’s contempt and
paranoia that such practice was undermining Soviet authority (Sullivan, 1990,
p. 58). The theatre was regarded as a dangerous breeding ground for anti-Soviet
propaganda and highly influential as a means to communicate to the still
largely illiterate population. Towards the end of his life he collaborated with
Stanislavsky on his last directorial project. Stanislavsky felt at risk, never
returning to the MAT between 1934 – 1938, when he died (Sacharow, 2004) and
Meyerhold was arrested a few months after. He was executed under Stalin’s
orders in 1940. His work would have been lost, had not former students
preserved it in secret. Although he was cleared of all charges in 1955 when
Nikita Khrushchev launched his denouncement campaign of Stalin, his work was
still shared covertly, until it was only considered truly safe to practice openly
under Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost in the 1980’s.
All You Need is Suzuki? Conclusion.
From the research conducted in
this paper it is clear that the field of actor training has, and will continue
to be, a pursuit which many practitioners and teachers will continue to debate
and endlessly engage in, as they explore the wealth of material and research
that has been conducted before them, seeking innovative ways to develop their art
through practice, while remaining true to the original founders ideals of the
many available methodologies which combine to offer a form of theatrical
training today.
It should be noted that there
are naturally many limitations to what an academic research paper (of what are
inherently physical methods of training) can achieve, without experiencing
directly through practice, and under expert guidance, the training first hand.
This is one recommendation (to experience training methods through practice)
for further research. There exists a vast legacy of written material generated
by the founders of these methods, or in some cases by students who have
received the training from the innovators themselves, which offers a
fascinating insight into their theoretical and ideological perspectives which
have spanned a lifetime of research. It is interesting to observe the
refinements which they have implemented to their own practices over an extended
period of time, and this should be indicative of the approach we should all
take to training – no training or training method is finite. Actor development
should be an ongoing process and an inquisitive one. It would appear that many
actors who have received formal two to three year training regard themselves as
“trained actors”. It is an exciting prospect to consider instead the career of
an actor to be one that is constantly in training. New lines of enquiry should
be continually sought and the training methods not only tested, but challenged
also. Training methods which are well founded today have been reactions to
socio-political trends in the past. Stanislavsky grew dissatisfied with the
theatre of his day, noting at times those actors who occasionally displayed
flashes of brilliance yet at others produced only mediocre performances.
Recognising the importance of bringing a psychological element to performance
(even before psychology was fully developed as a science) enabled him to begin
pioneering his Grammar of Acting, leading to his “system” and a method of
Naturalistic acting which for sometime accented the Soviet states view that
Socialist Realism should be the prevalent art form. Meyerhold similarly was a
product of his time. As well as following his own personal pursuit to
incorporate striking gestural symbolism in his work he was reacting to
Bolshevik political pressure which promoted efficiency and collectivism through
manual efforts rather than free thought. Actively embracing this ideology, his
experimental and avant-garde approach enabled him to develop Biomechanics, a
system which seemed to thrive under Lenin, but resulted in his execution under
Stalin. Fortunately, Suzuki has not had to operate under such strict political
regimes, but his practice had developed out of a growing dissatisfaction with
the state of Japanese theatre, acknowledging that whilst traditional Japanese
art forms came from a strong tradition of codified training, actor training did
not.
All three have arrived at a form of training which favours the physical
development of the actor as a method which will assist him in encapsulating a
total performance, rather than one which expends and wastes energy needlessly
on stage and produces just a talking head and inexpressive body. Stanislavsky
is not so prescriptive in how this is achieved through physical action as are
Meyerhold and Suzuki, who have devised fundamental exercises which form the
core of their training. Meyerhold and Stanislavsky both agree that their
systems form a pathway for the actor to discover the emotional truth required
in a play, through applying the correct physical action at a given point. This
requires a deep analysis of the play to determine the objectives and
motivations the character has. Physical memory influences the emotional state
of being and according to their principles is a reliable method which can be
drawn upon to produce consistent performances. Perhaps this is one element
which is not so evident within the Suzuki Actor Training Method? The training
produces within the actor a strong connection to his physical core (remarkably
similar to Meyerhold’s method) and enables him to remain grounded and in
control of his body, yet little is said of his emotional and imaginative
connection to a particular piece or how that should be developed. This has been
addressed to a certain extent in the Frank Suzuki Performance Aesthetics training
programme where trainees are encouraged within the practice of certain
exercises to connect imaginatively with the body and voice, creating states
within the moment which can be carried forward as emotional memories, or with
the use of the mirror in some exercises, which provides not only a real time
view of the position of the physical body in time and space, but one that should be retained in all senses as a
psychological expression when the mirror is taken away. Trainees are encouraged
to hold onto the memory, which is described as now forming part of their
psychological make-up as an event that resides within them forever. The
effectiveness of such an exercise relies on the trainee’s ability to respond to
such seemingly experimental suggestions and again, practically experiencing the
exercise outweighs the limits imposed solely by theoretical description.
The original question remains whether Suzuki training is really all you
need? It could be argued from the research conducted that each of the
programmes discussed have similarities between them which produce identical
outcomes and yet also there are vast differences in how far each programme goes
to fulfil the complete needs of the actor. For example, the Suzuki method
implicitly incorporates vocal training which is absent from The Method of
Physical Actions and Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, which merely state that finding
the right physical action will determine the emotional and psychological
outcome, in other words the external informs the internal. Transversely, Suzuki
training does not provide the same emphasis on analysing the play as part of
the process integral to the training method as does Stanislavsky, and to a
lesser extent, Meyerhold. This is perhaps something addressed by the director
of a play anyway, engaging at a creative level with the actor’s imagination.
For the Suzuki trained actor (and to a certain extent, the actor engaging with
Stanislavsky’s Method of Physical Actions) the expression of the words in a
play are treated as an action and the shape and sound the words make is
important to the physicalisation of them which can inform their emotional
context.
If we accept that there are six basic needs that training seeks to
provide for then they can be cross compared against the systems and training
methods under scrutiny to demonstrate which applies to which:
Training
Need
|
Suzuki
Actor Training Method
|
The
Method of Physical Actions
|
Biomechanics
|
Interpretation of dramatic or
performance text
|
X
|
ü
|
X
|
Transmitter of written /
performance text
|
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
Mastery of a specific technique
|
ü
|
X
|
ü
|
Transmitter of “secrets”
|
ü
|
X
|
X
|
Self-Expression
|
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
Formation of groups
|
ü
|
X
|
ü
|
This is a simplistic model, and the results could be considered
subjective. Does the Method of Physical Actions, for instance, require of the
actor to master a technique? Undoubtedly somebody undergoing this form of
training demonstrates specific skills, but they are not mandatory to his craft.
Stanislavsky said that his system should be regarded as a set of tools, there
for use if the need arises. In a similar vein, referring back to Schechner’s
analysis of training needs, whether
Suzuki training is in the strictest sense “transmitting secrets” could be
debated. Given that it draws on Noh and Kabuki traditions to a certain degree
may give the inclusion in the table here some merit. Taking that all into
account means that the Suzuki Actor Training Method takes the leading edge over
the other systems by a slight margin. It provides the performer with a solid training,
covering most of the basic needs, but not quite
all.
Bibliography
Allain, P. (2002) The Art of Stillness: The Theatre Practice of Tadashi Suzuki.
London: Methuen.
Barker, C. (1977) Theatre Games: A New Approach to Drama Training. London: Eyre Methuen.
Benedetti, J. (1998) Stanislavski and the Actor. London: Methuen Drama.
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