the scream in my head: Approaches To Acting: Augusto Boal

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Approaches To Acting: Augusto Boal

For one of my current theatre projects, I am researching Augusto Boal in preparation to teach a new topic "Approaches to Acting" as a part of the N.S.W. senior Drama course. This course provides the opportunity to study two theatre practitioners, and as such, I have selected to focus on Vsevlod Meyerhold along with Boal. This should present students with two very different but engaging "Approaches to Acting" that will inform their understanding on acting and playbuilding. Augusto Boal's work on"The Theatre of the Oppressed" is noted for his attempt to break down the division between the actors and the passive audience and resulted in the coining of the phrase "spect-actor" suggesting a more fluid connect between the two aspects of the performance process. The following entries on Augusto Boal will continue to explore this relationship between acting and the audience in Boal's work: on forum theatre, invisible theatre and the theatre of image, to develop a comprehensive understanding of Boal's approach towards acting. I will be drawing on the following references during this work.

Games for actors and non-actors by Augusto Boal ( Routlegdge 1992)
Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal (Pluto Press 2000)
Hamlet and The Baker's Son by Augusto Boal (Routledge 2001)
Augusto Boal by Frances Babbage (Routledge 2004)
www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk

2 comments:

BwcaBrownie said...: when you are discussing the relationship between the actor and the audience
you can ask your students how would they cope if they were a one-man show,
'in the round' where a couple in the front row,
obviously drunk or drugged,
were going at each other
to the extent that
management had to be called to 'throw a bucket of water on them'. I just died for the actor as it was a sensitive piece of play.; Thu Feb 07, 04:02:00 PM GMT+11
Anonymous said...: Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!; Sat Nov 21, 10:40:00 AM GMT+11

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review philosophy

I've got plenty of students who get little to no exposure to theatre. This is only a problem when students are required to study playscripts in both English and Drama. Some of these students struggle to develop a "dramatic imagination" when it comes to reading the plays as "a blueprint for performance" open to interpretation and not just as a literary text. My students are required to develop set, costume and publicity designs concepts, directorial visions and to perform excerpts from the plays. This can be difficult when students a narrow perspective of what theatre can be. I have started directing a season of youth theatre each year and organise the rare excursion to offer some experiences.
However, I am always on the search for additional teaching materials that might help students and work as teaching tools offering a alternative trace of performance through books, reviews, Posters, DVD's, Theatre Designs etc. All my reviews will tend to have this teaching focus.

Memorable Theatre - the list continues

Belvoir Theatre / Kneehigh Theatre: Tristan and Isolda (2005)
NIDA Theatre: 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose (2002) performed by the third year NIDA students. 12 Angry Men is the play that I have always wanted to direct. The opportunity for an ensemble cast to create an atmosphere of tension as 12 un-named characters are locked in the restrictive space of a jury room with one decision to make. The play taps into an array of universal themes. Albeit, this production was so brilliant, it temporarily satisfiied my desire to direct the play. Having seen a fantastic production, I had little to add.
STC: I am my own wife (2006)
STC: The Shape of Things by Neil La Bute. This 2002 production directed by Jeremy Sim brought together all the qualities and ideas I enjoyed about playwrighting, acting, directing and theatre designing into one powerful contemporary production.
The Globe Theatre, London: Richard II by Shakespeare (2003) I saw three production at the Globe but for this one, I purchased a cheap ticket and managed to position down centre stage with my elbows resting on the stage. Mark Rylance performance playing up to and working the audience moving us from the comic to and tragic was such an engaging theatrical experience, I finally felt a connection with what Shakespearean theatre might have been like.
Q Theatre Penrith: Hamlet by Shakespeare. This (1986?) production represents the beginning of my love affair with the power of theatre. Originally dragged to the theatre by a school friend who was now studying Hamlet in a first year university course, I was transfixed by the immediacy and intimacy of the action. In the finale with Laertes, the actor playing Hamlet was cut and the performance was stopped. We were invited to return another evening and relive the action. I look back and remember the power of this experience finally give me a theatrical and shakespearean production that finally spoke to me as a teenager. When I now organise school excursions, I live in hope that the excursion might provide a similiar experience for the students.

the scream in my head

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Approaches To Acting: Augusto Boal

2 comments:

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review philosophy

Memorable Theatre - the list continues