Method Acting Essay, Research Paper

The Application of Method Acting to Shakespearean Text

Foreword

* I ne’er truly believed that moving could, or should for that affair, be taught. There is no concrete manner to move. For some people, the ability to make theatre, and to make it good comes of course ; for others, it does non. I have ever held the strong belief that to learn playing is to rob the art of it & # 8217 ; s truth, it & # 8217 ; s beauty.

Over the summer, I performed in Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s Romeo and Juliet. I was directed by person who truly made me understand the rough worlds of the & # 8220 ; concern, & # 8221 ; and yet at the same clip, gave me a deeper grasp for good theater, and the strength that goes into making it. Through watching him on phase and listening to him, I have gained new penetration to my ain hereafter in moving. I realized what a sloppy histrion I am, and how much polish I desparately needed.

I still believe that you can non learn person to move. However, I do cognize that person & # 8217 ; s built-in moving abilities can be refined. Now, the kicker here is how? There has to be some kind of common linguistic communication among histrions and managers that can be used in maturating theatre techinique. By developing the system of method playing, Konstantin Stanislavski did merely that. He created continuity in the polish of technique, and therefore allowed communicating to happen within the acting kingdom. *

For old ages I have unwittingly used assorted facets of the & # 8220 ; method & # 8221 ; in my ain playing. When my wise man told me to read Stanislavski & # 8217 ; s system by Sonia Moore, I was anticipating some kind of ephiphany which would instantly broaden my whole theatrical mentality. Thus was non the instance. Stanislavski strove to give an histrion control over the phenomenon of inspiration. ( Moore ; 1974 ) He did this by making a system which merely involved developing a common linguistic communication which could be applied to moving technique.

Sonia Moore took Stanislavski & # 8217 ; s chief rules and described what they are and the engineering and experiences that aided him in the development of his instructions. Although much of what I read was instead obvious, ( or, possibly, simply intrinsic to me ) , it did name my attending to many of the simple things that I may or may non make in my playing. It gave me a common land. And this I have found to be imperative to the polish of my work.

Theater, said Stanislavski, is a dais which is the most powerful agencies of influence. With the same power with which theatre can dignify the witnesss it may pervert them, degrade them, botch their gustatory sensation, lower their passions, offend beauty. My undertaking is to promote the household of creative persons from the ignorant, the half-educated, and the profiteers, and to convey to the younger coevals that an histrion is the priest of beauty and truth. Some histrions and actesses love phase and art as fish love H2O. They revive in the ambiance of art. Others love non art itself but an histrion & # 8217 ; s calling, success ; they revive in the wing atmosphere. The first are beautiful, the others are detestable. The wont of being ever in public, of exhibiting oneself and demoing off, of having hand clapping, good reappraisals, and so on, is a great enticement. A serious creative person can non be satisfied for long with such being, but superficial people are enslaved by the enticements of the phase, and become corrupted. This is why, in our work more than in any other, one must invariably maintain oneself in manus. An histrion needs a soldier & # 8217 ; s disicipline.

Theatre is a corporate attempt and therefore Stanislavski believed subject to be indispensable to the public assistance of the group. He based his instructions around the thought that an histrion must train him/herself in order to draw a bead on to true illustriousness. His end was to, through his system, give the histrion some clear footing by which he/she could arouse inspiration. When an histrion is inspired he is in the same natural and self-generated province that is ours in life, and he lives the experiences and emotions of the character he portrays. Stanislavski & # 8217 ; s aesthetic and ethical beliefs formed the point of going in his work and the driving force in the creative activity of his System. ( Moore, 1974 )

There are many elements involved in the Stanislavski system. However, most significantly is the construct of physical actions, and how by put to deathing them with truth, they can portray the deepest emotions. & # 8220 ; The method of physical actions, & # 8221 ; said Stanislavski, & # 8220 ; is the consequence of my whole life & # 8217 ; s work. & # 8221 ; Stanislavski discovered that there is an unbreakable tie between the psychological and the physical in worlds. Behind every physical action is some kind of psychological premiss. Therefore, in order to convey true credibility on phase, one must hold really consise looks and idiosyncrasies.

In order to make intuitive, true actions, an histrion & # 8217 ; s subconsious must be & # 8220 ; turned on. & # 8221 ; Stanislavski describes a myriad of techiniques by which this can be done, the first being the of all time elusive & # 8220 ; magic if. & # 8221 ; He knew that an histrion likely can non candidly believe in the truth and world of events on phase, but they could believe in the possibility of them. What an histrion must make is question & # 8220 ; what if I were in Juliet & # 8217 ; s place? & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; This & # 8216 ; magic if, & # 8217 ; as Stanislavski calls it, transforms the character & # 8217 ; s purpose into the histrion & # 8217 ; s. & # 8221 ; ( Moore, 1974 ) & # 8220 ; If, & # 8221 ; takes the histrion into the fanciful fortunes, and with it he/she no longer needs to coerce themself into believing such given events.

The 2nd component involved in the creative activity of fiducial physical actions is the given fortunes. Given fortunes include the secret plan of the drama, the era, the scene, the conditions of life, the reading of the piece, the belongingss, illuming, sound effects & # 8211 ; all that an histrion brushs when he/she takes on a function. A individual & # 8217 ; s psychological and physical behaviour are affected by the elements of his/her environment. The histrion must go so familiar with their environment on phase that he/she becomes a portion of it. The niceties and colour of an action are greatly dependent on one & # 8217 ; s milieus, and hence they must be clearly understood.

Imagination plays a dominant function in the creative person & # 8217 ; s undertaking to transform the narrative into a scenic world. Consequently, an histrion must tackle it and do certain that it functions decently. One & # 8217 ; s imaginativeness must be cultivated and developed ; it must be watchful, wide, and active. The histrion must be able to believe on many different degrees. An histrion without a good imaginativeness is useless to the growing of a function, for it is the key to his/her emotions.

Stanislavski believed that concentration was important to creativeness on phase. Creativeness can non be achieved, he said, without the happening of public purdah. Public purdah involves the histrion being without fright, to experience at easiness, to bury one & # 8217 ; s concerns and everything that interferes with artistic look on phase, while at the same clip admiting the fact that the audience does be.

Stanislavski developed three circles of attending to assistance in the procedure of put to deathing physical actions:

* A little circle of attending is a little country that includes the histrion and, possibly, a nearby tabular array with a few things on it. The histrion is the centre of such a little country and can easy hold his attending absorbed by the objects inside it.

* The medium circle of attending is an country that may include several individuals and groups of furniture. An histrion should analyze this bit by bit, non seeking to take it all in at one time.

* The big circle of attending is everything an histrion can see on phase. The larger the circle, the more hard it is to maintain the attending from dispersing. ( Moore, 1974 )

A harmonious connexion within the group on phase is imperative to do the significance and logic of an histrion & # 8217 ; s actions apprehensible to witnesss. Stanislavski called this connexion & # 8220 ; communion. & # 8221 ; To be in Communion with another individual on phase agencies to be cognizant of that individual & # 8217 ; s presence, to do certain that he/she hears and understands what you tell him/her and that you hear and understand what he/she tells you. Basically, there must be a common influence amongst histrions in order to convey to the audience in a comprehensive mode.

An effectual agencies of Communion between histrions is adaptation. Adaptation is the accommodation to one & # 8217 ; s milieus, including scene and other histrions. In order to set oneself to another, one must be good cognizant of that individual & # 8217 ; s presence and personality. ( Moore, 1974 )

On the more physiological side of the execution of physical actions, there is tempo-rhythm. In every second of life there are tempo ( velocity ) and rhythm

( changing strength of experience ) . Every motion, every fact and event takes topographic point in a corresponding tempo-rhythm. ( Moore, 1974 ) By utilizing the right tempo-rhythm, the histrion can help in their ain concentration and avoid deflecting factors. However, tempo-rhythm must match to the given fortunes. For case, a individual should non walk easy when the given fortunes require energetic walking. If done right and of course, tempo-rhythm can make a connexion and balance between physical actions and emotions.

The concluding, but in no manner least of import elements of physical actions is emotional memory. An histrions experiences on phase are immensely different from those in life. Phase experiences are repeated, whereas those in life are & # 8220 ; primary. & # 8221 ; Stanislavski believed that in order to be genuinely divine, an histrion must handle every phase experience as if it were the first clip he/she was holding it. To travel on phase with no pre-conceived impressions and to move harmonizing to all the niceties that occur, merely as in life.

My mentor/director/friend used to scratch into my head these two key rules in playing, which I believe to depict Stanislavski & # 8217 ; s emotional memory the best:

* Don & # 8217 ; t do anything unless something happens that makes you make it.

* What you do doesn & # 8217 ; t depend on you ; it depends on the other chap & # 8217 ; . ( Meisner, 1987 )

These two instead self-explanatory, yet indispensable rules form much of the footing of method moving. By following them, an histrion can portray true and meaningful physical actions, and therefore convey to the audience a true phase experience.

The universe of the Elizabethans was immensely different than that of modern twenty-four hours. Therefore, because the & # 8220 ; system & # 8221 ; is a merchandise of modern clip it is much more touchable to us, and can hence be explained and understood comparatively easy. However, when trying to depict Elizabethan civilization and the text produced from that epoch, it becomes much more hard because of the fact that Elizabethan society and their whole outlook was fundamentaly different than that of ours today, and may come across as abstract.

In order to hold a true appreciation of Shakespearean text, there are a few basic social factors that one must cognize, and of which I will exemplify. The & # 8220 ; medieval & # 8221 ; universe position is characterized by a set of beliefs that seems foreign to modern readers. This set of beliefs is founded on a cardinal belief in Cosmic Order, intending that everything that has happened, is go oning, or will go on ; and everything that exists, every bit good as where and how it exists ; are all portion of a Godhead design. Several beliefs rested on this foundation:

* The Great Chain of Being. All things created exist in a clear hierarchy, closer or farther off from God. Closest to God were the angels, so world, animate beings, workss, stones, minerals, etc. Satan was, of class, the farthest from God, and therefore was at the underside of creative activity.

* The heavenly domains. Harmonizing to this position, all heavenly organic structures revolved around the Earth ( the Ptolomeic existence ) . Each domain had its designated way, harmonizing to God, and reflected perfect mathematical and godly order.

* Celestial harmoniousness. As they moved in their perfect waies, the planets and the stars made music.

* Divine Providence. Since all things reflected God & # 8217 ; s natural order, an astute perceiver could see God & # 8217 ; s program ( Providence ) in nature.

* Cure through resemblance. Because all things were connected, and reflected God & # 8217 ; s order, remedies for physical complaints could be found in those things that resembled each other.

The Elizabethan political system mirrored cosmic order. This meant that category differentiations were indispensable and purely maintained. All people were born into a specific topographic point in the societal hierarchy and were expected to remain within their topographic points while at the same clip holding the extreme regard for those that ranked above them. For case, a male monarch did non govern because his topics gave him power, but because God chose him to govern ( E.M.W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World Picture ) .

This universe position is hence non merely dependant on political authorization, but even more significantly spiritual authorization and textual authorization. The mediaeval church controlled entree to the Bible and therefore had authorization over the reading of the Bible ( spiritual authorization ) . Besides, there was great disagreement on what was written in books ( textual authorization ) . Because of the rareness of books people rarely questioned differing sentiments on any given subject. ( E.M.W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World Picture )

Religion, as you may hold realized, was a basic to the Elizabethan civilization. It was connected with every, individual facet of their lives. Their religion in God ruled their beliefs, their household lives, and all that encompassed their being. Very much unlike today, faith didn & # 8217 ; t merely impact a scattered figure of people in society ; it affected everyone. Each person was surrounded by people of the same belief. There was no manner around faith. The political system, belief system, etc. was dictated by their spiritual criterions. Today, even the most devout of relgious persons are non as affected by the Church as the whole of Elizabethan society was.

As histrions, all of these facets of Elizabethan civilization are traveling to act upon everything we do on phase. We need to cognize and understand that. It is non merely necessary to exceed clip, and differences in universe significance, sentence construction, et al. , but, most significantly, a different manner of thought. Even beyond & # 8220 ; believing & # 8221 ; otherwise, Elizabethan & # 8217 ; s encephalons worked otherwise. In order to work in that vena, as histrions, that information needs to be known. Without it, there is no possible manner to pass on to the audience a true portraiture of Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s text.

Hamlet, for illustration, meant something else to the Elizabethans. In order to convey the deepness and power of this drama to a modern audience, we must understand Elizabethan life. If we read Shakespeare, we form our emotional memory based on our position and reading on the character, the drama, the text, etc. However, what we have created is non what Shakespeare created. In order to bind the two together, we need to look at the text and analyse how it affected an Elizabethan audience. We have to inquire ourselves these inquiries: What does this mean to an Elizabethan? What facet of this text insighted emotion in an Elizabethan? How would an Elizabethan be affected by this work? Then, an histrion must use the same inquiries to a modern audience. To make Shakespeare justness, we have to convey our civilization, our linguistic communication to the text, while at the same clip retrieving the manner of thought of the Elizabethans.

Shakespeare non merely reflects the above facets of Elizabethan society, but besides the people & # 8217 ; s manner of speech production which, once more, was basically different than that of modern twenty-four hours address. When my wise man explained Elizabethan address to me, I found it to be instead abstract ; nevertheless, I will try to explicate it every bit clearly as possible. Elizabethan linguistic communication was much more organic and physical than ours today. There was no subtext behind what they said. Their address was a direct representation of their actions.

Whereas modern address is a manifestation of intellectualisation, Elizabethan address is a direct response. One manner of explicating this is the reaction that we give when we are punched in the tummy. When person punches us, we don & # 8217 ; t believe, & # 8221 ; Oooh, that was painful, & # 8221 ; and so state, & # 8220 ; Oooh, that was painful. & # 8221 ; Alternatively our immediate reaction, right as the blow is delivered, is & # 8220 ; ugh. & # 8221 ; This is a direct response to the clout. All of Elizabethan address is this way-it is a direct response.

One of the first things that my manager told me when reading lines for Romeo and Juliet, was that I didn & # 8217 ; Ts have to happen any concealed significance behind them ; everything that was being felt or thought by the character was right in the text. There was no intellectualisation before the address.

Once once more, an histrion must understand the address of the Elizabethans before trying to convey it in a comprehendible mode to a modern audience. We must understand their reactions and views-their universe, before trying to convey it to ours. This is the vena that we, as histrions, must be in in order to use our modern twenty-four hours moving accomplishments to Shakespeare. The usage of method moving allows a modern twenty-four hours audience to place with a certain piece ; the apprehension of the Elizabethan universe enables us, as histrions, to go on making justness to the profound and beautiful plants of Shakespeare.