Acting and essence : experiencing essence, presence and archetype in the acting traditions of Stanislavski and Copeau

Abstract

This thesis presents a practical hermeneutic-phenomenological inquiry into experiences of presence and essence in actor training and performance, within the Stanislavski tradition and in the neutral mask, associated with the Copeau tradition. Drawing upon on published writings on and by Stanislavski, Michael Chekhov, Grotowski, Lev Dodin, Lecoq and others, the author argues that essential experiences and events are central to the work of many of the most significant figures in modern acting and that their approaches are best understood within a spiritual framework. Using the framework of transpersonal theory and the writings and practices of A.H. Almaas, and drawing on his own acting experiences and those of his co-researchers, the author explores various qualities of presence, or aspects of essence, that arose in the studio investigations and performances conducted during the research. These aspects include Love, Identity, and Personal-ness. The author demonstrates how these aspects illuminate the work of the above practitioners and open possibilities for the actor within their traditions. He demonstrates how, in the light of Almaas's phenomenology and psychology of essence, these aspects can be incorporated into a working process through an expanded understanding of the actor's "dual consciousness." He concludes by situating the insights he describes within the necessity for maintaining an attitude of endless exploration and inquiry, and a commitment to presence over and above any known perspective, in order to avoid the fossilization of the insights or the perils of "spiritual materialism."

Date of Award	2005
Original language	English