This book situates the work of the renowned voice and movement trainer Arthur Lessac in the context of contemporary actor training as a whole.
Melissa Hurt uses Maurice Merleau-Ponty's theories of embodiment to frame Lessac's approach in terms of Embodied Acting, a key subject in contemporary performance. In doing so, she explains how the actor can come to experience both technique and expression as a subjective whole, through meditation and spatial attunement.
As well as feeding this somatic approach into a wider discussion of embodiment, the author provides concrete examples of how the practice can be put into effect, and studied at university level.
By:
Melissa Hurt
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Weight: 181g
ISBN: 9781138094062
ISBN 10: 1138094064
Pages: 124
Publication Date: 01 June 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
,
A / AS level
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
I. ARTHUR LESSAC’S KINESENSICS AND EMBODIED ACTOR TRAINING Contemporary Embodied Actor Training The Pedagogical Challenges of an Embodied Practice Methods II. GETTING TO KNOW YOU Back to Basics: Body Wisdom Feeling the Process Within: Breath Body Esthetics Gestalt III. BRAIDING PERCEPTIONS THROUGH HEIGHTENED AWARENESS The Familiar Event Principle and Organic Instruction Attention Habitual Awareness Principle and De-Patterning Principle The Braiding of Perceptions Through Gestalt The Flow Between Body Esthetics, the Familiar Event Principle, and Organic Instruction IV. THE ACTOR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH SPACE The Actor’s Inner Space The Actor Inhabits Space An Expressive Other V. SPONTANEOUSLY FREE Braiding of the Sentient and Sensible Subjectivity in Performance Accomplishing Dual Consciousness AFTERWORD A Word on the Importance of Trust APPENDIX A: SELECT TIMELINE OF ARTHUR LESSAC’S LIFE AND CAREER APPENDIX B: SAMPLE CURRICULUM APPENDIX C: EXPLORATIONS FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY
Melissa Hurt is a Lessac Certified Trainer and has taught acting and Lessac’s voice, speech, and movement work at colleges across the United States. She has a PhD from the University of Oregon and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
