Publication Cover
Performance Research
A Journal of the Performing Arts
Volume 14, 2009 - Issue 2: On Training
217
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Spinal Snaps Tracing a back-story of European actor training

Pages 85-95 | Published online: 03 Nov 2009
 

Notes

1 ‘There are three cycles of stretches … Each cycle is one specific stretch/ position executed four times, once toward each of the cardinal directions … Separating each cycle is a stretch called nadir/zenith, a quick stretch down followed by a quick one up’ (Thomas Richards in Slowiak and Cuesta [Citation2007: 126]).

2 I am indebted to Bobbie Ellermann for giving me sight of these fascinating records of Strasberg in action.

3 For a reprint of the diagram, see Pitches (Citation2006: 119).

4 Stanislavsky's diagram is reprinted in Carnicke (Citation1998: 99).

5 See Barba's Citation2003 essay ‘Grandfathers, Orphans and the Family Saga of European Theatre’, for one salient example.

6 Tradition: from tradere: to give up, transmit (Collins).

7 Terence Mann, formerly an actor with Talia Theatre, from an email conversation with the author (2 April 2009).

8 For details of these exercises, see Leabhart (Citation2007: 116–24).

9 For examples of études from the 1920s to the 1990s, see Bogdanov (Citation1997).

10 It is for that reason that Decroux has been likened to postdramatic understandings of the body; such an observation would never be possible with Meyerhold. (See Chamberlain and Leabhart Citation2008: 12).

11 I am very grateful to Professor Thomas Leabhart for providing me with video documents of this exercise. Leabhart notes: ‘Decroux also spoke of a center “like a sun shining between the shoulder blades” but the most important center for him (and fixed point or fulcrum around which the lever of his counterweights operated) was the point a few inches below the navel’ (email conversation 30 March 2009).

12 I am grateful to The Dartington Hall Trust Archive for giving me permission to quote from the Michael Chekhov collection. Catalogue Ref. MC/S1/21/E.

13 Ian Watson (Citation2000: 1–2) draws a distinction between ‘direct training’ where the trainee learns a specific repertory from a master and ‘indirect training’, which focuses on generic skills to be applied to a range of contexts.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 244.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.