The focus of this research rests on an investigation into the links between Laban and Aristotle with the view to propose a new approach to movement training for the actor. I will argue that in contrast to the standard Platonic reading, Laban’s development is best understood through the conceptual framework of Aristotle. This provides not only a more secure theoretical approach, but also a practical one, which establishes the art of movement as a science. In short this investigation intends to establish Laban’s philosophical foundation upon a reading of Aristotle’s Poetics, and in particular, on the reading of the Poetics by the contemporary Greek philosopher Stelios Ramfos in his book Μίμησης Εναντίον Μορφής (Mimesis versus Form) (1991-1992). What is significant about Stelios Ramfos’s interpretation is that he attempts an analysis and interpretation of the concepts of the Poetics in terms of theatre performance. Ιt is this emphasis on performance that make possible the task I have embarked upon of locating Laban’s theory and practice in the conceptual framework of Aristotelian poetic science. The discussion will serve as a critical framework from which to propose a new way of applying Laban’s movement concepts practically to the movement training for actors. The research methodology is also practical. It will therefore also develop and present a performance that attempts to apply Laban’s terms, as they are discussed, in relation to Aristotle, and (in Chapter 4) in relation to the new methodology as well as a syllabus of practical classes addressing actor movement training both in kinaesthesia and characterization. The ultimate goal of the research is to contribute an approach that can inform the way Laban’s concepts are taught and provide suggestions for the structuring of technical movement classes for actors.

This dissertation is a critical and comparative examination of late twentieth century and early twenty-first century actor training practices in the United States. It looks specifically at: Viewpoints training as developed by Anne Bogart; Meisner technique; and the physical theatre training at the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. I examine the ways in which theories about the actor, including ideas about the actor’s mind and body, the actor’s creativity, and the actor’s agency and authority, are embodied in classroom practices. Through the combined study of primary sources such as acting manuals, theories about embodiment and creativity, ethnographic participant-observation accounts from classrooms, interviews with teachers, and a phenomenological approach to describing my experience, I attempt to analyze what it means to be an actor in three different realms of training. The first chapter introduces my critical approaches, including my approach to ideas of embodiment, creativity, ethnography, phenomenology, and pedagogy. In chapter two, I focus on how ideas about reality and relationships are embedded in Meisner training and conduct a case study by observing a class called Acting Realism at Texas State University. In chapter three, I argue that Viewpoints, through an emphasis on deconstructing theatrical hierarchies, offers possibilities for actors to shift the balance of agency. I also conduct a case study based on my participation in a two-week workshop with artists from Bogart’s SITI Company held at Links Hall in Chicago in the summer of 2008. In chapter four, I examine the generative pedagogical strategies at the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, incorporating my experience as a student in the school’s 2009 summer intensive. Throughout, I suggest that conceptual ideas about the actor’s body-mind, creativity, and idealized role have an embodied effect on the degree of agency the actor experiences in the classroom. I conclude by suggesting ways to approach actor training in the future that can create more context and agency for actors. / text

Being an actor / becoming a trainer: the embodied logos of intersubjective experience in a somatic acting process This practice-as-research thesis documents a sustained period of research grounded in my experience as an actress who has become an actor-trainer within UK-based actor-training institutions. It explores the development of an original somatic actor-training methodology within different theatre teaching and performing environments. This research concentrates on challenging dualistic binaries of mind-body, inner-outer, self-other and the universalizing of the individual actor’s experience as problematic logocentrism in Stanislavski-inspired actor-training traditions. It is informed in practice by Linda Hartley’s IBMT (Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy) somatic approach, which is based upon Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen’s Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®) principles. I suggest the practical modification of Cohen’s developmental process of embodiment in the actor-training context through the shaping of contingent, processual and intersubjective/intercorporeal explorations which I coin as fluid structures. Rooted in the interconnection of theory and practice, or praxis, this thesis is based upon the original notion of each actor's embodied logos. This term is inspired by Merleau-Ponty’s theoretical understanding of logos as flesh that allows the perception of logos as an embodied and intersubjective experience. An emergent new somatic actor-training pedagogy contributes to contemporary actor-training practices and languages revisiting the dialogue between the actor and the trainer through the innovative intersubjective role of the trainer-witness and the relationally aware actor-mover/actor-witness. Following this processual study I articulate and respond to thorny ethical issues in actor training regarding emergent dissonances between therapy and training, training and rehearsal/performance processes, the trainer and the director, the edges of actors’ emotional expression and sense of freedom.

This statement of process parses out the techniques utilized when creating a character for performance, specifically focused on examples from three years of graduate studies in acting. The paper identifies and analyzes the challenges an actor encounters, and the tools an actor utilizes when crafting a character. The goal of the process paper is to identify common techniques generally, as well as examining specific techniques used infrequently. The paper concludes with a statement of the state of the artist.

This thesis consists of three major sections. The first is a report of my coursework while at the university from August 2010 to April 2013 and how it culminated in an actor process towards working. The second section chronicles my experiences outside of the classroom, with influential persons in the theatrical community, and how they both have added to my process as an actor. The third section is a paper on my process playing the character of Mrs. Dickson of Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel in my final performance at the university, as well as final reflection on where I am in my process as an actor. / text

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This paper serves as a reflection on my journey to pursue graduate studies in Acting, the specific tools acquired through training at UT Austin, the development of my particular methods of approach in response to such training, and the intention/s with which I now continue my career as a performer and theatre practitioner. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, April 2009.

This thesis essay explores the journey that I have taken as an actor, highlighting the moments that have influenced my process. I will elaborate on specific experiences in the years leading to my matriculation at the University of Iowa, focusing on broader concepts and lessons that have impacted my beliefs. Through the use of storytelling, I will convey moments and lessons that have resonated with me throughout my time as an academic and professional actor. Furthermore, this essay will provide a broad scope of my beliefs as an artist and actor, while allowing room for the possibility of adaptation and expansion in the future. Finally, I will articulate my specific process as it stands now. Everything that I do from the day that I am cast to the end of performances will be outlined, and what I intend to work on as I move forward in my acting career.