Dyslexia can benefit an actor, especially if the individual is aware of how the challenges and advantages of dyslexia impact their personal acting process. Dyslexia is widely understood to be a learning disability that affects an individual's reading and writing abilities. Many forms of theater rely on the written word, and an actor's success lies in their ability to interpret the text, leading one to question whether a dyslexic individual can find success as an actor. Yet several famous actors, including Octavia Spencer and Henry Winkler, are known to be dyslexic. As a dyslexic individual, I have also successfully participated in numerous productions despite the challenges I have faced within the art form. Thus, the difference between struggle and success for the dyslexic actor may lie in their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Identifying dyslexia-specific weaknesses can lead to new coping strategies, recyclable methodologies, improved self-advocacy, and a higher level of confidence. Realizing that one's excellent spatial reasoning, story analysis skills, vivid mental images, and imaginative thinking are characteristics of the dyslexic brain's strengths can be equally empowering. The foundation of these discoveries gives way to a new understanding of dyslexia. The first chapter of this thesis focuses on the definition of dyslexia, the differences in structure and function of dyslexic brains compared to non-dyslexic brains, and how these differences can present challenges. This chapter also introduces advantages, known as MIND strengths, as identified, and defined by Brock Eide, MD, MA, and Fernette Eide, MD, in their 2023 book, The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. These advantages were only recently defined and provide fresh insight into the workings of the dyslexic mind. The following two chapters discuss the identification of dyslexic-related challenges, strategies, and MIND strengths that contributed to the successes and disappointments I experienced while performing in two different theatrical productions. Chapter Two chronicles how the challenges, strategies, and MIND strengths affected my reading of the script, character creation, rehearsal process, and performance in Noises Off, written by Michael Frayn, while Chapter Three chronicles the same process for Henry VI- Part One by William Shakespeare. Though sharing this process intends to act as a guide to breaking down the acting process, encouraging the use of coping strategies, and discovering one's MIND strengths, this thesis serves only as a springboard for other dyslexic actors. The effect of dyslexia is specific to the individual, and each artistic experience and expression is unique.

This dissertation falls in line with work produced during the past fifteen years or so, aimed at improving our appreciation of late medieval/early Tudor English Drama. The approach is based especially on looking at the rapport likely to be achieved between audience and players (and via the players, with the playwrights), in actual performance. Attention is given to the permanent modes of human thought, that are unaffected by the ephemeralities of a particular period; attention is therefore drawn to the traps that may mislead the unwary twentieth-century critic, and some new insights are offered into the purposes of the playwrights. Several cycle plays are treated, together with two of the moralities and two interludes. The point is made that these playwrights showed a considerable mastery of the possibilities inherent in drama, as is demonstrated by the provision for achieving rapport with the audience / M.A. (English)

This goal of this thesis is to examine the physical and emotional cost associated with modern and personal interpretations of Strasberg-based method acting. Although many method actors have created excellent award-winning performances, many were left with emotional and physical harm to their body. In this thesis I will argue that there are actors that can deal with the after effects however, the risks associated with Strasberg-based method often pose both mental and physical health risks to the actor that outweigh the benefit they contribute to the production. To understand what Strasberg-based method acting is I will examine the practices of Stanislavski, the founder of the original “method,” and teacher and actors Stella Adler and Sanford Meisner, and their methods to creating a character. Strasberg, Adler, and Meisner, who are believed to have created their methods based off the Stanislavski Acting System, had many disagreements about Stanislavski’s method. What many now call method acting, incorporates certain techniques created by Stanislavski that actors then use to create their own method.

Thesis (MDram (Drama))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This thesis explores the development of the Stanislavski system and the elements that influenced the growth of his theories and their impact on Strasberg’s work. In other words, the thesis has an explicitly historical orientation, and is not intended as a training manual for contemporary actors. It describes the many challenges Stanislavski faced in trying to change the conditions actors worked under and the quality of acting in the Russian theatre of his day. It discusses how certain theatre practitioners influenced him and the development of his system, which he saw as more of a helpful guide in moments of difficulty concerning the acting process and process of creation of a character. It further discusses Stanislavski’s relationship with Anton Chekhov, along with his learning experiences while working with actors at the Moscow Art Theatre. The thesis then discusses the impact of Stanislavski’s approach on Strasberg’s method. This includes tracing how Stanislavski’s system travelled to America and how it came to be introduced to Lee Strasberg. It then follows Strasberg’s learning experience at the American Laboratory and how he adapted and applied what he learnt there of the Stanislavski system into the Americanized version known as ‘The Method’ that he used while involved with The Group Theatre from the 1930s and later in The Actors Studio and his private classes from 1949 onwards. The thesis concludes with commentary on, and critiques of, Stanislavski’s system and Strasberg’s method from students who studied under them, fellow actors and their fellow theatre practitioners and contemporaries.

This paper is an exploration of the concept of theatre as education and what I learned about teaching, transformation, and failure through my thesis project. In order to explore these ideas, I reflect on my experience creating and performing a short play with a group of eight 2nd and 3rd grade students over the span of nine weeks. I pinpoint the parts of the process that worked well and discuss how these techniques and activities could be used to enhance curriculum and learning in the classroom. I also discuss which parts of the process failed and what I learned from those experiences. I hope that the paper may serve as a guide for teaching artists undertaking similar work and a resource for teachers looking to incorporate theatre arts into their curriculums.

The interpretation and performance of literature is a theatre art in which literary texts are transformed into staged productions. Novelists, poets, playwrights, and essayists use the symbols of written language to create an imagined world for their readers; interpretative performers present their audiences with this world through symbols of both speech and movement. Hence the interpretation and performance of literature incorporates a wide range of literary and performance theory. Unfortunately, little is known about how literary texts can be communicated through symbolic movement. The purpose of this study, then, is to propose principles of stylized movement which would be useful to the interpretative performer of literature. To develop these principles, Martha Graham's choreographic use of classical tragedy was investigated. Using a decriptive methodology based on Aristotle's elements of tragedy, four of Graham's ballets were analyzed in view of their literary sources: Cave of the Heart from Euripides' Medea, Night Journey from Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Clytemnestra from Aeschylus' The Oresteia, and Cortege of Eagles from Euripides' Hecuba and The Trojan Woman. As a result of this investigation, five principles emerged. Stated as descriptions of Graham's work, the principles are: (1) rhetoric shapes the form, (2) movement vocabularies are created, (3) synecdochical movement is expanded over time, (4) stage properties assume multiple meanings through movement, and (5) costumes expose movement and indicate character. By using these principles as guidelines, the interpretative performer may understand, create, and utilize stylized movement that communicates the ideas, images, and actions inherent in the text being staged.

This paper compares seemingly similar words from a variety of acting teachers, and shows how it is impossible to draw clear comparisons between words that are often used as synonyms. The paper is a reflection of the journey from believing in translation to recognizing its impossibility. In Chapter 1 we focus on one of the most common elements in actor training, Attention/focus/concentration, and analyze the shades of meaning in those words and the difficulty of talking about them in isolation. In Chapter 2 we look at the way in which semiotic analysis can explain the words resistance to equivalence. In Chapter 3 we look at one of the central terms in most collegiate actor training objective, and see how it reveals both the problems inherent in translation. In Chapter 4 we look at how this knowledge can influence the classroom in a positive way.

This paper describes my learning journey as I began to flesh out my system of devising and the resultant aesthetic. The research subject was the production of a new movement play titled Medea Myth. This one act play is a totally devised piece without any text. Unlike some devised work, this play is meant to tell a clear story and was focused on cross-disciplinary collaboration. In investigating the work, I have broken it up into three distinct phases: Inception, beginning at the inciting incident and ending with the first clear storyline; Development, picking up that storyline and developing it to a sequence of full scenes; Production, where the scene sequence is finalized and the show is polished. Concluding each chapter is a section on the learning outcomes of each phase and how I will adjust my methodology in the future. I chose to write this paper in the style of a guide to producing similar work using my experiences with Medea Myth as an object lesson.

This thesis documents the journey of Meghan Rose Shea struggling to find the character, Dr. Martha Livingstone, in the play Agnes of God. Meghan focused on the Meisner technique as a guideline for her acting approach. She explores past performances, the playwright, and thoroughly journals the trials and triumphs of the production process.

Thesis advisor: Ellen Winner / Despite the widespread involvement of individuals in drama either as performers or audience members, psychologists know very little about the cognitive and affective underpinnings of acting. Acting may provide a powerful lens through which to understand how we understand our own and others' minds. In this dissertation, I review research on theory of mind, empathy, and emotion regulation, show how these three skills are related to acting theory and acting training, and discuss studies I have previously completed demonstrating correlations between skill in acting and skill in theory of mind, empathy, and positive emotion regulation. I then completed four studies. Study 1 was a longitudinal study comparing children (ages 8-10) receiving acting vs. visual arts training over the course of one academic year testing the hypothesis that acting training in childhood is causally related to development of advanced theory of mind, positive emotion regulation, and empathy. Study 1 found that children in acting classes gain in empathy and expression of emotion over a year above children involved in other art forms. Study 2 was a qualitative study designed to determine the kinds of habits of mind taught, explicitly and implicitly, in acting classes for children (ages 8-10). The purpose of Study 2 was to determine the extent to which acting teachers strive to teach theory of mind, empathy, and adaptive emotion regulation in their acting classes. Study 2 found that children in acting classes at this age are taught about physicality and motivation, with no emphasis on empathy or emotion regulation and only a slight emphasis on theory of mind. Study 3 was parallel to Study 1, but with young adolescents, aged 13-15. Study 3 found that adolescents involved in acting classes gain in their empathy, theory of mind acuity, and expressive emotion regulation over the course of a year over and above adolescents involved in other art forms. Study 4 was parallel to Study 2, with acting classes for adolescents. Study 4 found that adolescent acting classes focus on theory of mind and motivation, without any emphasis on empathy or emotion regulation. I conclude by considering the potential impact of this research on our understanding of typical development in theory of mind, empathy, emotion regulation, and on our understanding of individuals deficient in these skills. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.