The aim of this paper is to illuminate how the principles of the Alexander Technique and the role of bodily systems can serve as a foundational support for actor training. Inclusion of the Alexander Technique in the acting curriculum proves to be an effective tool for bridging the gap between kinesthetic learning and its application to beginning acting training. Starting with the nervous system, the operating principles of the Alexander Technique are discussed through research and personal insights. Next, in light of how self-discovery plays a key role in the first year of actor training, the idea of release in the neuromuscular system is explored as a way to support that process. Delving further into the actor’s process of character development, the efficient use of the skeletal system and the spine specifically is examined as the center of physical expression. Lastly, the breath and proper use of the respiratory system is discussed in relation to how it aids actors in making connected use of themselves. The outcome of this thesis through research, my personal journey as a teacher trainee of the Alexander Technique and observations and feedback though conducting workshops, elucidates the importance of creating harmony and release within the whole mechanism as a means of facilitating full expression, of mind, body and spirit, in the actor.

Typically, singing training for the musical theatre student is divided into three subjects: music theory, private voice instruction and acting through song. By separating the study of the components of musical theatre performance, musical theatre programs reinforce this compartmentalization and few students are able to make connections between these components in performance. This thesis gives an account of my design of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of musical theatre, specifically a class I developed called Singing for the Actor. In this class, I focused on connecting three components of musical theatre singing: music theory, vocal production (specifically the Estill Voice Training System) and acting. My intent was to help students connect these skills so that they would be able to tell a story through song with more specificity. In this thesis, I detail my research and the design of the course, as well as the outcome and student response.

This paper considers two purposes for actor training—textual interpretation and devising original works—through the teaching of a class based on contemporary theatrical clown and physical theatre exercises which are then applied to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Devised work can be used to interpret a script, and a script can be used as a jumping-off point to devise new works. Beginning with an explanation of the teaching methods for the class, the paper then gives a background of clowns who performed in Beckett’s plays, and analyzes various productions' use of games to enliven text. Exercises from the class are used as examples of exploring the uncovering of clown personas and the application of games to both Beckett scene-work and invented theatre pieces. The students’ final performances are examined to demonstrate the effectiveness of the classwork, confirming that textual interpretation and devising are complementary instead of opposing practices.

Psychology and theatre have a remarkable amount in common. In using the basic concepts and theories of psychology, actors can develop more concrete, logical approaches to characters. This thesis is a summation of the course I developed, "Psychology and the Theatre," which was an attempt to teach students introductory psychology and then experiment with translating those concepts to character analysis and stage performance. Students were taught eight units of psychology: Sensation, Perception, and Memory; Learning; Motivation and Emotion; Development; Freud and Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality; Adlerian Individual Psychology; Love and Social Cognition; and Psychological Disorders. Students were given reading quizzes and written tests on the material from the psychology texts. In addition, students wrote journals and papers to help work through potential uses of the material. They also performed contemporary scenes, attempting to put the material into practice. This course was an overall success; most students felt that this was a unique and helpful set of tools they could use to analyze and perform characters. Students found uses for each unit of the material, allowing more depth and logic to their character choices. With further development, this material has the potential to enhance the techniques of many actors.

Cette thèse analyse les parcours des acteurs depuis la naissance de leur vocation jusqu’à leurs débuts professionnels, à partir de l’étude de leurs propres discours (récits autobiographiques, journaux personnels, correspondances, entretiens). La profession théâtrale est, depuis son apparition au XVe siècle, l’objet de considérations sociales ambivalentes pesant sur la décision de devenir acteur : longtemps accusé de moeurs dissolues mais acclamé par le public, le comédien est, par l’exercice professionnel d’une activité singulière, appelé à la fois à se marginaliser et à rejoindre une élite. S’il revendique, dès le XVIIIe siècle, une démarche désintéressée dans le but de réhabiliter sa fonction, l’apparition du metteur en scène comme protagoniste de l’entreprise théâtrale au tournant du XXe siècle, va imposer un idéal artistique commun à tous les membres de la troupe, derrière lequel doivent souvent s’effacer les motivations personnelles. À cette période, le Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique, seule école existante, est accusé d’inciter les élèves au cabotinage, aussi cet idéal devient-il un enjeu pour de nouvelles formations d’acteurs. Au sein des écoles et troupes d’avant-garde, l’élève-comédien est confronté à la démarche artistique et éthique de celui qui, à ses yeux, devient un maître. Puis, au cours du siècle, une très large offre de formation apparaît : des écoles supérieures aux espaces alternatifs d’expérimentation (théâtre étudiant, troupes semi-professionnelles), le parcours initiatique est aujourd’hui jalonné de confrontations avec des enseignants et metteurs en scènes différents. Si la démarche d’apprentissage et de création du jeune acteur implique qu’il accorde sa confiance à ces derniers et adhère aux expériences qu’ils lui proposent, elle doit également consister, à terme, à rompre avec eux afin d’emprunter le chemin de l’autonomie artistique. / This thesis analyzes the path of actors from the moment their vocation started until their first steps as professional actors, on the basis of their own words (autobiographical stories, personal journal, letters, interviews). Since its appearance in the 15th century, acting as a profession has been subject to ambivalent social interests when it comes to deciding to become an actor. The actor used to be highly touted by the audience despite his being considered as a person of loose values. By choosing an unusual professional path, the actor inevitably needs to marginalize himself and to join an elite. Starting from the 18th century, the actor would claim his choice to be selfless to restore the image of this occupation. But the appearance of the director within the theatrical organization during the 20th century would impose an artistic ideal which needed to be common to all members of the theater company, who thus had to put their personal motivations aside. At the time, the only school in this area, the Academy of Dramatic Arts, was accused of inciting its students to showing off. This ideal thus became a concern for the next generations of schools and trainings. Within avant-garde schools and companies, when learning how to be a professional actor, the student faced the artistic and ethical approach of the person he saw as his teacher. Later on, various schools and trainings appeared: with higher schools or alternative experimental areas (student theater, semi-professional companies), the student now has to deal with several teachers and directors throughout his learning path, who all have their own approach. On the one hand, the teaching approach and the creation process of the young actor implies that he trusts these teachers and directors and accepts to take part to the experiences they offer him. But on a longer term, he/she should also learn to put those aside in order to reach his/her artistic emancipation.

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This thesis examines the implementation of an actor-training programme in the context of Spanish drama schools during 2004-2005. Reflecting through the student's practice as well as my own practice as a teacher, actor and director, I investigate how a bodymind training based on martial arts disciplines and designed by Phillip Zarrilli may contribute to understand the theory and the practice of an actor's use of the imagination as Michael Chekhov proposes it. Core questions arise from the evaluation of what is the professional knowledge that the integration of both systems of training brings to the students. The action of research is placed in how the process of learning such competencies take place and become informative of both the research and the acting practice. The concept of acting is being analysed by looking at the significance of the actor's imagination from a phenomenological rather than a psychological perspective. The discussion includes the challenge that developing a new pedagogy in a drama school brings up to a better understanding of contemporary paradigms of theatre practice and education.'Interpretación Gestual' is since 1992 an established branch in the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Madrid (RESAD). Acting in physical (gestural) theatre conveys some problematic issues concerning its theory and practice within both professional and pedagogical contexts. Implementing a new and specific teaching programme for the preparation of professional actors in the context of the RESAD urges me to clarify inpractice certain issues about these two different approaches to actor training, as well as their presence in today's education within the curriculum of official drama schools in Spain.

Gay actors have a long history with the notion of “straightening up” to remain castable and economically feasible in today’s market. Searching to find answers for young acting students while strengthening their own self worth, I will explore the history of gay actors in film, television and theatre and in society to understand this notion more fully. By interviewing working actors and managers in the business I will explore how I can address this question of “straightening up” to the future generation of actors and analyze how we can face the future with integrity and self-respect.

Alors que nombre d’artistes s’emploient à confronter les arts d’interprétation ou à transgresser les catégories de genre sur les scènes européennes, la formation des comédiens, en France, demeure organisée selon une logique disciplinaire. Au cours de son apprentissage, un élève préparant le diplôme national supérieur professionnel de comédien (DNSPC) dans une des écoles habilitées par l’État pratique néanmoins la danse et le chant, s’initie souvent aux arts martiaux et aux techniques somatiques, s’essaie parfois à l’acrobatie ou à la maîtrise d’un instrument de musique. Ces disciplines non-théâtrales intégrées à la formation visent à la fois à lui procurer des aptitudes complémentaires et à l’entraîner à l’exercice de « l’écart » tel que le définit le philosophe François Jullien, pour revenir à son art enrichi et peut-être ressourcé. Cependant, telle qu’elle transparaît dans des programmes et des discours qui la légitiment, la considération dont ces pratiques bénéficient dans des institutions qui s’imposent comme des voies d’accès privilégiées aux carrières théâtrales ne s’avère pas tout à fait équivalente à la place qui leur est réservée dans les cursus. L’enseignement, centré sur l’interprétation du répertoire dramatique, est principalement assuré par des metteurs en scènes invités, qui apportent leur vision du théâtre et leur appréhension du jeu. Il repose sur un système de valeurs dont les maîtres mots sont singularité et liberté. La transmission de techniques centrées sur la respiration, la voix, la concentration, le corps ou le mouvement ne s’articule pas sans difficultés avec une telle conception. Des contradictions surgissent entre la nécessaire adaptation de leur contenu au contexte d’enseignement et la sauvegarde d’une altérité féconde, tant sur le plan artistique que pédagogique. À travers une enquête auprès de cinq écoles supérieures d’art dramatique françaises, de leurs professeurs et de leurs étudiants, la thèse examine la formation de l’acteur au prisme de l’interdisciplinarité, afin de tenter d’en éclaircir les soubassements idéologiques et les enjeux esthétiques, mais aussi les implications dans la vie professionnelle des futurs acteurs. / While many artists strive to redefine the performing arts and break through genre-bound approaches on European stages, actor training in France is still structured around strong disciplinary lines. Throughout their training, student-actors who prepare the “diplôme national supérieur professionnel de comédien” (National Acting Degree) in French-government-accredited acting schools, nonetheless take dance and singing classes, often train in martial arts and somatic practices, and sometimes try their hands at acrobatics, or playing an instrument. These non-theatrical disciplines are integrated to their training with a view to complementing the young actors' set of skills but also to make them experience what philosopher François Jullien calls “l'écart”, and come back to their own art enriched and energised by their foray into other disciplines. Even if the interdisciplinary approach is touted in programmes and theoretical literature issued by the most prominent acting schools, that prestige is not reflected in the share given to non-theatrical approaches in actual syllabuses. The teaching in acting-schools is based on performing the repertoire, with master-classes given by guest directors who bring their own vision of theatre and performance. The underlying value system places individual difference and artistic freedom at the top. This conception of acting can make it difficult to teach techniques based on the body, movement, vocal training, breathing, and focusing. The dilemma is that these practices need to be adapted to the overall teaching context, all the while preserving the otherness that makes them such a fruitful alternative both artistically and pedagogically.Thanks to a survey conducted at five French Acting Schools, alongside teachers and students, this thesis explores actor training in the light of interdisciplinarity, as an attempt to clarify its underlying ideological tenets and its aesthetic potential, as well as what it means for the future careers of professional actors.