Riedlbauchová, Veronika: The Conscious Body (Actor Body Language and Stage Composition), doctoral thesis, Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Prague 2015, 321 pages. In this thesis, the author explores theatre through the concept of the ?body?. She bases her findings on long-term research into theatre, which she approaches empirically; she draws on her own experience as an actor, director and educator. She supports her conclusions and assertions not only with academic literature, but chiefly by applying theory in practice (to particular physical exercises as well as creative stage work). The thesis is divided into two sections. The first, The Physical Language of the Actor (Methods, Principles, Exercises, Interpretations), focuses on the training of a well-rounded, ?open? actor through bodily expression and physical conduct. The author draws on a wide range of methods employed by theatre reformers of the 20th century, which are connected by rigorous work with human physicality, an emphasis on behaviour incurred by internal and external impulses and systematic training over an extended period time. Adopting various movement techniques and principles shapes the ?physical vocabulary? of the actor, which helps him achieve creative freedom. The explanations within this section are supported by a large number of specific exercises, which serve to help the actor understand how the body functions and learn to ?consciously? use it for self-expression and for theatrical performance. The exercises are supplemented by an analysis reflecting on the author?s experience, as well as the feedback of students and actors who have submitted to them. These exercises (some of which are also recorded on DVD) develop particular aspects of acting: working with energy; with space, a partner and a group; with time, rhythm and dynamics; with gesture; with voice, text and music; and with a mask. In the second section, The Physical Language of Stage Composition (In-Depth Interpretation of Stage Thinking), the author, reflecting on her own creative experience, focuses on the ?conscious body? of the actor in the context of the formation of stage composition. She details the process of rehearsing for six selected productions for which she was the director, and sometimes also the author, the choreographer or an actor. These productions are: the site-specific project Vodu po lžičkách (Water by spoons ? 2007), the movement project Camille (2009), Sarah Kane?s play Očištění/Depurados (Cleansed ? 2010), Jiří Hájek?s chamber opera Slavík a růže (The Nightingale and the Rose ? 2011), work in progress of the social documentary project Plus Minus Praha (Plus Minus Prague ? 2012) and the circus comedy Plovárna (Riverside ? 2013). The author analyses her stage thinking, characterised by ?recasting? themes into movement and visual metaphors, and her way of managing actors in the process of rehearsing. She approaches this process as theatre research and divides it into three stages: study (dramaturgy/stage design preparation), finding theatrical language (discovering expressive material through the body) and the overall organisation of the resulting form. She perceives rehearsal as the design of the whole ensemble and stresses the need for enough rehearsing time, as well as the capacity of improvisation to unlock hidden creative potential
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:252307 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Riedlbauchová, Veronika |
| Contributors | KLÍMA, Miloslav, PILÁTOVÁ, Jana |
| Publisher | Akademie múzických umění v Praze.Divadelní fakulta. Knihovna |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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