This dissertation proposes to demonstrate a correlation between the experiences of trance and acting and to illustrate that this interrelationship extends from theatre's origins to a contemporary reunion in actor training today. Information on various Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) from the fields of anthropology, comparative religion, and psychology is systematically compared to acting techniques, process, training, and theory. The survey is divided into four phases which represent the chapter headings of the text. These include the ASCs associated with shamanism, meditation, and hypnosis respectively, and a final chapter which focuses on the trend of integrating trance into current acting pedagogy. / A comparative survey revealed that trance and acting share a similar historical evolution and common phenomenological characteristics as well. Furthermore, each chapter discovered a favorable theoretical and practical relationship between the variety of ASCs and the craft of acting. Often these states were found to hold substantial benefits for performers. Though the actors and teachers who consciously employ trance techniques may still be a minority, significant evidence was uncovered to recognize a developing movement in actor training to incorporate ASCs into textbook theories and classroom exercises. This trend reflects the parallel new age/human potentials movement, which is making information on ASCs accessible to contemporary American culture as a whole. Thus, a knowledge of ASCS may aid actors in becoming more competent performers as well as promoting a potential new stage of evolution for the craft of acting, which honors its ancient relationships to trance and reflects a larger societal phase. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4207. / Major Professor: Stuart Baker. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77589 |
| Contributors | Klein, David Meaders., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 374 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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