What happens to our bodies when our minds are virtually occupied and our attention is fractured?
As a theatre artist in the 21st century, the responsibility of the actor to “hold the mirror up to nature” takes on a deeper meaning when we consider the effects of technology on our corporeal sense of self. The same disembodiment pervading society affects young actors in training –the incessant stimuli and representation by virtual avatars reduce the role and the development of imagination, the empathetic response in interpersonal relationships, and, most importantly, the sense of an embodied self.
Action, Objective, Given Circumstances… these foundational tenets of a sound acting technique articulated by Stanislavski over a century ago still hold true. But the delivery of these concepts to current and future students must be constantly interrogated. New approaches in actor training must decolonize the patriarchal classroom and decentralize the Eurocentric notion of a fixed canon while inviting students to more corporeal experience of the moment. The training must seek to “reify” the body again and again. But how? How do we transmit the basics of technique to young actors in a form that is predicated on embodiment?
These are the questions and concerns that drive my ongoing exploration of the pedagogy of acting.