Postmodernism and its Effects on Acting Techniques
Release Date: 03/02/2019
How to Successfully Rehearse ALONE
whispersinthewings's podcast
It's just so much work; I don't know what to do, I'm an actor not a director. I don't know how to do it; What if I do something wrong; I just find a lot of excuses why I can't do it now; I know I'll just do something studpid. These are just a few of the excuses I hear continually as a teacher and director in the theatre. In our schools we require that a student take the techniques learned during the day and create, rehearse and perform a small devised dramatic project EVERY DAY that they are in school. Therefore, I am very aware of the excuses proferred every night when...
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Postmodernism and its Effects on Acting Techniques
whispersinthewings's podcast
The tenets of postmodernism, deconstructionism and secular materialism are large concepts which symbolize philosophical frames of modern man’s thinking, feeling and thus behaving, whether we understand these markers or not. We, as artists, need to be aware of this influence in which these changes are detrimental to the orthodoxy of theatre, especially acting. What postmodern concepts are changing our effectiveness by distorting acting techniques and how?
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How Acting can Chase your Audience Away
whispersinthewings's podcast
The quickest way to chase an audience away from your performance is to bore them by acting instead of reacting to stimulus. Stimulus/Response is the acting tool of spontaneous, real-life, reaction that engages the audience emotionally and holds their attention. Kathleen Ann Thompson discusses how to do it, what stand in the actor's way and what the overall boon is to any performance.
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The Myth of Creativity
whispersinthewings's podcast
Kathleen Ann has been teaching drama techniques for several decades in universities and academies in the US, Europe, China and South America. Doubting one's creative ability is the most common characteristic Kathleen has experienced in each teaching situation. This fear creates real blocks on the stage and leaves the actor in a state of tension which severely diminishes the actor's effectiveness and locks up their dramatic potential. If you have ever felt dry, empty, blank and fearful when you are asked to create spontaneously on the stage,...
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Fixed Point in Acting and Stage Production - the Key to Clarity on the Stage
whispersinthewings's podcast
Let me ask you a question: Have you ever heard these comments about your performance or production? Or, have you left a performance yourself and commented something like; - Confusing, didn’t you think?, Hard to follow..., I'm not sure what the point was..., Lost me..., I didn’t really understand what he wanted to say. Comments like these are all too frequent, whether we hear them or not. I made one of them myself just last week when I was in London and walked out of a big musical saying to my friends; I was just never engaged. Clarity is one of the stage’s most...
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Learning to Sculpt Memorable Characterizations with Rhythm
whispersinthewings's podcast
Was your last stage characterization one which no one will forget? If not, please consider the sculpting tool of rhythm. Rhythm is the basis of all art. Using rhythm in a skillful manner offers the actor a practical and skillful sculpting tool. Artistic Director of Belleherst Productions, Kathleen Ann Thompson, takes on the overarching principle of rhythm in theatre practice. We have to stop talking about rhythm as a pacing tool. This is to cut the arms and legs off of a torso and still call it a body. - Kathleen Kathleen will discuss how to apply the knowledgable use of rhythm as a tool for...
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Whispers in the Wings
whispersinthewings's podcast
Director, choreographer, performer and writer, Kathleen Ann Thompson , Artistic Director of Belleherst Productions. discusses an approach to some of the most challenging and complex theatrical techniques which thespians often whisper about in the wings of the stage. Kathleen’s twenty-five year experience with directing three schools for movement theatre and directing two theatre companies, as well as writing and performing award winning productions for Bellehert has given her an overall in-depth knowledge of theatre. Her enthusiasm to elevate the craft of theatre for all...
info_outlineThe tenets of postmodernism, deconstructionism and secular materialism are large concepts which symbolize philosophical frames of modern man’s thinking, feeling and thus behaving, whether we understand these markers or not. The consequences of these thought frameworks are imposed upon us through culture and consensus thinking, and therefore seep into the fabric of our lives on every level. We, as theatre artists, pay a big price in respect to the autonomy of our minds and thus are choices to remain free in our thinking and reasoning when we are not aware - awake and watching - of the slow shift in this area of our life in which these changes are detrimental to the orthodoxy of theatre.
In this podcast we are reviewing the changes that are taking place, in particularly, in acting. Our effectiveness as an actor, measured by our influence on the audience, is a primary goal. What postmodern concepts are changing that effectiveness by means of distorting acting techniques and how? What do we need to know to reverse this trend?