The American EvolutionActing praxis and The Cherry Orchard: the roleof Stanislavsky and emotion in the rehearsalmethods of Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler

[摘要] This thesis seeks firstly to critically analyse the theoretical approaches towards emotion from the literature of Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler and then to implement and synthesise these theories and excercises into a rehearsal of acts one and two of Chekov's \(Cherry Orchard\). The thesis tackles the contentious issue of 'emotional truth' within the performance context and asks whether the actor \(must\) feel anything in order to portray an emotion. Feedback from theatre students related to the exercises within the rehearsal context helps to underline conjecture around the efficacy of the exercises in achieving their desired goals. Furhtermore, highlighting definitions given by both practitioners, the study refocuses criticism of the perversion of Stanislavsky in the American acting heritage. This work provides a critical review of the issues pertinent to the diffusion of training into practice; second, by obtaining the views of student actors on the practices and exercises employed in rehearsal, a rich picture of implementable Method actor training exercises of both practitioners can emerge, allowing a meaningful comparison between theory and practice, from which an improved understanding of creative issues in student productions can be derived.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies, Department of English Literature

[关键词] P Language and Literature;PN Literature (General);PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater