Drama

ABSTRACT:

The background to this paper is the researcher’s own apprenticeship training as an actor in Sri Lanka. The paper will examine a paradigm of actor learning through the performing – and apprenticed – body. Recent studies have focussed on the performer’s embodiment within dance and acting (Sheets-Johnston, M. 1966, Parviainan, 1998, 2003, Klemola, 1991, Zarrilli, 2004, 2008, Kissel and Block 2001, Barbour, 2006)  This paper will build upon such work in conjunction with Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of the subject as a “being-to-the-world” (1962, p.xiii) to consider the actor’s “bodily being in the enactment” as a “knowing process.” Particularly within the context of apprenticeship training, and in contradistinction to traditional understandings of learning which are rooted in language and cognition, the paper will demonstrate how such training embeds actor learning within (iterative and incremental) corporal enactment.

KEY WORDS: apprenticeship learning, body-subject, phenomenology, enactment, bodily knowing

Saumya Liyanage
La Trobe University

""Abstract:

This paper presents a way of Cultivating embodied knowing in acting through body-image (Scheilder 1970, Tiemersma 1989). Building upon the notion that the body-image is a mode of pre-existing knowledge of the body (Merleau-Ponty 1962), this research seeks to provide an epistemic pathway to actor knowing by sensing and performing “postural bodily-images” in actor training research conducted at the theatre and drama department, University of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA) Colombo, Sri Lanka. Recent studies in soma-aesthetics and dance studies have suggested that performer’s sensuous and proprioceptive faculties can be heightened through the practice of somatic activities (Shusterman 2000, 2004, Rouhiainan 2008, Parviainan 1998, Sheets-Johnston 1966). Consequently, ethical and emotional relationships between self and other bodies are also being enriched. Pursuing bodily-image as a somatic action (Noë 2004) and performing those bodily-images via varied postural modules, student actors have shown the ability to tap into their “primordial bodies” and cultivate somatic awareness of the self and other bodies. Consequently this paper incorporates an ethno-phenomenological approach to validate the claim that actor’s body is the “primary mode of knowing” in actor learning.
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Saumya Liyanage"

Over the last century or so, body-mind assumptions in acting have been heavily discussed within various discourses of actor training systems. These body- mind assumptions have been embodied and understood as a split mainly within Euro-American pedagogies. This work explores the metaphisics of body-mind in Stanislavski system and Meyerhold's biomechanics. In contrast to this, author tries to bring forward the discussion of body-mind as "cultivation" through pragmatic approaches of Phillip Zarrilli and Tadashi Suzuki. These actor training systems stem from Asian corporeal arts and philosophies. Further it offers two exclusive interviews on actor training by Phillip Zarrilli and Adil Hussain. This study is a valuable discussion which focuses the important aspects of acting theory that could be beneficial for the students and teachers who are willing to explore the philosophies behind the craft of acting.

""Abstract:
In January 2010, Japanese dancer Min Tanaka performed a dance act at the National School of Drama, New Delhi, India during its annual International Theatre Festival. Tanaka’s site specific performance triggered this researcher’s enthusiasm towards the notion of “body image” and “intercorporeality” (Scheilder 1970, Tiemersma 1989, Merleau-Ponty 1962) in dance and other corporeal disciplines. As Tanaka explains, his body dances as he moves. It is a series of body movements and images he executes throughout his performance. These bodily images are not pre-arranged or choreographed and cannot be repeated as conventional dance performance. Thus Tanaka’s work should be understood and interpreted through phenomenological inquiries conducted in dance theory (Fraleigh 1986, Sheets-Johnston 1966, Parviainan 1998, 2003, Klemola 1991). These epistemologies of dance theories illuminate the value of pre-rational levels of dance experience in the body. This presentation of Min Tanaka’s interview explores the importance of the body images and their relationship with the lived experience of the performer.

Saumya Liyanage
La Trobe University
Budoora VIC 3086

“A Lamp in a Windless Place that Flickers not”: Some reflections on self cultivation in Sri Lankan actor learning.

Paradigms of actor training and the embodiment of acting are invariably defined and understood according to the somaesthetic practices indigenous to the particular culture in which they are developed (Zarrilli 2002). As this title indicates, “a lamp that flickers not” (Bhagawat Gita, vi, 19) refers to the likeness of the seated Yogi and the “presence” of the body sculpture that the ascetic meditator cultivates through an assiduous practice of seated meditation. This metaphor of “stillness” of the body reflects the fundamental somatic quality that an actor achieves through the process of cultivating “bodymind” in acting. Habituating “self cultivation” (Yuasa 1987) in meditational, medicinal, martial arts and artistry in Asia is one such modality via which practitioners cultivate inner and outer–inter involvement as a unified experience of the body. This ontology is thus identified in different disciplines by various terms such as “mindfulness/awareness” (Varela et el 2008), “body consciousness” (Shusterman 2008), “presence” (Barba 2005), “stillness/motionlessness” (Zarrilli 2009, Zusuki 2002) or the “attunement” (Nagatomo, 1992). Informed by Buddhist philosophy, this paper attempts to apply this theory of “self cultivation” to contemporary Sri Lankan actor learning by looking at actor’s “attunement” with the physical score and the process of “habit formation” as a way of attaining “Samādhi” (bodymind) awareness of acting. In doing so this paper suggests an alternative paradigm of actional and epistemic pathway of actor learning.

Saumya Liyanage
La Trobe University
Bundoora, VIC 3086"""

""This paper primarily germinated after reading Coomaraswamy’s two seminal works titled: “The Art and Craft of India and Ceylon,” New Delhi, 1971 and his translation of Nandikesvara’s Abinayadarpana (The Mirror of Gesture, Harvard University Press Cambridge, [Mass], 1917 edited by A. K. Coomaraswamy and Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya).

In his work, “ The Art and Craft of India and Ceylon”, Coomaraswamy speculates the importance of Samadhi Buddhist statue compared to the masterpiece of Natarāja in India (Coomaraswamy, 1971). He insists how Samadhi statue in Mahameunā Garden in Sri Lanka is related to the Hindu Yogic body which demonstrates a similar “Dhyāna Mudrā” of the seated posture. This presence of “stillness” in the upper body encapsulates the attainment of Samadhi awareness of a seated meditator. Referring a stanza from Bhagawad Gita, Coomaraswamy argues that the bodily presence of a Seated Yogi analogous to “flicker less lamp” in a windless place (Bhagawad Gita, vi, 19). Similarly his translation of the Sanskrit performance manual, Abinayadarpana by Nandikesvara presents the Sanskrit “psychophysical paradigm” of acting. The text formulates an Asian psychophysical approach to performer training and embodiment by implying actor’s bodily movements as a mode of epistemic knowing. (See slōka 36). However, this seminal text denies the relationship between performer’s cognition and bodily movements as hierarchical. Whereas, the cultivation of artistry is described as a somatic actualization.
Considering these two works, I explore the metaphor of “bodily stillness” (flickerlessness) as a fundamental somatic embodiment that an actor achieves through the process of “cultivating bodymind” in acting (Zarrilli and Hulton, 2009; Allain, 2002; Phillip, 2011; Yasuo, 1993; Yasuo, 1987). In doing so this paper finally suggests that the embodiment of stillness is actional and epistemic as the bodymind oneness of the actor is presented through the ontology of stillness.

Saumya Liyanage
La Trobe University
Bundoora VIC""

“bokken ranga pāmuda” : gut feeling, instinct and rhetoric of the actor

The mental representation of learning as a dominant model of knowledge acquisition has been a long standing formula for Western pedagogy. Within the sensation-idea-response model (Barnacle 2009, Horn and Wilburn 2005) the subject perceives the objects and conceptualizes ideas in the brain and generates actions through the body. Thus the relationship between perception and action is hierarchical as the action is secondary to the perception. (Noë 2005) This epistemological problem is the result of the disembodied mind propagates by the Cartesian tradition. It is no exception when it comes to the discourse of acting: the rhetoric of acting has also been affected by this split (Zarrilli 2002); the actor’s mind is regarded as the rational knower and the active mover of the body. However some actors in Sri Lankan theatre often refer the phrase “bokken ranga pamu” (act from the gut) as metaphorical expression of how the actor should act truthfully. It further means that the good actor does not act from the heart or intellect but from the ‘gut instinct’ of the body. This metaphorical idea of ‘gut’ replaces the ‘disembodied rational thinking’ in the mind with something fleshy embedded in the ‘intestine’ of the actor’s body. In this paper I want to show how a group of Sri Lankan actors challenge the idea of mental representation of learning by introducing a visceral origination of their knowing (Deway 1896, Merleu-Ponty 1962, Dreyfus, 2002) and the synergy of thoughts and imagination coupled with the lived body.

Saumya Liyanage
La Trobe University

Konstantin Stanislavski is one of the most Influential acting theorists in the 21st century. In the Moscow Arts Theatre, Stanislavski and his disciples began to explore the nature and function of the actor’s craft as to find the solution to the mystery of acting. Stanislavski was influenced by his contemporary psychology, physiology, Eastern somatic arts and many other disciplines. Stanislavski’s works translated into English in early nineteenth century and widespread in Europe and America thereafter. However, his key ideas such as affective memory and emotionalism were highly influential to develop the American version of Method Acting.  However, Stanislavski’s later research works on psychophysical aspects of the actor’s art have been marginalized and misinterpreted to serve different political and ideological agendas.
This paper therefore explores the fundamental nature of the actor’s art through the lens of his later research works. It focuses on Stanislavski’s key ideas of ‘experiencing’ (perezshivanie) and ‘method of physical action’ to show how these important ideas encapsulate the pragmatic nature of the actor’s art. Stanislaski’s lifelong struggle was to find the solution to the inner and outer dimension of the actor’s art. Furthermore, he wanted to uplift the role of the actor as an independent creator of his own craft. Given these two ideas as the basis of this paper, I shall argue how it is possible to understand the actor’s work as an embodied experience.

This paper explores three Sri Lankan female actors and their performance practices in the contemporary Sri Lankan theatre. Kaushalya, Chamila and Jayani are prominent theatre and film actors currently working in Sri Lankan performance industry. In the following discussion, I wish to examine their approaches to acting through a phenomenological reading.  This paper first examines how these three actors experience the body/mind in their performance practice. Secondly, I will explore how they experience the relationship between their selves and the character they portray. Finally, this paper explores how these three actors empathize with other bodies and how their relationships affect the outcome of their performance. 
As a methodology, I use three case studies with data gathered through semi-structured interviews. In line with this, I employ phenomenology and contemporary development of cognitive science to unveil the acting practices of these three Sri Lankan actors.

The Death of Kings by Colette F Keen, is a new verbatim theatre work that relives the early 80s during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Drawing on both laughter and tears the play focuses on the experiences of gay men and the response to the epidemic by the gay community, the toll of being surrounded by constant death, stories of survival and the nobility of the individuals facing the devastation of their community. Built on interviews that took place between January and December 2012, the show tells the stories of a varied group of gay men. The Death of Kings is a moving, lively and honest display of how a community came together to face tragedy with hope, grace, courage.

With the dramatic presentation of the Pageant of the Patterson Strike the alliance between modern art and labour radicalism was given voice. This chapter considers the evolution of DT from its roots in the labour movement to today's Documentary and Verbatim Theatre practice (VDT). It also considers how the link between " the people " and VDT is still an area which breaks from traditional theatre by embracing the experiences of ordinary individuals not represented in mainstream theatre. By understanding the history of VDT as a discipline with its roots in journalism, creators of modern Verbatim and Documentary Theatre will be able to recognise and address many of the biases and ethical questions surrounding modern theatre.

Documentary Theatre, and its more recent iteration, Verbatim Theatre, has been a vital theatre form in the West since the early 20th Century, notable for its preoccupation with socio-political issues and its reliance on the actual words of those who witnessed or participated in a particular event or phenomenon. This thesis examines what puts the ‘art’ into Documentary and Verbatim Theatre, while considering its relationship with and roots in journalism. By exploring the influences on practitioners and how these impact their work, the question asked is: What position does the writer take in terms of placing themselves in the text and how does this influence the work? To inform this, it is asked: Is the writer speaking for or with the story-owners. Related questions include: To what extent does the writer have an outsider/insider positionality; what is the intersectionality of the writer with the subject; and what role does empathy play in the creation of such work? This critical reflection provides practitioners, participants, and the audience of Documentary and Verbatim Theatre with new ways of engaging with this arts practice.
To establish the form’s development from journalism to art, the historical influence of journalism is explored. Ethnographic methodology is also employed to analyse the subject positions and working methodologies of two of the great practitioners of this form, Anna Deavere Smith and Moisés Kaufman. Auto-ethnographic techniques are also utilised, drawing from the experience of working as personal assistant to Smith and participating in Kaufman’s professional training in Moment Work.
The practice component of the dissertation is the full-length Documentary Verbatim Theatre script, The Death of Kings (Keen, 2016). This work has been created as an example of a writer speaking with the story-owners and positioning themselves in the audience. The play focuses on the experiences of self-identified white gay men in Sydney, Australia and the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by the gay community.

The result of this research is to offer an analytical framework for mapping out the influences on the writers of Documentary or Verbatim Theatre, demonstrating how they create an artistic element not found in documentary and journalism practice. By understanding how Documentary and Verbatim Theatre go beyond journalism, we are given the opportunity to better appreciate and more deeply query the nature of the truth being presented and the art inflecting and underpinning the stories told by the creators of these works.

In 2021 her play "A Beautiful Day" was read by actors in the US and Australia as part of the FDNY 20th Anniversary of 9/11. The 2021 Ploomie (Play/Zoom/Movie) production can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF12r2QCx8s the work is included in the archives of the FDNY Museum as part of the records of 9/11.