Tuesday, August 15, 2006
TORTSOV
Acting is far more difficult than we often give credit for, and when you get a good one, it's something exceptional to behold. Just as in music however, so many love the mirror so much they prefer to watch the outside and ignore the inside. I saw a play last night of competent, mechanical actors, yet they were all so clearly (and tediously) self-conscious of us, the audience. I love the genial Keith Johnstone's perfect solution of doing maskwork, while merely providing dentist mirrors to his cast.
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2 comments:
I'm a small fan of Keith Johnstone's work, especially his two Impro books (Impro and Impro for Storytellers). Although I'm not a drama student I find these books very inspiring and insightful, especially through his motivations and ability to constantly push his students (and the readers) into exploring unfamiliar but ultimately positive areas of thinking. So it strikes me as no surprise that you mention his name here with admiration. One of the main reasons I bought Impro was for his chapter that specifically deals with maskwork (I have a great fascination with the symbolic powers of them) and yes, the dentist mirror is just a sublime acting device!
It's true that without being a drama student, you can potentially learn more about human behaviour from 'Impro' than from the entire canon of academic works of psychology.
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