In this article Rebecca Loukes explores the practice of German psychophysical awareness practitioner Elsa Gindler (1885–1961), whose work influenced twentieth-century performance in a range of ways, but has not previously been documented in this context. Loukes situates Gindler's training and early work amongst key early twentieth-century Gymnastik practitioners before tracing developments in her life and work, drawing from Gindler's 1926 article, her unpublished class notes, and her students' memories. She discusses what Gindler meant by cultivating a state of ‘concentration’, and how this related to breathing, tension, and relaxation, both in the studio and daily life. She then indicates how this can usefully be applied to contemporary pre-performance training or work on the ‘beginning state of the actor’. Rebecca Loukes is a practitioner, performer, and researcher in the area of actor training and psychophysical awareness. She has been training in practices derived from Gindler's work for over ten years. Her recent writing includes ‘Body Awareness in Performer Training: the Hidden Legacy of Gertrud Falke-Heller (1891–1984)’ for Dance Research Journal (in press). She is Lecturer in Performance Practice at the University of Exeter.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0266464X06000571

‘Concentration’ and Awareness in Psychophysical Training: the Practice of Elsa Gindler

This thesis explores the development of the Stanislavski system and the elements that influenced the growth of his theories and their impact on Strasberg’s work. In other words, the thesis has an explicitly historical orientation, and is not intended as a training manual for contemporary actors. It describes the many challenges Stanislavski faced in trying to change the conditions actors worked under and the quality of acting in the Russian theatre of his day. It discusses how certain theatre practitioners influenced him and the development of his system, which he saw as more of a helpful guide in moments of difficulty concerning the acting process and process of creation of a character. It further discusses Stanislavski’s relationship with Anton Chekhov, along with his learning experiences while working with actors at the Moscow Art Theatre. The thesis then discusses the impact of Stanislavski’s approach on Strasberg’s method. This includes tracing how Stanislavski’s system travelled to America and how it came to be introduced to Lee Strasberg. It then follows Strasberg’s learning experience at the American Laboratory and how he adapted and applied what he learnt there of the Stanislavski system into the Americanized version known as ‘The Method’ that he used while involved with The Group Theatre from the 1930s and later in The Actors Studio and his private classes from 1949 onwards. The thesis concludes with commentary on, and critiques of, Stanislavski’s system and Strasberg’s method from students who studied under them, fellow actors and their fellow theatre practitioners and contemporaries.

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Tracing the impact of Stanislavski's system on Strasberg's method

Feldenkrais Revisited: Tension, Talent, and the Legacy of Childhood

When Harold Clurman died in 1980, he was almost as old as the century, but still in harness – perhaps the most venerable as well as the most versatile polymath of the American theatre. His life in the theatre extended from acting with the Theatre Guild in the ‘twenties, through his creation and direction of the Group Theatre in the ‘thirties, to a distinguished post-war career as free-lance director, highly respected theatre critic – first for the New Republic, then since 1953 for The Nation – and also theatre historian and university teacher. It was in this last role that, as a student, Joanna Rotte met Harold Clurman in 1969, and in the article which follows she blends personal recollections of an enduring friendship with a wider-ranging assessment of the qualities that distinguished Clurman as a critic and a human being. Joanna Rotte presently chairs the Theatre Department at Villanova University, Pennsylvania.

Joanna Rotté

Papers

Feldenkrais Revisited: Tension, Talent, and the Legacy of Childhood

Questions of Life and Art: Recollecting Harold Clurman