ABSTRACT
The Odin Teatret has provided both a source for Barba’s ideas and a laboratory where he can experiment. Those who work closest with Barba often say that he either lacks or suppresses his own originality, preferring instead to wait for his colleagues to instigate new ideas which he then uses as a point of departure for group investigation. Even though this may not be entirely true, it characterizes at least one of Barba’s methodologies, the leader as catalyst. He promotes an atmosphere in which his actors feel free to experiment physically, vocally, and/or with their improvisations. Then, when he observes something that interests him, he suggests further avenues of research in the training, or ways in which what they are doing might be used to help shape the production they are preparing.
