ABSTRACT
The word abhinaya (Sanskrit अभिनय, lit. “to carry towards”) derives from the Sanskrit term abhi (अभि, towards) and the root nī (नी, to carry). Abhinaya refers to “acting, any theatrical action or exhibition on stage, theatrical expression of sentiment by look, gesture and posture,” and might be understood as the vehicle or medium that transports a particular experience to the spectators. It describes the actor’s skills and comprises four defining aspects: āṅgikābhinaya (Sanskrit आंगिकाभिनय, abhinaya through the body and gestures), vācikābhinaya (Sanskrit वाचिकाभिनय, abhinaya through voice and speech), āhāryābhinaya (Sanskrit आहार्याभिनय, abhinaya through costume, make-up and the use of stage props and objects) and sāttvikābhinaya (Sanskrit सात्त्विकाभिनय, abhinaya of the inner state). These four “registers” (Pollock 2016, 28), fundamental skills that are part of all performers’ repertoires, carry the phenomenological experience of the stage action towards the spectators. The emotional substance of the (narrative) performance, the →rasa (taste, emotion) as it were, is made material by the actors, who, embedded in the mise-en-scène, produce a somatic experience for the viewers. Since abhinaya deals with all aspects of performance—body, voice, costume, object and props—it has been important for both actors and dancers.
