ABSTRACT
Actor-training is becoming increasingly internationalised, to the extent that cross-pollinations and merging methodologies such as those of Barba and Grotowksi are now almost the norm. This chapter looks at five particular aspects of instrument: breath, body, voice, imagination and emotion. Many actor-training methods begin with breath. This is partly because it is actor's vital life force and partly because it is a direct root to relaxation. For many of the actors, their relationship with their body can be uneasy. The chapter also talks about Awareness through Movement, Feldenkrais Method, and functional Integration. The Alexander Technique looks at how we move, breathe, stay still and adjust our awareness, drawing particular attention to unusual activities, such as sitting at the computer for hours, or lifting heavy boxes, or playing the violin. The chapter highlights on enhancing emotional receptivity, through affective memory (sense memory and emotion memory), as well as the holistic nature of embodied, enactive feeling.
