Arthur Lessac's Embodied Actor Training

Arthur Lessac?s Embodied Actor Training situates the work of renowned voice and movement trainer Arthur Lessac in the context of contemporary actor training.

Supported by the work of Constantin Stanislavsky and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's theories of embodiment, the book explores Lessac's practice in terms of embodied acting, a key subject in contemporary performance. In doing so, the author explains how the actor can come to experience both skill and expression as a subjective whole through active meditation and spatial attunement.

As well as feeding this psychophysical approach into a wider discussion of embodiment, the book provides concrete examples of how the practice can be put into effect. Using insights gleaned from interviews conducted with Lessac and his Master Teachers, the author enlightens our own understanding of Lessac?s practices.

Three valuable appendices enhance the reader?s experience. These include:

a biographical timeline of Lessac?s life and career

sample curricula and a lesson plan for teachers at university level

explorations for personal discovery

Melissa Hurt is a Lessac Certified Trainer and has taught acting and Lessac?s voice, speech, and movement work at colleges across the United States. She has a PhD from the University of Oregon and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………….

I. ARTHUR LESSAC’S KINESENSICS AND EMBODIED ACTOR TRAINING…

Contemporary Embodied Actor Training………………………………………

The Pedagogical Challenges of an Embodied Practice………………………...

Methods…………………………………………………………………...……

II. GETTING TO KNOW YOU…………………………………………………..……

Back to Basics: Body Wisdom ………………………..……………………….

Feeling the Process Within: Breath…………………………………………….

Body Esthetics………………………………………………………………….

Gestalt………………………………………………………………………….

III. BRAIDING PERCEPTIONS THROUGH HEIGHTENED AWARENESS…..….

The Familiar Event Principle and Organic Instruction ………………………..

Attention………………………………………………………………………..

Habitual Awareness Principle and De-Patterning Principle……………………

The Braiding of Perceptions Through Gestalt………………………………….

The Flow Between Body Esthetics, the Familiar Event Principle, and Organic

Instruction………………………………………………………………

IV. THE ACTOR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH SPACE……………………………....

The Actor’s Inner Space……………………………………………………….

The Actor Inhabits Space………………………………………………………

An Expressive Other…………………………………………………………

V. SPONTANEOUSLY FREE………………………………………………

Braiding of the Sentient and Sensible……………………………………….

Subjectivity in Performance…………………………………………………

Accomplishing Dual Consciousness…………………………………………

AFTERWORD……………………………………………………………………….

A Word on the Importance of Trust………………………………………….

APPENDIX A: SELECT TIMELINE OF ARTHUR LESSAC’S LIFE AND

CAREER……………………………………………………………………...

APPENDIX B: SAMPLE CURRICULUM…………………………………………...

APPENDIX C: EXPLORATIONS FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY……………….

Melissa Hurt is a Lessac Certified Trainer and has taught acting and Lessac’s voice, speech, and movement work at colleges across the United States. She has a PhD from the University of Oregon and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.