2009 LUL
BM Notes *
Acting: Click to View or Add Text. 
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I see the playwright as a lay preacher peddling the ideas of his time in popular form. ~ August Strindberg (Now, what do expect from actors?)
new Spring 2002 THR221 Intermediate Acting (focus on biomechanics) * Comedy & Biomechanics Forum * Use BM for Film Directing: breaking movement into shots (research). How not to clash with Wilde text? Movement and speech are not in sync; movement as a stylized social dance, mannerism. Handshake, hand kissing... They do not sit down or get up, everything is staged, for the public. They observe themselves all the time! (Uri Lotman wrote a wonderful (structuralist) article about Russian aristocracy behavior at the turn of the 19th century. Everything was a ritual! He thinks that the Decembrists went to "die" in 1825 because it was "heroic" ACT! We all are social actors (look at the TV politics). Oscar Wilde also believed that "living" must be WORK OF ART. Actors must play characters who are constantly watch themselves in mirrors (cameras and screens in our case). They don't see each other (as a family watching TV), only at important moments they turn to each other -- Oh? Did you say it, dear? How to connect BM pages with Fundamentals of Acting and use Stanislavsky? Links the pages, compare and build on it! Summary, Questions, Notes & Homework at end of each subject page! Formulas and graphs are missing. More references? to Glossary! Links to monologues and Scenes in SHOWS directory! Instructors and Students pages! ... I will incorporate some of the pages in this directory into THR221 Intermediate Acting and will be using BM directory for my lessons in the Spring 2002. Since I am working on two other acting directories -- FunDaMentals and Method Acting for Directors, some topics and issues will be moved. [The pages will stay messy until I get them to stage of the print.] SummaryI wish this ebook could take a form of WORKbook!Questions
Notes221 Acting Notes
 2004 & After Many years ago, centuries, when I began my webbing (six-year loan), I wanted it for one purpose -- to write my comments and notes (on what I read). I didn't know that I am the last in the line to use my webpages...
2005 * After so many years of webbing I cannot change the nature of my webpages -- they are what they were from the start; notes, thoughts, points I make for myself for classes and productions. Do they have an independent existence? Maybe, somewhere in the future... Oedipus in Russian Stanislavsky: Âàæíî, ÷òîá îòíîøåíèå ê ðîëè àðòèñòà íå òåðÿëî åãî ÷óâñòâåííîé èíäèâèäóàëüíîñòè è âìåñòå ñ òåì íå ðàñõîäèëîñü ñ çàìûñëàìè ïèñàòåëÿ. Åñëè èñïîëíèòåëü íå ïðîÿâëÿåò â ðîëè ñâîåé ÷åëîâå÷åñêîé ïðèðîäû, åãî ñîçäàíèå ìåðòâî. * * Àðòèñò äîëæåí ñàì íàõîäèòü è ëþáèòü ñâåðõçàäà÷ó. Åñëè æå îíà óêàçàíà åìó äðóãèìè, íåîáõîäèìî ïðîâåñòè ñâåðõçàäà÷ó ÷åðåç ñåáÿ è ýìîöèîíàëüíî âçâîëíîâàòüñÿ åþ îò ñâîåãî ñîáñòâåííîãî, ÷åëîâå÷åñêîãî ÷óâñòâà è ëèöà. Äðóãèìè ñëîâàìè - íàäî óìåòü ñäåëàòü êàæäóþ ñâåðõçàäà÷ó ñâîåé ñîáñòâåííîé. Ýòî çíà÷èò - íàéòè â íåé âíóòðåííþþ ñóùíîñòü, ðîäñòâåííóþ ñîáñòâåííîé äóøå. * Âîîáðàæåíèå ñîçäàåò òî, ÷òî åñòü, ÷òî áûâàåò, ÷òî ìû çíàåì, à ôàíòàçèÿ - òî, ÷åãî íåò, ÷åãî â äåéñòâèòåëüíîñòè ìû íå çíàåì, ÷åãî íèêîãäà íå áûëî è íå áóäåò. À ìîæåò, è áóäåò! Êàê çíàòü? Êîãäà íàðîäíàÿ ôàíòàçèÿ ñîçäàâàëà ñêàçî÷íûé êîâåð-ñàìîëåò, êîìó ìîãëî ïðèéòè â ãîëîâó, ÷òî ëþäè áóäóò ïàðèòü â âîçäóõå íà àýðîïëàíàõ? Ôàíòàçèÿ âñå çíàåò è âñå ìîæåò. Ôàíòàçèÿ, êàê è âîîáðàæåíèå, íåîáõîäèìà õóäîæíèêó. * Ìû, àðòèñòû, òàê ïðèâûêëè íà ñöåíå äîïîëíÿòü ôàêòû ïîäðîáíîñòÿìè ñîáñòâåííîãî âîîáðàæåíèÿ, ÷òî ýòè ïðèâû÷êè ïåðåíîñÿòñÿ íàìè ñî ñöåíû â æèçíü. Çäåñü îíè, êîíå÷íî, ëèøíèå, íî â òåàòðå íåîáõîäèìû. Âû äóìàåòå, ëåãêî ñî÷èíÿòü òàê, ÷òîáû âàñ ñëóøàëè ñ çàòàåííûì äûõàíèåì? Ýòî òîæå òâîð÷åñòâî, êîòîðîå ñîçäàåòñÿ ìàãè÷åñêèìè "åñëè áû", "ïðåäëàãàåìûìè îáñòîÿòåëüñòâàìè" è õîðîøî ðàçâèòûì âîîáðàæåíèåì. Ïðî ãåíèåâ, ïîæàëóé, íå ñêàæåøü, ÷òî îíè ëãóò. Òàêèå ëþäè ñìîòðÿò íà äåéñòâèòåëüíîñòü äðóãèìè ãëàçàìè, ÷åì ìû. Îíè èíà÷å, ÷åì ìû, ñìåðòíûå, âèäÿò æèçíü. Ìîæíî ëè îñóæäàòü èõ çà òî, ÷òî âîîáðàæåíèå ïîäñòàâëÿåò ê èõ ãëàçàì òî ðîçîâûå, òî ãîëóáûå, òî ñåðûå, òî ÷åðíûå ñòåêëà? È õîðîøî ëè áóäåò äëÿ èñêóññòâà, åñëè ýòè ëþäè ñíèìóò î÷êè í íà÷íóò ñìîòðåòü êàê íà äåéñòâèòåëüíîñòü, òàê è íà õóäîæåñãâåííûé âûìûñåë íè÷åì íå çàñëîíåííûìè ãëàçàìè, òðåçâî, âèäÿ òîëüêî òî, ÷òî äàåò ïîâñåäíåâíîñòü? * Íàäî ðàçâèâàòü åãî (âîîáðàæåíèå) èëè óõîäèòü ñî ñöåíû. Èíà÷å âû ïîïàäåòå â ðóêè ðåæèññåðîâ, êîòîðûå çàìåíèò íåäîñòàþùåå âàì âîîáðàæåíèå ñâîèì. Ýòî çíà÷èëî áû äëÿ âàñ îòêàçàòüñÿ îò ñîáñòâåííîãî òâîð÷åñòâà, ñäåëàòüñÿ ïåøêîé íà ñöåíå. Íå ëó÷øå ëè ðàçâèòü ñîáñòâåííîå âîîáðàæåíèå? Åñòü âîîáðàæåíèå ñ èíèöèàòèâîé, êîòîðîå ðàáîòàåò ñàìîñòîÿòåëüíî. Îíî ðàçîâüåòñÿ áåç îñîáûõ óñèëèé è áóäåò ðàáîòàòü íàñòîé÷ííî, íåóñòàííî, íàÿâó è âî ñíå. Åñòü âîîáðàæåíèå, êîòîðîå ëèøåíî èíèöèàòèâû, íî çàòî ëåãêî ñõâàòûâàåò òî, ÷òî åìó ïîäñêàçûâàþò, è çàòåì ïðîäîëæàåò ñàìîñòîÿòåëüíî ðàçâèâàòü ïîäñêàçàííîå. Ñ òàêèì âîîáðàæåíèåì òîæå ñðàâíèòåëüíî ëåãêî èìåòü äåëî. Åñëè æå âîîáðàæåíèå ñõâàòûâàåò, íî íå ðàçâèâàåò ïîäñêàçàííîãî, òîãäà ðàáîòà ñòàíîâèòñÿ òðóäíåå. Íî åñòü ëþäè, êîòîðûå è ñàìè íå òâîðÿò è íå ñõâàòûâàþò òîãî, ÷òî èì äàëè Åñëè àêòåð âîñïðèíèìàåò èç ïîêàçàííîãî ëèøü âíåøíþþ, ôîðìàëüíóþ ñòîðîíó - ýòî ïðèçíàê îòñóòñòâèÿ âîîáðàæåíèÿ, áåç êîòîðîþ íåëüçÿ áûòü àðòèñòîì.
* The Theater of Meyerhold and Brecht by Katherine Bliss Eaton; Greenwood Press, 1985 3.1.07 -- a note for myself: move texts in russian to ru.html page! ...
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& thr blog
MASTER: Anatoly, why don't you do it easy? Why don't you tell the stories? Every "subject" is a story. Look around, how do we communicate with children or pets? How do we understand OTHERS? Biomechanics? Talk about the movies, American movies! Tell me about it? Tell us the stories of dancing, painting, living...
2-6-04. Since I have a (sub)title "Biomechanics for Method Actors," maybe I should -- Meyerhold's formula "Actor = Creator + Medium" -- break the book in two parts: Creator (Method) and Medium.I believe in "theory" -- knowledge of the principles behind the game. "BioMX Theory for Actors" uses the terms defind by Meyerhold (see Dictionary).The textbooks on acting talk about the later. The craft.
HYow to make it work? You need the first Actor = The Creator.
Meyerhold's quotes -- the leads for each chapter. (I have WWWilde lines).
Also, "questions-answers" section: the basics.
Spectator issue: new page!
Introduce film terms: POV, subjective space and time -- see Dictionary!
Collect the bibliography and LINKS! Index with ## of pages from A to Z is missing. Should I bother?
I broke down it in two: Part I. Actor's Text & Part II. Actor's Chronotope (the book needs more structure).
Extra pages on Vectors and Axises (or to move it all into StageMatrix?)
The Game (Some pages are not linked and you can find them only through the hyperlinks in text).I don't know if I am getting anywhere with the textbooks. Meybe this type of books are not for me? I wanted to have them in different form, full of theatricality, light, play-like... What I have is a mess.The Rules?
Take online quiz! (I plan to have a page of Questions-Tests after each chapter). [From the Biomech @ Theatre w/Anatoly. The theatricality must be in -- Play & Game]
Are we there? Finally, the three levels of acting are in place: Fundamentals, Biomechanics, Method -- and directing "Stagematrix"! Even they got their own showcase studies: The Importance of Being Earnest, 12th Night and Hamlet.
Notes for directors:
You need both -- Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. Stanislavsky -- for working with each actor, Meyerhold -- to work with each and all of them on stage.
[The organization of the webpages is questionable; messy.]
NB. If you are not new to my pages, maybe you see the "method to my madness": in order for me to munderstand what works and what doesn't, I need to test it on my webpages. The layout, graphics, general organization... What kind of images, how far should I go, do they all have a style? I don't know the forms (and yes, even such a simple task as a textbook asks for its own narrative and its voice). Besides, my subject are theatre and film related and they should have visual representation.
This page is my self-reflections on my pages and I permit myself to make some observations. How come I didn't see the obvious from the start (didn't let Meyerhold to be the narrator of the book)?
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Biomechanics Glossary: Click to View or Add Text.
Meyerhold images - album @ picasaweb.gool.com/anatoly.antohin
Directing Group @ Flickr.com
* "The Stop" is the punctuation of the action/thought/send - and it is the actor's choice how to carry out the punctuation. And, that the audience can't see when an action ends in the intellect - they need to see it end in the body. And also that this concept applies to everything from commedia to Chekhov.
The dactyl - this is a movement done at the start of every etude (etudes being defined as small "plays" or scenes for one or two people). The purpose of the dactyl is to check-in with the partner, establish a joint rhythm.
Etudes: "the throwing of the stone." He demonstrates the "pedestrian" non-actor version of the movement, and then shows us how what we've been working on is a more dynamic stylized version of the same thing. And he lists for us the concepts we know that go into this movement - the use of inertia, the akaste or prep moment, the paseil or sending, the specificity of foot and hand placement, and grupurovka or the contraction around the center.
... the biomechanic run - first the prep stance, left leg forward, weight on it, right leg far back and bent. Right arm forward and bent, left arm back and up. Head looks forward. Torso is twisted to the point that the chest faces the left and the back faces the right. Also, there is grupurovka for the torso - a bit of a curve. Then, when you run, the knees come up to the chest, and the torso stays in grupurovka - and the arms attach to the side of the body at the elbow and pump up and down.
My online writing is coming to its natural end; I have to work on print books, and BM is at the top of the list. In short, I have to leave on webpages only the texts, which are not used for the textbook. I will post the links to the book by the end of the summer.
Anatoly 4.21.04
Meyerhold's actors (Garin, Il'insky's page in "Actors on Acting"). In "Meyerhold at Work" by Braun.
Here is the story for you, Master. About one man with many lives. Oh, I know this story too well, I myself had several lives.
The story about a Jewish boy in provincial town of Pensa. Maybe more German, than Jewish, but very Russian boy. You are Russian, if you love Russian books, Russian music, and Russia, of course.
The boy was smart and he made not only to Moscow, but in time to became the founding actor of the Moscow Art Theatre. Many of them died in this status -- Actor of the Moscow Art Theatre. Not our boy, who left his teacher, his fortune to become a director.
There was the third life and at the end of this third life our man was famous director in the capital of the Russian Empire...
That wasn't enough for him -- and for Russia. The Revolution turned everything upsidedown -- and the "Silver Age" aesthet got his fourth life as a communist. Loud as ever, he became Comrade Meyerhold, big boss of the Red Theatre, friend of Comrade Trotsky, enemy of everything he was before...
His fifth life started, when his fourth life ended. The Theatre of Meyerhold was taken away, closed. This life was short. As his sixth life of the prisoner and enemy of the people. He was shot and his name was forbitten to mention...
Well, our hero got another life, the seventh... He is more known than ever. And there is no end to this last life of Vsevolod Meyerhold.
"The actor is an Instant Analyst." Peter Brook -- When I first began to work in the theatre, I worked with a very young Alec Guinness. Alec Guinness, who had already done a lot of work, said to me, "I must warn you, if you interrupt me while I am rehearsing something emotional, if in the middle of a scene you just interrupt me because you just want to tell me something, I'll yell at you". "But", he said, "don't take this as showing any bad faith, any bad intentions on my part. I can't bear to lose the thread, the unity of my character, so I will shout so as to stay within what I am doing". This is the only occasion I have ever heard an actor say such a thing and to me it is the exception that underlines an astonishing rule. Normally, an actor can be deeply inside an extraordinary, complex character, inter-relating with great passion with another character and you can say, "Just a moment, could you just step two inches to the right because otherwise you would be out of the light" and he says in his normal voice "Oh yes, certainly", immediately picking up again not only the thread of the scene, but the entire human being who is, as it were, put on and taken off as easily as a coat. But the mystery is that this coat goes on and off inside and the actor can slip into the entire fibre and structure of a human being in a flash, without using any mental devices or tricks.
An online course supplement *
2005-2006 Theatre UAF Season: Four Farces + One Funeral & Godot'06
Film-North * Anatoly Antohin * eCitations *
Acting amazon
Stanislavsky: Click to View or Add Text.
