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An Acting Method Using the Psychophysical Experience of Workshop Games-Exercises
| Author: | Rojo, Jerry | |
| Year: | 2000 | |
| Pages: | 260 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-7750-0 978-0-7734-7750-6 | |
| Price: | $199.95 | |
This book describes a method of performing whereby the actor uses his own mind-body experiences or psychophysical self in a workshop structure that utilizes some 70 theatre games and exercises. This technique places special emphasis on revealing the actor’s self-personality, which is then used as basis for creating a role in a theatre piece. The workshop is structured so that each session is played out in real time using real action, idea and emotion. Beyond revealing the actor’s self, the method’s goal is to give focus to the body and its ability to be expressive in a visual non-verbal sense. Part One introduces the theory behind the method; Part Two describes the function of games and exercises in the workshop situation; and Part Three includes descriptions of games and exercises. With illustrations
Table of Contents
“The psychophysical work that Jerry Rojo describes in this volume, giving philosophical and methodological background as well as concrete physical descriptions of the workshop space, the creation of ensemble, and the physical exercises used to connect mind-body is important information for any performer or performer/teacher committed to the art of theater and theatrical performance. What makes the volume additionally valuable is the fact that it is written by a man with deep roots in both the off-Broadway environmental movement and in the educational world. Jerry Rojo worked for fifteen years with students on these psychophysical techniques, and the book is filled with the kind of insights and understanding that only an experienced teacher working with committed students could bring to the writing. This is a book – well written, clearly organized, giving descriptions of a unique way of working – by an experienced and dedicated theater practitioner/teacher that will be welcomed by serious students and teachers nationally and internationally.” – Linda Herr
“. . . supplies a solid foundation and set of working tools for any group of performers wishing to build an ensemble along non-traditional lines. Students and teachers will be very grateful with the degree of structure and clarity in the writing style. Indeed, all sections of the smartly-edited book are highly readable and remarkably jargon-free. . . . should enter the canon as a “must-read” in college-level acting courses, serving as a cogent counterpoint to more traditional approaches. I feel it the most insightful and detailed work ever done in this area of performance described historically as environmental theatre.” – Paul Castagna
“. . . a vital tool for the training of actor-performers, particularly young students. . . the book is of primary and fundamental importance. . .its relevance is most topical in these times, particularly given the turn that contemporary playwriting has taken these past few years. There is no denying that many of the plays that our young actors are interested in these days are written in a non-traditional format that demand, if not a wholly different approach to acting, surely an alternative one that places far more emphasis on the body’s resources and its choreographic intent.” - Gautam Dasgupta
“The workshop games and exercises are the heart of this book and provide a solid foundation for the actor in developing his/her body, voice, and mental control. All of these seem to me to be of great value and are free of some of the silliness that often
“. . . supplies a solid foundation and set of working tools for any group of performers wishing to build an ensemble along non-traditional lines. Students and teachers will be very grateful with the degree of structure and clarity in the writing style. Indeed, all sections of the smartly-edited book are highly readable and remarkably jargon-free. . . . should enter the canon as a “must-read” in college-level acting courses, serving as a cogent counterpoint to more traditional approaches. I feel it the most insightful and detailed work ever done in this area of performance described historically as environmental theatre.” – Paul Castagna
“. . . a vital tool for the training of actor-performers, particularly young students. . . the book is of primary and fundamental importance. . .its relevance is most topical in these times, particularly given the turn that contemporary playwriting has taken these past few years. There is no denying that many of the plays that our young actors are interested in these days are written in a non-traditional format that demand, if not a wholly different approach to acting, surely an alternative one that places far more emphasis on the body’s resources and its choreographic intent.” - Gautam Dasgupta
“The workshop games and exercises are the heart of this book and provide a solid foundation for the actor in developing his/her body, voice, and mental control. All of these seem to me to be of great value and are free of some of the silliness that often