STAGECRAFT

Evening Star, Issue 22687, 29 June 1937, Page 6

STAGECRAFT

AIDS TO ACTING INSTRUCTIVE W.E.A. ADDRESS On Saturday last, the W.E.A. aria and drama class was privileged to hear Sirs A. C. Stephens deliver a masterly and instructive address on ‘ The Art of Acting.’ In her opening remarks Mrs Stephens said that the means by which the art of acting was presented was a very wide subject, and that there were many types of acting and many schools of acting. The greatest living authority was probably Stanislavski, of the Moscow Art Theatre. He had written am instructive book on the subject, and John Gielgud, one of the greatest Eng-lish-speaking actors, was very appreciative of the teachings contained ia it. Hie reason why the Russian theatre! was more progressive in these present days was that in Russia acting was am art, whereas in Anglo-Saxon countries it was merely a business or profession,) and an actor had to make his choica between either being a good actor or popular with the audiences. Franchoti Tone was a pupil of the Stanislavski school of acting. VARIOUS SCHOOLS OF ACTING.The schop] of representation of acting was one of the most important,) and the majority of amateurs and ai great number of the professionals belonged to it. These actors were very skilful in technique. They followed! what they had done before, and merely repeated what they had already learned. It appealed more to the senses of sound and sight than to the sou], and consequently the effect was not so lasting. The actors “ felt ” a. particular part, but once felt, they did not go _on feeling it. Then it was mechanical acting. To portray emotions by stereotyped actions which had become recognised as indicative of various moods—wringing the hands in anguish, drooping shoulders, the face buried in the hands,) etc.—was to use mechanical actionactions which audiences had learned to associate with particular emotions. Supplementary aids were necessary fop a true and faithful rendering of character.

Then there was the exhibitionist wh® exploited the fact that she or he had a beautiful or handsome face or profile, lovely hands, or were gifted in some particular way; amongst some of the ladies it was a question of “ What sort of _ frock will I wear ? What frock will attract most attention t® me?” STANISLAVSKI’S THEORY. Regarding Stanislavski’s own theory it had been said that the actor must not merely present the external life of liis character; his fundamental aim must be to create the inner life of the character, and express it in artistio form. _ He must live nis part inwardly and give to his experience an ester-* nal embodiment. He should try te live that particular character’s life, not merely for the brief period during which the action of the play flitted across the stage, but also in his past life and even the future. It was definitely not enough to simulate a part. A groundwork of technical know-* ledge, however, was essential, Mrs Stephens went on to say. There could be no hard and fast rule laid down that “ you must do this and you must not do that,” as what was to bo done depended entirely on the exigencies of the circumstances. The art of standing and ordinary stance. was described in detail by Mrs Stephens, and the correct Stance was shown visually by the lecturer. The actor must not fidget, shuffle the feet, or rock to and fro on the heels (unless, of course, such action was called for by the script). The face should not be used too much, and no. emotion should be shown unless required. IMPORTANCE OF SPEECH. The voice must he clear and express the inner feelings of the. speaker. Correct speech was made with the breath behind the voice, and if done correctly even a whisper would carry t® the back of the hall. It was not a question of loudness of voice, hut of the character of the voice. The art of the reciter was a very fine art, but quite different from that of the actor; the more careful articulation of the reciter would, in an actor, not give a true representation of life, and thus the desired effect would he lost. One of the commonest errors was monotony of tone; light and shade wore necessary. The pace should also be varied, not only between, speeches by the one actor, but als® between the various actors themselves. An even pace all the way would rendr close attention difficult. Cues should be picked up quickly. The only pause that was in place on the stage was the definite pause that was as significant as, and meant an much as, the spoken word, and when that came it was part of the acting and not mere negation. ACTING EXPRESSIONS. Mrs Stephens here gave illustration* of how the feet should be placed in various attitudes, and showed the correct way to sit down on a chair and rise from it, and also how to fall to the ground. When in sympathy with or wanting to see something, or to show, eagerness, lean forward; but when antagonistic to and wanting to repulse or get away from something, in horror or dislike, lean backwards. Power was best expressed when it came from the right side of the body, and to he most effective must therefore come when the actor was on the left side of the stage. Entrances and exits must he made facing the audience. The best method of attacking a part was then given by Mrs Stephens. Tha play must first he read over as a whole, and then read through again mona slowly, giving particular attention to the particular part to he played. Thi* done, one should think about that particular character; picture the whole lifa of that person, and endeavour to live as he or she would have lived. By thi* means a truer understanding and mor* careful delineation of that character would he given. When this knowledge had been assimilated, it was time t® attempt to portray that . character. With regard to the actual dialogue, th® question was not “ How should I say this line?” but rather “ How would this character I am portraying say this line?”

This was the method used by most great actors and actresses, including the foremost lady of the Amencan stage (who would be visiting New Zealand shortly), Katherine Cornell. Mis« Cornell spent many years in obscurity learning the rudiments of the art and technique of acting, and the value of this preliminary training was now evidenced by the polished and finished acting which attracted largo audiences wherever she appears. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mrs Stephens, and carried with ap-> plause.