Process of embodiment (physical theatre)
Encyclopedia
The term 'embodiment' has had increasing currency since its redefinition in the mid-20th century as theatre practitioners such as Zarrilli and Fischer-Lichte discovered much common ground between psychophysical training techniques and the phenomenonology of embodiment within modern philosophy
.
In his Phenomenology of Perception
(translated into English in 1962) Merleau-Ponty
argued that we perceive and conceptualise everything bodily. He stipulated that our very consciousness is embodied, abolishing the idea of a separation of mind and body which stretched back to Plato
. Drawing directly from Merleau-Ponty's work, Zarrilli talks extensively about psychophysical training as a process of embodiment that gradually refines the "aesthetic bodymind" to "ever-subtler levels of awareness". He also talks about Copeau's work in terms of embodiment:
"Copeau was precise about the type of embodied awareness that training should develop in the actor: "What is needed is that within them every moment be accompanied by an internal state of awareness peculiar to the movement being done" (Cole and Chinoy 1970). With each repetition of each exercise, for the nth time, there is this "something more" that can be found in one's relationship to movement. It is repetition per se which leads one, eventually, to the possibility of re-cognize-ing oneself through exercise."
Embodiment is the process of uniting the imaginary separation between body and mind. It is the process within psychophysical training that generates 'presence' on stage. Fischer-Lichte notes that "Barba located presence solely on the pre-expressive level of artistic articulation."(2008, p. 97) The process of embodiment would therefore translate to Barba's techniques for 'pre-expressive' training: "The performer employs specific techniques and practices of embodiment enabling him to generate energy". (2008, p. 98)
Ruffini explains that "In Stanislavski's 'system', the actor's work is work at the pre-expressive level" (Ruffini, 1991, p. 153). Stanislavski's system was concerned with "Construction of the organic body-mind" and achieved it through a process of embodiment where "[t]he actor's body must be trained to respond to every minimal impulse of the mind"(1991, p. 152).
With regards to Grotowski's processes of embodiment, Fischer-Lichte observes that
"The actor no longer lends his body to an exclusively mental process
but makes the mind appear through the body, thus granting the body agency. In training the actor, Grotowski avoids "[...] teaching him something; we attempt to eliminate his organism's resistance to this psychic process. The result is freedom from the time-lapse
between inner impulse and outer reaction in such a way that the impulse is already an outer reaction. Impulse and action are concurrent: the body vanishes, burns, and the spectator sees only a series of visible impulses. Ours then is a via negativa
- not a collection of skills but an eradication of blocks." (Grotowski 1968:16)" (2008, p. 82)
17th-century philosophy
17th-century philosophy in the Western world is generally regarded as being the start of modern philosophy, and a departure from the medieval approach, especially Scholasticism....
.
In his Phenomenology of Perception
Phenomenology of Perception
The Phenomenology of Perception was the magnum opus of French phenomenological philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty.Following the work of Edmund Husserl, Merleau-Ponty's project is to reveal the phenomenological structure of perception. However, Merleau-Ponty's conceptions of phenomenology, and for...
(translated into English in 1962) Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir...
argued that we perceive and conceptualise everything bodily. He stipulated that our very consciousness is embodied, abolishing the idea of a separation of mind and body which stretched back to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
. Drawing directly from Merleau-Ponty's work, Zarrilli talks extensively about psychophysical training as a process of embodiment that gradually refines the "aesthetic bodymind" to "ever-subtler levels of awareness". He also talks about Copeau's work in terms of embodiment:
"Copeau was precise about the type of embodied awareness that training should develop in the actor: "What is needed is that within them every moment be accompanied by an internal state of awareness peculiar to the movement being done" (Cole and Chinoy 1970). With each repetition of each exercise, for the nth time, there is this "something more" that can be found in one's relationship to movement. It is repetition per se which leads one, eventually, to the possibility of re-cognize-ing oneself through exercise."
Embodiment is the process of uniting the imaginary separation between body and mind. It is the process within psychophysical training that generates 'presence' on stage. Fischer-Lichte notes that "Barba located presence solely on the pre-expressive level of artistic articulation."(2008, p. 97) The process of embodiment would therefore translate to Barba's techniques for 'pre-expressive' training: "The performer employs specific techniques and practices of embodiment enabling him to generate energy". (2008, p. 98)
Ruffini explains that "In Stanislavski's 'system', the actor's work is work at the pre-expressive level" (Ruffini, 1991, p. 153). Stanislavski's system was concerned with "Construction of the organic body-mind" and achieved it through a process of embodiment where "[t]he actor's body must be trained to respond to every minimal impulse of the mind"(1991, p. 152).
With regards to Grotowski's processes of embodiment, Fischer-Lichte observes that
"The actor no longer lends his body to an exclusively mental process
Mental function
Mental processes, mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as perception, introspection, memory, creativity, imagination, conception, belief, reasoning, volition, and emotion—in...
but makes the mind appear through the body, thus granting the body agency. In training the actor, Grotowski avoids "[...] teaching him something; we attempt to eliminate his organism's resistance to this psychic process. The result is freedom from the time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...
between inner impulse and outer reaction in such a way that the impulse is already an outer reaction. Impulse and action are concurrent: the body vanishes, burns, and the spectator sees only a series of visible impulses. Ours then is a via negativa
Negative theology
Apophatic theology —also known as negative theology or via negativa —is a theology that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God...
- not a collection of skills but an eradication of blocks." (Grotowski 1968:16)" (2008, p. 82)