Movement Training for the Modern Actor [Paperback]

This book is the first critical analysis of the key principles and practices informing the movement training of actors in the modern era. Focusing on the cultural history of modern movement training for actors, Evans traces the development of the neutral body as a significant area of practice within drama school training and the relationship between movement pedagogy and the operation of discipline and power in shaping the professional identity of the actor.

The volume looks in detail at the influence of the leading figures in movement training  Laban, Alexander, Copeau and Lecoq  on twentieth century professional actor training, and is informed by interviews with students and staff at leading English drama schools. Mark Evans re-evaluates the significance of movement training in the professional drama school, offering a new understanding of the body as a site for performative resistance to industrialization. Despite the publication of a number of how to books on movement training for the professional acting student, this is the first text to look behind the curtain and write the unseen biography of the actors body.

Acknowledgments  Introduction: Movement Training for Actors  Chapter One: Educating Efficient Labor for the Acting Profession  Chapter Two: The Neutral Body, the Natural Body and Movement Training for Actors  Chapter Three: Movement Training for Actors and the Docile Body  Chapter Four: Movement Training and the Unruly Body  Conclusion: Overview and Projections  Bibliography  Index

'Including a comprehensive bibliography, this heavily annotated study is a must read for those who teach dance and movement... Highly recommended.' - CHOICE

'Extremely well researched... The book gives a positive message about the movement training of actors and should make students feel excitlCÔ