Laban Movement Analysis and Movement for Actors
The collaborators on this project pose some basic questions that will be explored in depth as the project begins.
1. How does LABAN STUDIES Help the Actor? What can it add to the training?
2. What is (the potential or actual) INTERPLAY between the actor's overall training and LMA?
3. What, if any, are the disadvantages/weaknesses of this framework being used in a conservatoire, university based acting programme?
In order to explore these questions, we wanted to articulate the objectives of movement training for actors and to describe some guidelines that will be followed. In discussion with the acting team (lecturers in voice, acting, dramaturgy) the following 3 areas were agreed upon:
Development of an open, spontaneous, expressive body
Development of a dynamic use of space
Development of the ability to physicalize a character
Integration questions within the overall training:
How does LMA support the use of text?
How does LMA support the voice?
How does LMA support the acting process?
painting by Judith Anton
Comments
This is very exciting. As I am new to academia, and just about to begin a module with 3rd year students that is an introduction to the Effort System, this research comes as a suprise and welcome resource for myself. I will be working through the medium of the Welsh language and I am already having struggles in finding the vocabualry and syntax for appropriate translations. However, the basic premise for my bringing this work to the university is the need to help students develop those 'open spontaneous and expressive bodies'. I am so pleased to hear of this research and will be following this site and all developements. I begin my module with much trepidation next week.
best wishes
m
Posted by: margaret | September 23, 2005 04:03 AM
It is exciting to see the application of LMA and Movement for Actors training growing. I have been working in this area since I finished my CMA in 2001. At The University of Mississippi I am fortunate enough to Team Teach Studio Acting classes with the voice and acting teacher. The class meets for several hours during the week, during which time the students receive intensive training in all areas, and then are evaluated in their scene work by each instructor simultaneously. The movement work is all based on LMA, is a 3 year sequence beginning with Bartenieff Fundamentals, working through Body Organizations, Effort, Shape and Space. It is quite amazing to see the transformation from sophomore to senior year and I look forward to learning about others' work in this area, as well as sharing methods and strategies I use here at Ole Miss.
Jennifer
Posted by: Jennifer Mizenko | September 26, 2005 05:29 PM