Live Actors Research Articles

Wayang Listrik: Dalang Larry Reed's Shadow Bridge Between Bali and San Francisco

Building on the early European experiments with animated shadow figures, American dalang Larry Reed – narrator and puppet manipulator – has enlarged Balinese shadow puppetry to cinema-sized dimensions and combined it with live actors and dancers. In conjunction with Balinese puppet masters, Reed has created several pieces which explore the interaction between puppets and human shadow figures as well as performers in front of the screen. Moreover, Reed's productions are bilingual and bi-cultural, mixing Balinese and American humour and mythology so that the hybrid creations find favour with audiences in both locations. As his technique increasingly becomes refined in the process, each new production expands more subtly on the theme of melding shadow with flesh and the blurring of illusion and reality.

The U.S. Air Force pilot simulated medical unit: a teaching strategy with multiple applications.

Historically, Air Force military hospitals have provided excellent training platforms for students and nurses to remain proficient and ready to deliver competent care in a war-time environment. Because of a decrease in the number of admissions, the opportunity to maintain competence is diminishing. The concept of a Simulated Medical Unit (SMU) is being developed at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas to assist in the training and evaluation of such skills. The SMU is a simulation of an actual enactment of an inpatient unit that begins with shift report to the oncoming nursing team. The instructor can then guide the student and team through a series of complex situations using specialized mannequins and live actors as "patients." The student is expected to carry out physicians' orders, perform nursing assessments, document nursing care, as well as administer medications and IV fluids. Scenarios can be made to be as simple or as complex as the situation demands and can be adapted to any specialty. The student can practice technical know-how, sharpen critical thinking abilities, and exercise delegation skills. Should an error occur, the instructor can freeze the moment and assist the student in developing more appropriate choices in their delivery of care. The use of algorithms, performance checklists, and videotaping can be used to evaluate the student's performance. Other adaptations for the SMU can include orientation, cross training into different specialties, competency assessment, and upgrade training.

From Rubble to Virtual Reality: Photogrammetry and the Virtual World of Ancient Ayutthaya, Thailand

For in excess of 100 years, photogrammetry has played a significant role in documenting the cultural heritage of nations and peoples. Many recent advances in the technique have enhanced the use of photogrammetry as a recording tool, enabling more complex representations of objects and moving access to the procedure from the expert to the interested user. Some of these recent developments include low cost digital photogrammetric systems, image sequence analysis, bundle adjustment and camera calibration procedures, and three dimensional laser scanning. An overview of some of these developments is given in this paper.The University of Melbourne, in conjunction with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, has been working on a project to create a computer visualization of the ancient Thai city of Ayutthaya. This project has blended three dimensional CAD models of the architectural features of Ayutthaya with historical research and artistic rendering to build a realistic representation of this city as it may have existed in the past.The model of the city has been built up from historical “maps”, aerial photographs, field survey and the use of photogrammetry to derive models of individual wat, chedi, prang (see GLOSSARY) and statuary. The historical research conducted in Thailand has provided the basis for the determination of the most likely location and appearance of the missing structures. The CAD models created from the photogrammetry have been visualized by the addition of surface textures and materials and rendered in as realistic a manner as possible. The virtual city has also been augmented by the incorporation of live actors in the computer reconstruction.When completed, the end product will be capable of producing an experience of daily life in Ayutthaya, with the potential for giving the user a level of interaction. The reconstruction will also be used as the basis of a variety of educational products to be produced in Thailand on a number of different media, including a bilingual CD‐ROM already developed to “proof‐of‐concept” stage.

Perceiving affordances for another person's actions.

The perception of affordances for the actions of other people (actors) was examined. Observers judged the maximum and preferred sitting heights of tall and short actors. Judgments were scaled in centimeters, as a proportion of the observer's leg length, and as a proportion of each actor's leg length. In Experiment 1 observers viewed live actors standing next to a chair. When judgments were scaled by actor leg length, they reflected the actual ordinal relation between the capabilities of the actors. The perception of affordances from kinematic displays was then evaluated. Observers differentiated tall and short actors, but only when the displays contained direct information about relations between the actors and the chair. It is concluded that observers can perceive affordances for the actions of actors and that kinematic displays can be enough to support such percepts if they preserve actor-environment relations that define affordances.

CATS, RATS, AND EARS: Making the case for ethnographic accounting research

In this paper we argue that ethnographic or interpretive accounting research studies (EARS), which have been marginalized by critical accounting theory studies (CATS) and rational accounting theory studies (RATS), are a valuable way to understand the way accounting works in actual organizational settings. The problem of researching trust and its relation to accounting is used as an example where EARS seems to hold the edge over both CATS and RATS. The paper describes three main types of EARS—cognitive anthropology, symbolic interactionism, and ethnomethodology, briefly describes a classical ethnographic study and an accounting example of each type. It then sets up a conversational debate between EARS, CATS, and RATS in order to bring out their major points of disagreement and concurrence. The paper concludes by speculating that some sort of rapprochment might be worked out whereby EARS will be induced to work more closely to current theoretical discourses and that CATS and RATS will pay more attention to the stories and beliefs of real live actors in actual organizational settings. The result could be a sort of critical ethnography. The big challenge seems to be to find out whether trust and accounting are phenomena on different levels of analysis that can be studied (following Wittgenstein) as figure and ground, or whether they are mutually constitutive and thus something we should not talk about—at least until we know more. We conclude that one valuable way to proceed is a research strategy whereby field narratives are produced along classical ethnographic lines and then used to interrogate, reinterpret, and perhaps revise reigning critical accounting studies.

‘What, has this thing appeared again tonight?’

Performance analysis and performance theory have to deal in one way or another with the relationships between the written dramatic text and the stage performance of that text. The point of departure for most discussions of this issue is that the drama text through its staging is ‘translated’ or ‘transformed’ into a performance text but since the ontological status of the written and performed texts are fundamentally different it is virtually impossible to set up a clearly delineated hermeneutic procedure through which the new, ‘translated’ work of art, the performance text, can be analysed on the basis of the dramatic source text alone. It is quite evident, moreover, that the staging of a certain text is both a completely independent work of art, presented by live actors for an audience in the total context created especially for that performance and an ‘interpretation’ of another independent work of art, the dramatic text. The performance itself thus creates a special form of intertextuality where the words assigned to the characters on the printed page of the written text are spoken by the actors on the stage. The behaviour of a certain character on the stage is a specific realization of a potential range of meanings which that character contains in the source-text on the printed page.Since the two texts are so fundamentally different any attempt to judge the adequacy of the ‘new’ work of art, the performance text, mainly in relation to the dramatic text is doomed to run into insurmountable hermeneutic difficulties.

Voice Devoured: Artaud and Borges on Dubbing

Antonin Artaud's article Les souffrances du 'dubbing' (The torments of dubbing) appears to have been written in 1933.1 Discovered soon after his death, it was published posthumously. At first glance, it appears to be a straightforward vindication of those French actors who sold their voices for pittances to American film companies engaged in dubbing their own productions for the foreign market. A closer look at the text will, however, reveal a connection between Les souffrances du 'dubbing' and a whole constellation of aesthetic issues that transcend the narrow limits of the essay's ostensible topic. On April 19, 1929, Artaud wrote to Yvonne Allendy to inform her that he was completing work on the screenplay for the film The Dybbuk, which was to contain fragments: I have decided to introduce sound and even talking portions into all my screenplays since there has been such a push toward the talkie that in a year or two no one will want silent films any more.2 The script of The Dybbuk did not survive, but its very title is highly suggestive. A dybbuk is a character in Jewish folklore, a person inhabited by the spirit of someone who has died and who speaks through the mouth of that person. The ghost of the deceased torments the living person, causing him to writhe and to rave, forcing him to blaspheme against his will. This folkloric character obviously recapitulates, in its own way, the problematic of dubbing, though in an inverted form: in dubbing, the film star divests the live actor of his voice; through the dybbuk, the voice of the deceased inhabits a living body. Nevertheless, in both cases the situation remains much the same; the voice resides in someone else's body. Given his love for anagrams and of glossolalia, Artaud might well have identified one with the other, purposely retaining the foreign, English spelling

Short versus long term gains of a cognitive-behavioral social skills program targeting the giving and receiving of criticism

Seventy-four university undergraduates (40.2% male and 59.8% female) reporting difficulty in giving and receiving criticism were randomly assigned to either a training group consisting of cognitive behavioral criticism skills including behavior rehearsal, modeling, coaching, cognitive restructuring, or to a control group. Dependent measures were given at pre-test, post-test, and one year follow-up. Included were self-report measures consisting of Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Criticism Concerns Scale (CCS), Criticism Self-Esteem Giving and Receiving Scales, and behavioral role-play measures consisting of judges’ global ratings of subject’s verbal and nonverbal criticism behaviors in role-play scenarios with a live actor. Results for the self-report measures, FNE, and Criticism Self-Esteem Receiving showed both training program and control groups improved at post-test, but only the training program group maintained gains at one year follow-up. For the CCS and Criticism Self-Esteem Giving, the training program group improved over time, yet was only significantly different from control group at post-test. Results were discussed in terms of the pro-active nature of giving criticism versus the more reactive nature of receiving criticism.

Some effects of alcohol on eyewitness memory.

Male volunteers (N = 120) in small groups of 5 to 10 watched a staged theft involving live actors. Some (n = 47) were under the influence of alcohol (average blood alcohol level of .10) at the time. Some subjects (n = 58) were interviewed immediately after the event, and all were interviewed 1 week later. The delayed interview included the presentation of a photospread that either did or did not contain the picture of the "thief." Alcohol suppressed the amount recalled during the immediate interview and both the amount and accuracy of recall after the 1-week delay. Alcohol had no influence on the ability of witnesses to recognize the thief's picture. When the thief's picture was not present in the photospread, however, alcohol increased the rate of false identifications. An immediate interview substantially improved the amount of information subjects were able to recall 1 week later.

Does the format really make a difference? Didactic versus facilitative social skills training

One hundred and eleven (111) university undergraduates (25% male) reporting difficulties in making requests or refusing, participated in one of two cognitive behavioral social skills programs which included behavior rehearsal, modeling, coaching, cognitive restructuring, and emphasis on the transferability of skills. The participants were randomly assigned to the facilitative condition, which stressed individualized attention, informality, and emotional understanding and support, with attention to the personal needs of each participant, or to the didactic condition, which was more leader-centered, more formal, and less focused on personalizing the content. Dependent measures included self-reported Conflict Resolution and College Self Expression scores, and judges’ ratings of global verbal and nonverbal request and refusal behavior in standardized role-play scenarios with a live actor. In addition, participants provided anin vivo measure of request and refusal behavior. Results indicated neither self-report nor behavioral outcome differences between the facilitative and didactic approaches. On the other hand both programs produced impressive self-report and behavioral gains in comparison to pre-test scores; these gains were maintained one/two years after the program. The results are discussed as supporting the impact of cognitive behavioral training program elements which are compelling in themselves so that they operate independently of differences in training format. It may be that relationship factors may be less important in the treatment of reasonably functioning undergraduates when behavioral techniques are employed.

Comparison of three modeling procedures on the presurgical and postsurgical reactions of children

Three different modeling programs were compared with a minimal preparation technique to assess their differential effectiveness in reducing children's adverse reactions to elective oral surgery. Forty-four children received informal preparation from the hospital staff and an opportunity to ask questions of the experimenter. In addition, the experimental groups viewed (a) a puppet model who presented information accurate to setting and order of medical procedures, (b) a local videotape with a live child actor who presented information accurate to setting and order of procedures, or (c) a commercial film with a live child patient which presented information concerning setting and order of procedures which was often inaccurate. Results demonstrated that all experimental modeling conditions were more effective in reducing anxiety and distress than the informal preparation received by the control group. There were no consistent differences among the three modeling programs in spite of differences in type of model (taped child vs. in vivo puppet), manner of presentation, setting, and order of procedures. The findings are discussed in terms of optimal implementation of hospital preparation programs.

The theatre audience: An abstraction

Both the actors and the audience are often thought of as essential to the “living” art of the theatre. That the performance by live actors is essential seems unquestionable, but I shall argue in this essay that the actors prepare and perform for an abstract audience. Evidence for this view is found in theoretical formulations and in theatre practices.

Tableaux Vivants:Their structure, themes, and rhetorical function

Tableaux Vivants were stationary, temporary structures built along the processional routes of royal entries during the Renaissance. Within these structures live actors portrayed silent scenes which were revealed to the ruler as he reached each tableau along the route of the procession. Tableaux Vivants were a unique means of communication between the citizens and the monarch and had a direct bearing on current issues and events. The use of religious, mythological and symbolic themes in Tableaux Vivants were a means of acting rhetorically upon the minds and hearts of the rulers through the medium of art. Existing research has for the most part treated Tableaux Vivants as architectural forms but has not explored their significance as an important means of expression and persuasion.

Journey Through the Night: Notes on Burmese Traditional Theatre

There seem to be four major theatrical traditions in Southeast Asia: the Eastern, strongly influenced by Chinese theatre and found in the coastal region of Vietnam; the Southern, previously Hindu-Buddhist and now Moslem, covering parts of Indonesia and Malaysia; the Central, Hindu-Buddhist, found in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia; and the Western, more strictly Buddhist than the Central tradition and found chiefly in Burma and Ceylon. The traditional theatres of the Southern, Central, and Western areas share many features: they are commonly nightlong performances, done outdoors on a temporary bamboo stage, accompanied by a mainly percussive orchestra; they use either live actors or puppets; and dialogue and action are usually improvised around Indian epics and religious stories.Yet there are important differences even within the geographical areas. For example, in the South, shadow puppets are comparatively small, with articulated arms, and operated by a single puppeteer, or dalang. In the Central area, puppets are large, not articulated, and operated by a number of dancers; the dalang sits at the side of the screen narrating the story.

Sören Brunen's Figurer

Sören Brunen's background is in architecture, and he envisions a “Machine-Theatre” that would portray the development of situations through purely mechanical means. Figurer, performed by the Packett Troupe at the Pistol Teatern in Stockholm, represents an initial phase in the evolution toward such a performance.In issue #17 of Théâtre et Université, the production is described as follows:The play is divided into eleven parts. It makes use of film, slide projections, sound tracks, compressed air machines, etc. It is performed by mannequins, silhouettes carved in plywood, and live actors. Each mannequin represents a particular stance or attitude. In other words, a given actor has been frozen in a state of suspension, a theatrical moment. He is perpetually re-creating and repeating the gesture he was making or the words he was speaking at the moment when he became frozen. At the same time, the live performers play the part of mannequins.

The Two Faces of Drama

It is all wrong for cinema and to be rivals. Despite their mutual parenthood, the drama, and peripheral similarities, each is a unique art form. Remembering this will give us the chance to have better films and better plays. Film, from its beginning, has had an inferiority complex because of its unfavorable comparison with theatre. Over and over again, most countries of the world, film has tried to be better by leaning on people and imitating the plays of the theatre. This social-climbing is like an index to film history. It has taken film seventy years to forge the essentials of its nature, the forming devices of its artistry, and an aesthetic to give it its own feet to stand on. A few films, mostly non-American, have made themselves into an art form independent from theatre, but still most films in the money are canned theatre. Our speaking of legitimate theatre probably does not remind many of us of the theatres of England which had to have a license from the Lord Chamberlain order to operate; otherwise, they were declared illegitimate and were danger of being closed. Legitimate has come to mean live actors; by implication, film actors are nonliving. Legitimate theatres are those elite places close to Broadway that were there before the advent of film and are citadels of better taste and more intellect than the

Broadway Theatre Myths

The theatre is an anachronism. Once the only form of dramatic entertainment, it now survives as a handicraft industry. What the assembly line did for automobiles, movies and television have done for drama. Like hand-woven sweaters, theatre has become a luxury that can be afforded only by a very few. And because its essence is live actors performing before a live audience, attempts to mechanize it are vain. Costs per spectator, and consequently ticket prices, will always be higher than movie admissions—and the aesthetic results more uncertain than in film. It is therefore a myth to suppose that the live theatre will ever be “popular.”A number of other beliefs about the theatre are likewise myths. Articles proclaim that the “theatre is dying” or “costs are pricing the theatre out of existence.”

Jacinto Grau's “El señor de Pigmalión”

IN SHAKESPEARE'S Hamlet, Tamayo y Baus' Un drama nuevo, and Ferenc Molnar's The Play's the Thing, a play takes place within a play, but the distinction between the two is always clear-cut. In Pirandello's Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, based on an earlier story of his, there is a play within a play, but the line of demarcation between the reality of the live actors and that of the six created characters is completely lost. This fusion of reality with fantasy, and the independence of the created from the creator is seen also in Karel Capek's R. U.R. and Jacinto Grau's El seiror de Pigmali6n.1 All three plays were written in 1921. Although it has not had the world-wide recognition of the other two plays, Grau's has also had an illustrious career, and deserves wider recognition. It has been translated into French, Italian, Czech and English. The play, like many of don Jacinto's, was published (1921) before it was performed, and received its world premiere in a foreign country. It was presented in Paris in 1923 by Charles Dullin, in Prague in 1925 by Karel Capek, and in Italy (date unknown) by Luigi Pirandello. It did not reach Madrid till 1928, when the Melia-Cibrian company played it. As its name indicates, the story is based on the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. From it Grau takes the fundamental idea of the creation of life from inorganic matter, and of the creator falling in love with the thing created. As in the Russian ballet Petrouchka, the animated objects are dolls.

The Puppet and the Moppet

Research Article| July 01 1946 The Puppet and the Moppet Sondra Gorney Sondra Gorney Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Hollywood Quarterly (1946) 1 (4): 371–375. https://doi.org/10.2307/1209497 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Sondra Gorney; The Puppet and the Moppet. Hollywood Quarterly 1 July 1946; 1 (4): 371–375. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/1209497 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentFilm Quarterly Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1945/1946 The Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.