Theatre Actors Research Articles

FROM LA VIUDA TO LETTERS FROM CUBA: FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE IN MARÍA IRENE FORNÉS’ THEATER.

María Irene Fornés (1930-2018) developed a theatrical career inextricably linked to Off-Off-Broadway for more than forty years. One of her most celebrated techniques for writing springs from the chance operation of opening a text, choosing a phrase, sentence or paragraph, and writing it on the blank page to act as inspiration. In fact, her theater abounds with pieces from many varied sources, multiple references as well as objects found in thrift shops. La Viuda, written in Spanish and published in Havana in 1961, was her first play. In 2000, the curtain falls on her theatrical career with the premiere of Letters from Cuba, her last published play. Texts from both the opening and closing landmarks of this most distinguished playwright draw inspiration from different sets of family correspondence. The coincidence in using personal letters as found objects allows for an analysis that will deal with the adaptation from private written texts to a theatrical medium as a signature feature of her theater, concentrating on how they trigger the conception of the play and how they also condition the performance. The article will analyze the adaptation of letters on the stage by considering both formal and thematic aspects, such as references to time and space, the theatrical actions displayed by different characters, the set and stage design, as well as the tone of each piece

Smart Paradigms of Modern International Mediation

"Over the past few decades, due to increasing interdependence between societies, the speed of information propagation, the diminishing constraints of time and space on communication and the simultaneous involvement of an increment number of actors in the same operating theatre, we have witnessed the globalization of conflict and along with it a remarkable transformation of conflict and how it is fought. There has been a surge of interest in the recent literature on disaggregating war on defining the mechanisms driving non-conventional warfare, and therefore, the aim of this article is to underline the fact that the existing literature on international mediation has placed far too little stress on finding new approaches on managing these new challenges. The international mediation regime did not to match the rhythm and directions of conflict evolutions. Keywords: globalization of conflict, international mediation, smart mediation strategies."

Parallel random swap: An efficient and reliable clustering algorithm in Java

Solving large-scale clustering problems requires an efficient algorithm that can also be implemented in parallel. K-means would be suitable, but it can lead to an inaccurate clustering result. To overcome this problem, we present a parallel version of the random swap clustering algorithm. It combines the scalability of k-means with the high clustering accuracy of random swap. The algorithm is implemented in Java in two ways. The first implementation uses Java parallel streams and lambda expressions. The solution exploits a built-in multi-threaded organization capable of offering competitive speedup. The second implementation is achieved on top of the Theatre actor system which ensures better scalability and high-performance computing through fine-grain resource control. The two implementations are then applied to standard benchmark datasets, with a varying population size and distribution of managed records, dimensionality of data points and the number of clusters. The experimental results confirm that high-quality clustering can be obtained together with a very good execution efficiency. Our Java code is publicly available at: https://github.com/uef-machine-learning.

In cerca dello spettatore

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between theatre and education in the experience of “Delivery Theatre”, realized in different cities during the first closure of the theatres due to the Covid-19 pandemic. From an idea of the actor Ippolito Chiarello, founder of the international network “USCA - Special Units of Artistic Continuity”, the “Delivery Theatre” has been developed in Messina by the Carullo Minasi Company, as an opportunity to bring theatrical action to places excluded from it, towards new spectators and for a “performative care” of the city. In the firts part, Katia Trifirò analyzes how theatre can take part in a collective educational process, to redefine the possibilities of art in the urban space, making the community an active part of the performances. Starting from an ideal connection with some important experiences of the twentieth century, the goal for the “Delivery Theatre” was to make the theatre a means of relationship, rediscovering its original function. In the second part, Cristiana Minasi focuses on dramaturgical modalities, scenic features and results of the “Delivery Theatre” in Messina, analyzing how theatrical event can expand outside and beyond its traditional, material and institutional boundaries.

TAKING THE ACTORS SERIOUSL : MICHIEL VANDEVELDE S “PARADISE NOW (1968 – 2018)”

The article departs from a phrase in Paul Ricoeur’s “Memory, History, Forget- ting” (2003), and attempts to take Ricoeur at his word, by taking seriously the troupe of Flemish teenage actors performing Michiel Vandevelde’s “Paradise Now (1968–2018)”, a re-working of the iconic performance by The Living Theatre, which when it was presented fifty years ago at the Avignon Festival offered itself as a preparation for its audience to take action, individually and collectively, personally and politically, beyond the space of the theatrical representation. Vandevelde and the teenagers’ re-do functions rather differently. Drawing as much on film history and news and popular media as on theatre history, it offers a compilation of iconic images winding back to 1968, an occasion for these young 21st century performer- citizens – at once theatrical actors and “actors” of their own history – to voice their ambivalence about the potentials for common action in the present moment and the times ahead. The article considers the role of the “actors” (including the absent and the dead) in historical representation. It argues that the temporal form of the serial or chronicle (one image after another in chronological order) rather than the supposedly more complex – and human – dramatic plot (which structures relations between beginning, middle and end), attends to “taking the actors seriously” – in their actions and their passions – as a pressing task for our times.

SILENCE AS THE RHETORIC OF RESISTANCE IN HEISNAM KANHAILAL’S THEATRE PRACTICE

The theatre practice of Heisnam Kanhailal and his cocreator of performance, Heisnam Sabitri is less of words, speeches and dialogues than found in conventional proscenium theatre. Both Kanhailal and Sabitri believe that theatre has a language of its own and that language is not necessarily a language of verbal communication. In their theatre, action is expressed more through body movements, physical gestures and sounds than through spoken words as they believe that non-verbal silent communication of a theatrical action or feeling is more powerful than the spoken ones. This unusual mode of theatrical narrative has helped Kanhailal to form a rhetoric of resistance against various forms of socio-political injustice that Manipur has historically gone through. The articulation of theatrical communication in his plays occurs happens more through silence, gestures, and sounds than through conventional verbal communications. He was creating in Manipur what his contemporary Pinter was creating in England, much at the same time, much in the same line, much with the same motif although with much difference in their context and artistic execution.

Structuring the benchmarks of artistic and creative motivation for creating a stage image of a role by an actor in a drama theatre

The purpose of the article. Determination of the structure of the main guidelines of artistic and creative motivation in the process of creating a stage image of a role by an actor in a drama theatre. The research methodology consists of the use of systemic, art history, analytical, structural, and functional methods of researching the main guidelines in organizing the creative process of transforming the performer of the role actor into a certain stage image in accordance with the subject of his creative activity in the theatrical production, which is directly represented by the character of the dramatic work. Research novelty. For the first time, the structuring of the conceptual and categorical basis of guidelines for artistic and creative motivation of professional requirements for creating a stage image by an actor in a drama theatre has been carried out. Conclusions. At present, the fundamental scientific-theoretical method of consistency in building the structuring of the process of an actor's work on a stage image, apart from Stanislavsky's orientation system, has not been developed. For the better or not, is a controversial issue, because the creative search for a more effective and universal basis for acting is taking place in modern creative laboratories of theatre artists. So, the process of inventing new original artistic techniques for a stage play, figurative motivations, and the interpretation of a character in a dramatic form remains an incompletely resolved problem for stage artists.
 Key words: theatre, actor, acting, stage image, character, role, character.

TOPLUMCU- GERÇEKÇİ NECATİ CUMALI’NIN AŞK DA GEZER ROMANINDA TİYATRO SANATÇILARI ARASINDAKİ EVLİLİK VE KADIN- ERKEK İLİŞKİLERİNE BİR BAKIŞ

Şiir, roman, hikâye ve tiyatro türündeki eserleriyle tanınan Necati Cumalı, Aşk da Gezer romanında, edebî kişiliğine sinen, alışılmış temalardan uzaklaşarak Anadolu insanı yerine, tiyatro oyuncuları çevresindeki ilişkilere yönelir. Tanzimat’tan beri her sahada Batılılaşmaya çalışan Türk aydınına tiyatro muhiti üzerinden toplumcu bir zaviyeden eleştiriler getiren Necati Cumalı, sanatçıları gelenek-modern çatışması içerisinde değerlendirir. Anlatıcının modernle gelenek arasında dengeyi kurmaya çalıştığı romanda 1960’lı senelerin sanat muhitindeki ilişkiler, gerçekliğini, yazarın tiyatro türüyle yakından kurduğu mesaiden aldığı kadar gerçekçi müşahedelerine de borçludur.Toplumcu duyarlığını bu eserinde de devam ettiren Necati Cumalı, romanın akışına müdahale etmeden, sanatçı kavramı, sanatın sınırları ve aşkın sanat dünyasındaki ilişkilere yansıması konularında fikirlerini öne sürer. Çalışmada, İzmir’e gelen bir tiyatro topluluğundaki kadın-erkek ilişkilerinin 1960’lı yıllardaki durumuna yorumlar getirilirken toplumcu yazarın, ideal sanatçı ve ideal ilişki anlayışı belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca yazarın Anadolu gerçekçiliğinden uzaklaştığı bu eserinin Batılılaşma izleğiyle geliştirilerek devrin tuluat gruplarının, modern sanat toplaşmalarının kadın-erkek münasebetleri gibi unsurlarının hususiyetlerinin incelenmesiyle Necati Cumalı’nın edebî kişiliğine bir katkı daha sunulmuş olur.

Inside/outside: the interior façade as the stage of the architectural and urban in-between

The archetypal figure of the enclosure represents the primordial action of inhabiting interior space: this construction creates an inside, as opposed to the outside, and at the same time defines a line (the enclosure) both imaginary and tectonic, that creates the threshold between interior and exterior, and the space of the intermediate and of the in-between. The façade, not only a line or a surface, has this role, containing the realm of the architectural scale and the urban scale, but also playing the role of a theatrical “fixed stage of the vicissitudes of man:” and this happens not only in the urban sphere (the street, the courtyard, the piazza) but also inside the building. Since Renaissance, in fact, theatrical action is staged bringing the outside world inside the interior. In theaters, the city is recreated inside the building as a montage of urban elements (e.g. the façade, the street, the square) that define the stage and the auditorium. Using this historical and theoretical framework the paper explores some contemporary projects where the montage and the reinvention of interior façades bring and transfigure the city inside the building as a stage for everyday life activities, practices, and rituals. These interiors are defined by thresholds and inbetween spaces both real and imaginary, ambiguous metaphors and allegories of openness, suspended between open and close, inside and outside, private and public.

Artistic practice of technical components of monologue speech of actors

The purpose of the work is to investigate the peculiarities of the verbal means of expression of the actor in one-man shows. The research methodology is based on the application of a set of scientific methods, including systems, analysis, synthesis, as well an art history approach, which allowed to obtain objective results. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the generalization of the theoretical analysis of monologue performances staged on the Ukrainian stage, with an emphasis on the technique of speech expression and its artistic skill in the performance of actors. Conclusions. Various elements of theatrical performance are highlighted. Consideration of theoretical studies of the role of the monogenre in the performing arts, the main means of self-expression of monomart, the triad of this form of theatrical action - text, director, actor. Analysis and classification of narrative models of one-man shows: traditional narrative of a character, literary interpretation, performance in a play, actor as the second "I" of the hero, play-emotion, play-removal, play-memory. Determining the main structural parameters of the actor's stage behavior in a solo performance in a complex relationship of roles, author and character, the degree of acting, reincarnation in the image - the inclusion of plasticity, psychophysical state of the actor, purposeful volitional action, assimilation of various forms of stage space. Based on the analysis of research by scientists and theater critics, certain aspects of the historical development of solo performances, the process of their formation and their popularity in modern theatrical art have been clarified. Keywords: mono-performances, theatrical speech, acting skills, diction, artistic theatrical practice, acting language.

Marginal Society Depicted in Krishnan's Songs

Food, clothing, and shelter, which are considered essential human needs, are still not available to all. People who do not get all these are considered lower class people, marginal people, and common people. They are still living above a certain percentage of the society we live in. Creators who express their lives through nature, music, and drama are found in literature in various languages. Today, their lives are shared through the media. Among these media, the film industry is considered important. The purpose of this article is to explore the lives of marginalised people through the soundtracks featured in these films. Through screen songs, Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram, NS Krishnan, Kannadasan, and Vairamuthu were among those who created works to let the layman know the life of the common people. One of them was NS Krishnan, who was born on November 29, 1908, to Sudalaiyandi-Ishakiyammal from a small village near Nagercoil in the Kanyakumari district. The primary sources for this study are the songs composed for the film by NS Krishnan, who has expressed himself on various platforms as a theatre actor, film actor, and lyricist. He was the one who recorded the lives of the lower-class people as they were without fear of bureaucracy. He was known to be a left-wing thinker. Their works sounded like film songs as the voices of the working people who toiled all day long were not met. This analysis will be done by dividing the ideas contained in these songs into three parts, namely food, clothing, and shelter.

Musical and theatrical symphony

The article considers the specifics of the manifestation of symphonism in the musical and theatrical art, the peculiarity of relations – the interaction and interpenetration of the musical and theatrical principles of thinking in the genres of opera and ballet, which allows us to actualize the problem of musical and theatrical symphonism. The main and most important thing for understanding this phenomenon is the identification of the actual musical-symphonic or symphonized construction, in which theatricality or theatrical action is clothed. The selected historical and theoretical perspective allows us to determine the symphonic constructions of the bicentric, polycentric and monocentric types.

THERUKUTHU AS A TRAINING METHOD FOR CONTEMPORARY THEATRE ACTOR

The contemporary acting in theatre has resembling in many features of the Tamil traditional theatre form Therukuthu. So, this discussion intended to establish the possibilities of the Therukuthu as a method of actor training for contemporary theatre actors. The primary concern of the discussion includes the actor and acting of contemporary theatre; the way how actor presents the character and communicates with the audience as co-actors, which are the two significant features of contemporary theatre. So, the discussion considers at those factors of Therukuthu form and acting or performance those applicable to the contemporary theatre actor, to consider Therukuthu as a potential Contemporary actor training method.

Naa. Parthasarathy’s Samuthaya Veethi

There are many famous writers in the world of literature. However, not all creators' works win awards. If a work is to be distinguished, it must have something special about it. Na. Parthasarathy's Samuthaya Veethi novel won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1971. Its specialty is telling the life of art of drama. On the one hand, the statement that art is for art's sake, on the other hand, art should be an expression of the society and be useful for the progress of the society. Nothing worthless survives. The art of drama is something that is beneficial to the society. A feast for the eyes and ears, theater is a good medium to enlighten even the uneducated layman. The disability of this media is huge but it is being hidden and forgotten due to scientific development. t is the creator's wish to remedy this plight. He has highlighted it through his novel. The author shows the lack of involvement of the actor acting not only in drama. An actor should be disciplined. Must have acting skills, facial expressions and good Tamil pronunciation. Otherwise, the drama loses its focus. He alleges that theater hides behind women as another scourge of theatre. In other words, the author portrays the woman as an object and by using her to establish himself as a celebrity. The morality of the actor comes into question here. The world of theater is based on money and fame. Theater actors also take pride in imitating film actors' speech patterns, facial expressions, etc. rather than showing off their talent. Instead of acting with his role, he is competing with the protagonist. This essay explores such a trend of dynamic drama that conveys the idea deeply and clearly.

Exploring musical theatre performance synergy: Accessing seven performative processes

To meet the demands of the ever-evolving musical theatre industry, performers are expected to craft inspiring performances across eight shows a week, seamlessly integrating their triple-threat expertise. Most actors undertake intensive training to achieve the complex skillset required to execute this art form, yet professional success can be elusive. It appears that a key element to building and maintaining a musical theatre career is performance synergy. This phenomenon is described colloquially as stage presence or X-factor. Whilst the literature regarding the field of musical theatre training is wide-ranging, little formal research has been undertaken on the ephemeral subject of performance synergy as it pertains to the work of the musical theatre actor. To address this lacuna in the literature – and to determine whether performance synergy can be described, comprehended, taught or learned – semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 Australian actors and creative directors active in the musical theatre industry. Collected data captured expert opinions on the elements, constructs and praxis of musical theatre performance synergy. Following a thematic analysis of the data, a framework of seven performative processes was constructed towards a clearer understanding of the practical aspects of this multifaceted phenomenon.

İsmayıl Hakkı Baltacıoğlu'nun Unutulmuş Romanı Batak

İsmayıl Hakkı Baltacıoğlu (1886-1978) pedagojiden sosyolojiye, felsefeden sanata birçok konuda eser neşretmiş fikir ve sanat adamıdır. 1910’da pedagoji araştırmaları için Avrupa’ya gidişi onun hayatında dönüm noktalarındandır. Avrupa’daki tecrübelerinin yeni ufuklar açmasıyla sonraki yaşamını âdeta pedagojiye adayan Baltacıoğlu, 1911’de yurda döner dönmez eğitim sisteminde yapılan yeniliklerin öncüsü olur. Avrupa’nın eğitim kurumlarındaki yöntemleri kendi ülkesine uyarlamaya çalışıp uyguladığı yenilikleri de yazıları ve konferanslarıyla yaymaya çabalar. İçtimaî Mektep adlı pedagoji alanındaki temel eserinde “şahsiyet pedagojisi” anlayışına dayalı yeni bir eğitim modeli kurar. Talim ve Terbiyede İnkılâp, Toplu Tedris, Rüyamdaki Okullar, Pedagojide İhtilâl gibi eserleriyle de pedagoji alanında hizmetler yapar. Düşünceleri ve eserleriyle kendinden sonrakilere kaynaklık eden Baltacıoğlu, uzun yıllar boyunca Yeni Adam dergisini çıkararak ideal bir nesil için çalışır. İdealindeki “Yeni Adam” tipinin oluşması adına birçok konu ve türde eser verir. Eğitimde tiyatronun önemli bir işlevi olduğunu düşünen Baltacıoğlu, tiyatro hakkında teorik eserler yazmanın yanında birçok oyun kaleme alır. Dergiciliği ve tiyatroculuğunun yanı sıra deneme ve hikâyeler yazan Baltacıoğlu’nun tek romanı ise Batak adını taşır. Yazıldığı tarihten bugüne fazla ilgi görmeyen Batak, Baltacıoğlu’nun eğitimci kişiliğini yansıtması ve biyografik unsurlar içermesi açısından önemli bir romandır. Bu çalışmada yazarın hatıralarından ve pedagojik çalışmalarından hareketle hayatının ve eğitimci kişiliğinin Batak romanına nasıl yansıdığı incelenecektir.

연극인 사주(四柱)의 명리학적 특성

In the modern times when people have stronger intention of expressing themselves, more people are trying to enter the cultural and artistic fields because the cultural and artistic field get more spotlight. Accordingly, in compliance with the mood of modern times and social demands, it is necessary to conduct the research on Myeongli Science and help people to get the guidance in their future life. In this research on theater artists’ Saju from the perspective of Myeongli Science, the analysis was conducted to ten theater actors and actresses in their 30s and 40s who have get involved in the field. All of them majored in the theater acting in universities and graduate schools and have been working till now in the related theater fields. In addition, though they sometimes appeared in the movies or TV dramas, the subject theater artists for this research were restricted to the actors and actresses who mainly work on actual stages and whose main income source is the theater activities. As the research method, the main elements of Myeongli Science such as Five-Elements( ), Sipseong ( ), Sipiunseong( ), Shinsal( ) and Daeun( ) were used to find out the characteristics expressed in their Saju in many ways. In addition, the acting style, related degree and field experiences of each of them were also analyzed. The research showed that the predominant Ilgan( ) for theater actors and actresses were Geum( ) and Su( ). On top of that, the research showed the strong Pyeonseong( ) in Ilji( ) and showed the development in Geopjae( ) and Sanggwan( ) in the Sipseong( ). In addition, it showed that at the time when they decided on their future career and started the activities, they got more affected by Siksangun, Gwanseongun and Jaeseongun. It is expected that there would be more active researches on the characteristics of artists in many artistic fields from the perspective of Myeongli Science.

Stage speech as a important component of professional skills in mastering the profession of actor

The purpose of the study. To analyze essential characteristics of stage speech in actor’s profession and to distinguish the aspects relevant in forming of future actors’ professional skills. An additional purpose of the research lies in exploration of significance of all stage speech skills acquired in the course of training and practical activities in young actor’s professional career.
 The methodology. The methodology of the paper is determined by the specifics of the article’s subject and purpose. The basis of the research is determined by historical-chronological, typological, analytical and complex methods along with the use of own methodological materials and generally accepted theatrical literature, archival materials and periodicals on the subject. To solve the set tasks, analytical-synthetic methods of source processing and art analysis (particularly in the part of practical review of using the exercises for breathing posture, development and correction of diction and pronunciation) have also been used, as well as the comparative-historical approach (to outline the state of stage speech development in Ukraine and across the world).
 Conclusions. We revealed the pedagogical conditions for formation of performing skills and professional speech potential in those who master the art of acting through professional training at higher educational institutions. It is appropriate to introduce special courses in practical areas of “Verbal interaction training” and “Training of actor’s acting skills”. Such conditions are fully justified theoretically and proven experimentally in the course of educational process in higher educational institutions and by practical experience in theatrical realities of state and private creative teams. The semantic component of working with words and speech practice in students’ training in the acting field has been defined, structural components, criteria and indicators have been outlined, with performing skills’ levels having also been described to further assess the mastery of acting in the course of professional training. Having analyzed various sources on the subject of the article, we can summarize that perfect mastery of stage speech is one of the future actor’s most significant indicators emphasizing his/her skills. 
 The scientific novelty. In the framework of analytical research, the mechanisms for development of basic professional skills of stage speech in students of higher educational institutions applying for the first (bachelor’s) level of “dramatic theater and cinema” acting art educational curriculum were analyzed.
 The practical significance of results obtained. The research results may be used to improve educational curricula that need to be implemented for the purposes of developing better and more productive skills of professional stage speech. They may also be used in preparation for individual practical lessons, lecture courses on “Stage speech” subject to train future professional actors of theater and cinema.

Director's Modeling of Art Project Based on Jacques Offenbach's Opereta "The Key on the Pavement"

The author considered the modern trends in the development of the operetta theater under the influence of a change in its paradigm. The main elements of the play's design are analyzed from the point of view of the director's vision of a creative graduate student. The content of the director's expansion of the libretto of Jacques Offenbach's operetta "The Key on the Pavement" is clarified, which consists in adding inserted episodes in order to modernize the work and so to dynamize it by finding new colors, namely: the prologue - an interactive scene of the meeting of the audience by mimance artists in the hall of the theater for direct involving the audience in the theatrical action and the dance-pantomime scene during the overture with the greeting of the newlyweds and the handing over of wedding gifts. The director's means of expression, the nature of their synthesis in an artistic project are outlined. The director's model of the artistic project based on J. Offenbach's operetta "The Key on the Pavement" in the author's vision of a creative graduate student has been determined. The content of the director's expansion of the libretto of J. Offenbach's operetta "The Key on the Pavement" is clarified, which consists in adding some episodes this innovation gives the operetta a modern structure that attracts the contemporary audience. The main elements of the director's idea of the play were revealed: scenographic solution, mise-en-scène drawing, director's characterization of the personages with the development of their psychological portraits, supertasks and artistic images of the characters of the play. The director's idea of the project was formed in the context of the composer's conceptual vision for a harmonious combination of form and content. It has been proven that the most vivid directorial means of expressiveness of contemporary theater art is the use of multimedia and the latest art technologies. Emphasis is placed on their compliance with the requirements of the time, on special attention to the balance and expediency of their use, harmony with the original work. The vectors of further scientific research in the context of modernization of operetta performances, which are caused by the change of the theater paradigm and the search for modern directorial means of expression to increase the impact on the audience, are predicted.

The Body of a Performer as a Form of Capital: Age, Gender and Aesthetics in Theatre Work

The goal of this article is to analyse socio-cultural schemes embodied in the physical bodies of theatre actors and their effect on the actors’ professional development. Age, gender and beauty standards are three key variables in theatre work and their impact is noticeable all over the performers’ career spans. The basis for this research is a qualitative sample of 31 in-depth interviews with professional Spanish theatre performers. I will start by defining the dimensions of the dramatic body to focus afterwards on its physicality, image and aesthetics, as malleable forms of capital. Despite their expertise in their trade, performers are highly conditioned by their body image due to a continuous exposure to the expectations of the audience and their own. I will explore the potentiality of the performers’ marked bodies through the characters they are able to portray and the socio-cultural schemes inscribed in their bodies.