How do impulses affect the performer A comparative study between Essay

How do impulses affect the performer A comparative study between Stanislavski and Grotowski - Essay Example This evolutionary development of the art of acting is an effort that gradually developed through time, and the effort of various professionals in the visual arts. Earlier players simply relied on the imitation of characters, but as time went by, empirical observations from individuals interested in the field of acting led to the development of systematized models of training actors. The training of actors is essential for the sake of attaining the ‘make belief effect’ that is the essence of all theatre performances (Wolford, 1996, p. 38). This paper is going to evaluate the theme of imagination while considering how counter impulse and automatic impulse affects the performer in a comparative study between Stanislavski and Grotowski. The major highlight shall be the effect of impulse on theater performers. The development of literature containing principles of training actors has been a materialization that has gradually developed through time by various virtuosos in the field of acting. The process has been gradually and progressive with various professionals building upon other works by their predecessors in the field. The most renown amongst them is Constantine Stanislavski, Grotowski, Brooks, and Chekhov, just to mention but a few. Most of these contributors trace their ideas and their development to Stanislavski’s system of training actors (Wolford 1996). ... The system was designed to use a progression of techniques to aid the actors in drawing believable emotions in their performances. Grotowski’s work is quite different because it introduces the concept of impulses and their effects on the performance ability of the actors. Unlike Stanislavski’s approach that mainly focuses on physical actions, Grotowski’s system mainly emphasizes outward focused approach. In this approach, the actor focuses on channeling his or her inner impulses into action (Wolford 1996). Therefore, actions during acting are inspired or influenced by inner developed impulses. The current approaches to training are a combination of various contributions made by these forerunners in the field of actor training. Stanislavski’s method focuses on both the ‘external’ expression and the ‘internal’ generation of actions that humans engage in and tries to establish the connection between the two (Allen 2000, p .55). Accor ding to Stanislavski, the actions in the acting process generate emotions that are desired for the performance. For this case, each physical action has a psychological element, which is the psychological action which generates it (Allen 2000). On the converse, each inner psychological action gets physical expression in one way or another. This duality is basic to acting, and one may not solely exist without the other. Therefore, in this concept, an actor can begin by simple physical actions and penetrate the deep-most and complex experiences and feelings. The most important thing in ‘physical actions’ in acting is not the memory of the feelings, but rather what takes place that can lead to the creation of a feeling (Benedetti 2010, p. 71). In such