Dalton Hughes Smith 7 8/20/10 Chapter 1: Acting May Be Hazardous to Your Health!

! (From Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods by Richard Brestoff) Introduction Emotions Actor puts on a mask of transformation. Emotion was caused by a stirring up and rebalancing of fluids. Emotion means to stir up; agitate. Emotion was perceived as a symptom of internal problems. Fluids Ancient view of the mind-body emotion connection consisted of 4 vital body fluids, all representing elements, an emotion and humour (illness accompanied by strong passion) Black Bile- Represents Earth, if present stirs the emotion of sadness and the humour of melancholy. Yellow Bile- Represents Fire, if present stirs the emotion of anger and the humour of choleric. Red Blood- Represents Air, if present stirs the emotion of cheerfulness and the humour of sanguine. Phlegm- Represents Water, if present stirs the emotions of apathy and the humour of phlegmatic. the prime essential for stirring the emotions of others is first to feel those emotions oneself. It was believed that every emotion has a specific physical manifestation. Quintilian A roman teacher of Rhetoric Rhetoric in Roman times meant more than speaking, but encompassed all the school learning of an adult. His system was all audience focused. Also, mirrors were vitally important for forming expressions. Voice If one imagines anger, then Quintilian says that the voice will in turn sound fierce, rough and thick. Pity? Then it will sound tender and mournful. Therfore a color of our voices. Head Casting down the head shows humility. Rigid and unmoved heads shows rudeness. Face and gesture same direction = acceptance Face opposite gesture = disapproval Hand

Finger curved, opening and closing of hand, for expressing admiration. Body All bending backwards is offensive. Middle Finger and thumb together with other three fingers open is a good position for stating facts. Rocking hands back and forth shows someone who is reserved and timid. Other There are also rules for the neck, eyes, eybrows, nose, forehead, lips. To bite lips is unbecomings Also for arms, throat, chin, feet, and shoulders. Shrugging shoulders is a gesture of meaness. Quintillian made a physical way to express emotion without getting too deep into the actors own feelings. The feelings were criticized, however, because they were expressed in standardized ways.

Aaron Hill Wrote The Art of Acting: An Essay He says that there are only ten dramatic passions. Joy impress joy into facial muscles. Chest thrown gracefully back, brows raised, neck is stretched, smiling and eyes sparkling, and limbs braced boldly. Grief The muscles must fall loose and be unbraced. Voice full of misery and anguish. Fear Assume the same slack muscles as used in grief but add a startled look to the face. Anger Tense of muscles, add flashing to the eye, set the teeth, expand nostrils, bend eye brow, and hold breath hard. Pity To imitate pity you strain muscles into tensions and the face of sorrow combined with the muscles of joy. Hate turn of an eye distinguishes hatred and pity. Anger you turn away from him. Wonder Shown with muscles intense, awful alarm in the eye, step backwards and an intake of breath Love muscles intense, and a respectful attachment in the eye Scorn Muscles are slack and there is a smile in the eye Jealousy muscles are intense , and the look would be pensive or intense, and the muscles are slack.

 Imitation 18th century was the age of the machine, and machines can imitate anything, so humans are simply extrordinary machines. Mirror is also very important in imitation. This even meant the imitation of other actors, and they even began copying the poses found in paintings. Francois Delsarte Realized that standardized gestures didn't correspond to what he saw in daily life. From faulty instruction, lost his voice at 23. He set out to discover exactly how real people move and speak in every possible emotional circumstance. He observed people in hositals, parks, prisons, ect, just to discover how people truly acted. He concluded that you cannot show more than you are capable of experiencing. Motion creates Emotion. (Exterior expressions correspond to and can cause interior emotions.) William James, the psychologist, elaborated on Delsarte's findings by presenting that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike, or tremble, because we are sorry, angry or fearful as the case may be. Also relaxation is a must to reflect emotions, like a mirror. Delsarte's Example Techniques Delsarte's friend, Mackaye, acts as the representative for his techniques. The formula is the trinity of the humans. These are life, mind and soul. Man communicates this in 3 ways. Voice, gesture, and word. Human body has three main communicators. Head, torso, and limbs. Head is intellectual center, torso moral center, and limbs physical center. Leg Foot represents mental activity, as in tapping Lower leg moral center, as in kneeling to show love and reverence Upper leg physical center, walking and running shows this power. Legs apart vulgarity, intoxication or fatigue Legs together feeblenees or respect Hands Also have example tensions and forms to show moods. Delsarte never published anything about his system, but it comes to stand for artificial dramatic poses and declamatory speech.

 Conclusion most actors were copying teachers Learn before the mirror for the full effect The actor must feel what he acts All great acting teachers has given their greatest attention to emotions and how to portray them.