Actor Training in Toronto, Theory in Practice

grantor: University of TorontoThe decision to examine acting theories prevalent amongst performance teachers in Toronto emanated from a perceived lack of research into the subject of acting in English Canadian theatre studies. When the project began, I did not realize that the more general subject of acting theory has received little attention in theatre scholarship as well. In order to study the acting theories of Toronto teachers, it became necessary to define acting and its theory, distinguish it from performance theory, and determine prominent concepts within acting theory which could serve as a framework within which to compare and contrast the ideas and practices of various theorists and practitioners. In Chapter 2, the key concepts of acting theory outlined in Chapter 1 are employed in an examination of the ideas of some prominent acting theorists of the past century. The data engendered by the research leading to this portion of the study served as a foundation for an historical as well as conceptual understanding of modern acting theory. This framework proved invaluable in the preparation and analysis of a survey distributed to Toronto performance teachers (outlined and analyzed in Chapter 3), and in an examination of the acting theories of six Toronto teachers studied in depth through interview and classroom observation (Chapter 4). When the primary materials examined for this study are compared in Chapter 5, several distinct tendencies are revealed concerning acting theories held by performance teachers in Toronto. These are: a view of the function of theatre as experiential, as well as enlightening; the primacy of the actuality of the actor, particularly qualities of instinct and impulse; the predominance of internal approaches to actor training and practice; a devaluation of the primacy of the play text and, thus of the author's intent; a dismissal of the technical areas of theatre as elements of actor study; a growing awareness that actors need training in the business as well as the art of making theatre; and an open minded and eclectic approach to actor training, suggesting a similar attitude towards theory.Ph.D