Developing a theatre of the integrated actor : the application of the Suzuki actor training method within three theatrical contexts

摘要

This research project examines the application of the Suzuki Actor Training Method (the Suzuki udMethod) within the work ofTadashi Suzuki's company in Japan, the Shizuoka Performing Arts Complex ud(SPAC), within the work of Brisbane theatre company Frank:Austral Asian Performance Ensemble ud(Frank:AAPE), and as related to the development of the theatre performance Surfacing. These three theatrical contexts have been studied from the viewpoint of aud"participant- observer". The researcher has trained in the Suzuki Method withudFrank:AAPE and SP AC, performed with Frank:AAPE, and was the soloudperformer and collaborative developer in the performance Surfacing (directedudby Leah Mercer). Observations of these three groups are based on audphenomenological definition of the "integrated actor", an actor who is able toudachieve a totality or unity between the body and the mind, and between theudbody and the voice, through a powerful sense of intention. The term "integratedudactor" has been informed by the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty and his conceptudof the "lived body".udThree main hypotheses are presented in this study: that the Suzuki Methodudfocuses on actors learning through their body; that the Suzuki Method presentsudan holistic approach to the body and the voice; and that the Suzuki Methoduddevelops actors with a strong sense of intention. These three aspects of theudSuzuki Method are explored in relation to the stylistic features of the work ofudSPAC, Frank:AAPE and the performance Surfacing.