The Actor's Studio and Tennessee Williams' times of success.

"Kazan had cast the entire show out of the Actor's Studio, an organization that was a very important thing in the great days-I guess I should say the prosperous days- of Broadway, during my time in the forties and the fifties. Those were two great decades of the Actor's Studio. Nearly every great actor of promise studied there. And the Actor's Studio technique fitted so well my type of play. And, the Actor's Studio-with Kazan, Strasberg, and Bobby Lewis-was a great place for actors to go and compare notes on each other's work and it gave them a sort of home base."

"Tennessee Williams: Memoirs" chapter 9 pages 166-167


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

  

"Living for Brecht" by Ruth Berlau (Page 195)

Page 195: "Sometimes one can hear Brecht give a sudden laugh-even when the scene is being rehearsed for the first time-for he has observed that the actor is offering something new and interesting, even if nothing more that a silent walk across the stage. This laugh means too much to the actor. From then on his colleagues will say: Now for the walk, or the gesture, or the look."

"Living for Brecht" by Ruth Berlau (Page 195)

page 195: " (...) Brecht never ceases to make demands on them and to help them. For example, he demonstrates to them way of walking on stage-the walk of weariness, of sensuality, of vanity, of injured pride. In that way he gives the actor a basis to work on, for the manner of walking reveals the attitude. How does an overworked woman hold her shoulders, when life has already given her too much to bear? Brecht makes the poor woman's arms hang lower through too much carrying, her shoulders droop, her stomach protrude. Or he sends for cheap steel-rimmed spectacles to make the eyes look tired. The mouth may also be held a little open, to indicate difficulty in breathing."

"Living for Brecht" by Ruth Berlau (Page 194)

Page 194: " (...) the actor himself having at last reached the stage and wanting to make the most of the few minutes he has been given. Brecht is adamant in combating this wish. He gives his actors their chance in a different way, presenting them with one of his famous pauses. These pauses are not there to express feeling but to allow something to be shown while silence reigns, thus giving the audience a chance to reflect and to understand."

"Living for Brecht" by Ruth Berlau (Page 192)

Page 192: "In his theoretical works Brecht has written about alienation (Verfremdung) and alienation effects. Many believe this to be a very complicated affair, but in fact it is very simple. A statement is "alienated" by being made to appear strange, and therefore striking. Things that are so general, so everyday, so usual that they are no longer noticed-since one knows them too well-are presented as remarkable and worthy of attention. In this way facts, procedures, and conventional forms of behavior are made more transparent. Curiosity is aroused about what lies behind them: What is it exactly, and why is it so? Brecht induces the attitude of an explorer who has come on something remarkable."

"Living for Brecht" by Ruth Berlau (Page 191)

Page 91: "Brecht comes fresh to rehearsals-and usually ahead of his fellow workers. from the very moment he enters the theater he is in his element,a fish in water. He starts with a reading rehearsal, asking the actors to read out their roles, with neither expression nor accentuation but concentrating instead on the implication of the words. After that comes the positioning. Brecht sits there with a cap and a cigar in his mouth, knowing nothing. (...) Brecht is wiser. With his method he gets more out of his actors as well as out of himself. When an actor asks, "Should I stand up here?" everybody is always astounded by Brecht's typical response: "I don't know". He does not make up his mind in advance but tries out several possible solutions. The actor can make suggestions of his own. What Brecht likes most of all is to have suggestions demonstrated, not discussed. As soon as someone starts explaining his intentions at great length, Brecht breaks in and says, "Show us". For Brecht an actor's technique is not a matter fro discussion."