Psychophysical Acting is a direct and vital address to the demands of contemporary theatre on today's actor. Drawing on over thirty years of intercultural experience, Phillip Zarrilli aims to equip actors with practical and conceptual tools with which to approach their work. Areas of focus include:
an historical overview of a psychophysical approach to acting from Stanislavski to the present
acting as an 'energetics' of performance, applied to a wide range of playwrights: Samuel Beckett, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Kaite O'Reilly and Ota Shogo
a system of training though yoga and Asian martial arts that heightens sensory awareness, dynamic energy, and in which body and mind become one
practical application of training principles to improvisation exercises.
Psychophysical Acting is accompanied by Peter Hulton's downloadable resources featuring exercises, production documentation, interviews, and reflection.
Foreword by Eugenio Barba. A preface in three voices. Introduction: a psychophysical approach to acting Part 1: What is the actor's work? 1. Historical context 2. Beginning with the breath 3. An enactive approach to acting and embodiment Part 2: Work on oneself 4. The source traditions: yoga, kalarippayattu, and taiqiquan 5. The psychophysical actor's "I can" 6. Exercises for "playing" in-between: structured improvisations Part 3: Production case studies 7. The Beckett Project 8. The Water Station by Ota Shogo 9. Speaking Stones: Images, voices, fragments ... from that which comes after, with Text by Kaite O'Reilly and German translation by Frank Heibert 10. 4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane 11. Attempts on Her Life by Martin Crimp
