Notes

Acting 101
Racism in Japan
Writer's Workshop
Return to ASMR


With the last episode which covered many pieces, especially plays, from black authors, I felt a strong temptation to direct them. However, it is taboo for a white man to direct black theatre. It would distort and muddy the intent of the author. For me to direct it would be an insult to the very people I wanted to put in the spotlight.

Now, i will say that I am very happy with how it turned out. Today's podcast is not about what happened last time, but it's about what I'd like to say next in regards to acting and theatre. There are a few different methods that we discuss in class that I find would be good to cover for those who are unfamiliar with acting. I would also like to include advice from Japanese culture and advice I learned from Kabuki actors.

I've mentioned him before, but Eugenio Barba covers the impact different cultures have on theatre and organizes that into advice for actors. His book "Paper Canoe" is generally for the more advanced actor, and I will admit that it has a high barrier to entry. If you'd like to give it a look and try your hand at deciphering the sub-text, you can check out the PDF for it below. I will however be focusing on the more basic advice and the more digestible advice. I'm not a master with words, but I am a teacher, and making things easy to understand is part of my job.

The main method for Acting that is taught in schools is from Stanislovsky, not to be confused with method acting which he also created. The way my teacher explained it to us was that each "line" has a "unit of action" paired with it. They are generally called "beats". One teacher took it further and taught that each main idea had its own beat, and each line that's a part of it would be called "bits". That's generally not how the theatre community views this, and they consider beats and bits to be interchangeable. This may sound like non-sense so let me give an example.

You may be familiar with Shakespeare's Richard III and the opening monologue. Richard says "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of york