January 9th, 2007 Fred McVittie
Knowledge transfer and acquisition (learning) consists not only of the gaining of certain facts and physical routines, but also in the creation of a level of abstract competency or schema in the flexible application of these facts and routines.
The specific process of learning discussed in this paper is the training of actors, which entails assisting the actor in the development of such abstract competencies as are appropriate to that activity; maintaining a character, establishing circles of attention, delivery of text, stage ‘presence’, and conveying the illusion of naturalism. Some of these activities are incredibly subtle and detailed, and involve the shaping of multiple simultaneous actions. The successful delivery of such actions is dependent upon the smooth functioning of both the actor’s body and also their body of knowledge. This particular learning activity is interesting because it involves a complex mix of practical and intellectual knowledge which the competent actor needs to integrate into a unified competency.
Approaches to the development of such a body of knowledge can be characterised as favouring one of two possible approaches. Borrowing terminology from Artificial Intelligence research, these approaches might be termed Bottom Up and Top Down. The Bottom Up approach introduces the actor to a wide range, and a large number, of learning experiences, including skills training, workshops, examples, improvisations, rehearsals, etc. Through frequent exposure to these experiences, and extensive feedback including the selective reinforcement of appropriate behaviour in response to these experiences (applause, praise etc), the actor gradually builds up the abstract competencies that are required to perform at a high level. The Top Down approach has the same goal, the creation of the abstract competencies noted above, but instead of relying on the emergence of these competencies out of the (quasi-Darwinian) processes indicated, these schema are created through the application of higher order concepts. These higher order concepts might take the form of beliefs, theories, or intentions which organise the body of knowledge developed by the actor such that the necessary competencies are realised. This paper will discuss these two approaches as they are manifest in some of the established training techniques currently used for the training of actors in the academy, with particular reference being made to the work of Michael Chekhov, the Russian émigré director and coach who worked extensively with actors in the UK and America in the early 20th Century, and whose techniques are still taught today.
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