SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND ACTING TECHNIQUES; FROM BLUMER TO STANISLAVSKY BY JULIJA NASKOVA HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DESIGN HONG KONG, SAR
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BLUMER’S SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Blumer’s three simple premises that form the foundation to symbolic interactionism sound like the character and action analysis implemented during playwriting. The later is applied by various acting techniques to analyze the text and prepare the actors for best performance and interpretation of the same.
THE STANISLAVSKY TECHNIQUE In 1897, author-producer Nemirovich Danchenko and actor-director Konstantin Stanislavsky merged acting companies to create Moscow Art Theatre or MAT. In 1898, A. Chekhov entrusted MAT with the production of the Seagull. The mediocre success of this production triggered reforms in actors’ training, whereas Stanislavsky developed ‘inner techniques’ to help actors play Chekhov’s characters that did the most when not doing anything (Sawosky, 2012, pg.3)
- Emotional Memory (1909) In 1911 Stanislavsky created the First Studio as a laboratory for acting experimentation. - Method of Physical Action My Life in Art (1922), An Actor Prepares (1936), Building a Character (1914), Creating a Role (1961).
The first premise that “human beings act toward things on the basis of the meaning that the things have for them” (Blumer, 1969), refers to: - physical objects - human beings - categories of human beings - institutions - guiding ideals - activities of others - situations
- character development; - relationship of the character and their place of living or work, the objects that surround them and the props they use during performance.
“The second premise is that the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows” (Blumer, 1969). The source of meaning: - Meaning is not intrinsic to the thing - Meaning not constructed from psychological processes such as cognition, perception, transfer of feelings, repression, and association of ideas.
- establishing relationships with other characters; - the way actions are created in the play that change the relationships between actors and enact tensions from which conflict arises.
“The third premise is that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters” (Blumer, 1969). - Through a process of self interaction, the actor “selects, checks, suspends, regroups, and transforms the meanings in the light of the situation in which he is placed and the direction of his action” (Blumer, 1969).
- reminisce of the so called conflict that arises from characters wanting different things out of each other and the unbalanced nature that signifies almost every human relation.
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non symbolic interaction
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symbolic interaction
Mead’s presentation of gestures and a response to the meaning of those gestures - triadic nature of meaning (Blumer, 1969, pg.9).
Given circumstances Where am I? What is my specific location? What year is it? What relationships do I have? What has happened before the play begins? Super objective Objective Complete the sentence “I want”; Define the action the character will do to achieve the want. Magic IF What will I do if I was in the same situation? Emotional (affective) memory Inner monologue (subtext) (Price, 2007)
ROOT IMAGES DEPICTING NATURE OF: •
Human Society or Human Group Life
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Social Interaction
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Objects
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Human Being as an Actor
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Human Action
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Interconnection of Lines of Action
THE KITCHEN OF LIFE “Everyday cares, politics, economics, the larger part of general social interests - these make the kitchen of life. Art lives higher, observing from the height of its birdlike flights all that takes place beneath it. It makes concrete and synthesizes all that it sees” (Stanislavsky, 1924, pg. 346).
STANISLAVSKY ON THE SYMBOL: “It is a hard nut to crack - the Symbol. It is successful when it had its source not in the mind but in the inner soul… In this sense symbol and grotesque are alike. The symbol and the grotesque synthesize feelings and life… We could not create a true symbol in the works of Ibsen because they are alien to the soul of Slavs” (Stanislavsky, 1924, pg. 344).
“Artem was unfit to play any part in any of Ibsen’s plays. He was a typical Russian, with all the peculiarities, good qualities and faults of the Slavic nature, which always seem wild and ridiculous when seen amid the circumstances of alien life” (Stanislavsky, 1924, pg. 346).
THE LINE OF THE INTUITION OF FEELINGS “Another series of productions and plays followed the line of the intuition of feelings, which I still consider to be the only true one” (Stanislavsky, 1924, pg. 349). “There are plays which on first site do not display their depths… Often first acquaintance with such plays is disappointing. It even seems that there is nothing to say about them after they are read” (Stanislavsky, 1924, pg. 347).
Dewey, John (1859-1952) Mead, George Herbert (1863-1931) Stanislavsky, Konstantin (1863-1938) Blumer, Herbert George (1900-1987)
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Stanislavsky toured America in 1923-24 with the Moscow Art Theatre.
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Former MAT and First Studio members emigrated to the USA teaching the Stanislavsky’s system for forty years afterwards (Gordon, 2002).
Built upon Stanislavsky’s system, various acting techniques branched in the twentieth century to train the actor in ways that produce different results for the same manuscript, such as the method by Strasberg or Meisner Technique.
New theories of human-computer activity emerged from drama theories. Laurel (1991) builds on Aristotle’s drama structure and form analysis to help us understand human experience during computer interaction. User experience researchers apply similar techniques to create personas and map user emotional journey to measure a product’s appeal.
References: Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism : Perspective and method. Berkeley: University of California Press. Carnicke, S. M. (2009). Stanislavsky in focus: An acting master for the twenty-first century. London: Routledge., p. 153 Gordon, M., & Tufts University. (2002). Stanislavsky in America Russian Emigre Teachers of Acting (Konstantin Stanislavsky), Digital dissertation consortium. Laurel, B. (1991). Computers as theatre. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Price, L. (2007). The Stanislavsky System - The Process. Retrieved from: https:// www.theatrefolk.com/spotlights/the-stanislavsky-system Sawoski, P. (2012). The Stanislavski System Growth and Methodology. Retrieved from: http://homepage.smc.edu/sawoski_perviz/Stanislavski.pdf Stanislavsky, K., & Robbins, J. J. (1924). My life in art. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
