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    23 views5 pages

    Grammar of The Feet

    Uploaded by

    kylekrichbaum2907_58
    for classwork

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    THE WAY OF ACTING “The way in which the feet are used the bass ofa tage perform snvce Eren the moversents of the areas and hance ea oaly oar ‘men the feeling iaherene in the body postions established by the feet. There are many cases ia which the position of the fet ‘Setermines even the rength and nuance of the actors voice An ‘cto can stl perform without arms and hands, bu to perform (without fee would be inconceivable 'NG har often been defined a the art of walking, The smowementacl the actor's feet crear the expremive enviroment “The baste use made ofthe feet in the na conta of a shufling rmetion, The actor walks by dragging the fet, cus around ina shuffle ike modon, andres araythim wth is fore inthe same ‘way. The upper pers of his body ae preticaly immobile even the movemerne ef hishands are extremely limited. Whether the ‘actors tarding sil or ip motion, his fer are the centr of ince tet These feet. encore in tabs (bite bifurcated socks) provide {ne of the mes: profound plesutes ofthe m4 as they move fom 1 poridon of repose forwards and backwards, lft and Ft up fad down with their our independent rhythm. Such patterns of fot marion can be created out ofthe intimate relagonahip ofthe fee ofthe acter with he surface ofthe mi stage. The wey life of the art depen onthe sing and deepening of the relatzoship ofthe fet tothe stege in oder to Fender the expressiveness of {oor moverenes all the more compelling. In fat, this kind of ambulatory ars involved inal thextieal performance ‘Cassca baller, for exemple, equally dependent om the feet, as is the traditional Japanese abuts In babu (except tthe ‘domestic plays, whare the characters often sit), much of the ts the fer; the fect are merely used ax they are in ordinary Mf. In the 19, where ghoatsservew the prosagonits, dhe at ofthe foe tis; but ia the modern theatney which purport show Bving bangs there are acne, Flow ionic since tn pense felllore the heot be represenced invariably a fooess 'A performance heginswhen he actors ect touch the groan, sweden ocr a surface, wines be rw has he senwation of pat fing down roots i begine in another sense when he lis Hinelf| Iighely from that spor. The actor compencs hia the bet of his sense of contact with the ground, by the way Er wich ab body makes contac with the feos. The performer indeed proves swith is fest that he anactor. Ofcourse, there atenoay ways ‘shich the humenbody can make contact with the lor but most ‘fu, excepting eal children, make contact with dhe ower part ‘oF the body, centering on the feet The various pleasures that am Shion keels ss he comer iy contact with the grouidandl the Srowth inthe richness of change in his bodily responses when he {in contac sich the ground—coneetate the fie sage i hit Tn unining the actors in my company, [have one exercise ia which Thave ther stamp tel fect inte to rhythmic rnc For 1 Seed period. Stamping may not be the mort accurate test, [OF they loosen their pelvic aren slighis, chen more themselves by String the floor ina vehement marion, As te mnie Gaither, they use up the ln of their energy and fall 0 the Boor. They lc fae ina hush, as though they were dend. After apaus, the muic ‘eins naan, this tne gealy. The ectors rise th tae wih dis fnew atmosphere, each im his or her oun fashion, and finaly Fetorato = fully vertical standing portion ‘Thisesercve ened (2 modon and sillnest, and the conerasting expulsion and con- ftinment of bodily force. By means of sengshening, breath oppor this excrcize develops « concentration of een inthe bods "The emertial clement inthe Get musical portion ofthis rine Ing excrce be che continuous pounding of the floc, using am sudience’s pleasure comes from watching the scons” foot tmovements, which ae efien move pronounced cham in the no ‘The Boramics (the runway that connects the audivoriams wih the kab sage) is particularly well suited vo emphasize the at of the fet Since the comingof the modern thestreto Japan, however, the siatc me of foot movements hae not continued so develop. ‘This i too bad, becaune realism inthe theatre should inspite a veritable uesure house of walking styles Since itis commoniy {ecepeed that ream sould attempt reproduce faihflly on the sage the surface manner of ie the at of walking has more fF less been reduced 0 the simplest forms of raturalitc movement. Yet any movement on the sage by definition, {abrication, Since there ls more room within realism for avariy ‘ofmawements than in te no or in abu, these various aimee tory pouabilies should be exhibited in an attic fashion, One reason the movdera theatre iss tedious towatch lt scemsto me, is beenuse ft hae no feet Since Jepan's modern thonire arcempts ro take European, drama and ed it thosteally to Mfeayles of contemporary Je an, thee sno room forthe movernens of bare or raked Fes. ‘Actors, because they mutt wear shoes to perform, have, ia mas” tne of speaking, lost their fet. ‘When an aetor puts on shoes, the movements of his feet are limited. Stamping, sliding, walking pigeom-toed, walking bewleyged—al oftheee are vreully denied him, When an actor does struggle wo make such movements, the sinew inhis ale or hin Achilles tenon will jin fut, ard bis fee will develop Dimers. Even inthe West, specially denigned foctwear ha beer developed forthe classical aller which somewhat rexcnblex the ootwcer used in she traditional Japancie theatre ar Jxpanene ab which bane served so long in that capacity, canal be put {good use on the sage today. We occasionally wear tub in our cveryday life, But they always suggest «certain formality The ‘modern thoatre does nothing to promote the exprenuveness oF a ‘oer, unremiing strength without loosening the upper part of {he body Ifthe actos acs his concentration on bielegr ae loina souco misses the sense of being toughened or tempered, he will not be dbleto coatinus on othe end wih anid, seed ener 157 eo matter how fullof energy he may fel. What more, ste ‘ior does aot have the dewersineton 10 control any legal ter of Breathing. thon toward the end ofthe excrete his upper body will of necessity begin co tremble, and he will lar the thythm.Ineither cae, she energy produced asthe fect sike the {oor spreads into she uppe: bod. Lark that dhe actors srk the floor with all che energy posible: she caergy that noe property sbrorbed vill rise upwatde and cause the upper part of their bales wo uembe.In onder to minimize such a rancor, tbe actor ust learn to coatral aed contain thet cocrgy in the pelvic ‘ego. Focusing on this part ofthe body, he ust learn o eae ‘continuously the relitionship berween the upper and lower pares fof bis body, all the while conciauing on with the samping ‘OF courte the idea that am actor can learn to control the spportionment of his energy, unifying % hrough his pelvic {egion, i hardly unique to my training exercies. All physical (ethmguce employed for ihe stage surely involve ch principle. What I believe I have added, however, isthe ides of Sumping the foot—forcng the devecpment of 4 special com ‘scoumess based on this striking of the ground. This concept frses from ay conviction that an actors baste sense of Bis Physically comes Grom his fe. {Tn otdinary le, we have lee consciousness of our fet. The tboly can stand of is own second without any actite at all of the relationship of feet o earth in stamping, we cometo understand tha the body establishes ts reltion tothe ground through the {eat that the proud aed the bony ae net too separate ene We are part ofthe ground. Our very beings wil reurn wo the Sasth wit we die, Te is cften said thie the concept behind my exercnes w THE WAY OF ACTING somehow very Japanese, but I don't belive this s 20. Even the Slatoeal baler dancer who attempts 10 leave the round behind seogether principally senses an intimate conmecion with the ‘arch. According to the Dutch scholar Gerhard Zacheriss, in his 1564 book Bulle, the most classic of ballet movements, the inoue, is conceived of in che fllowing terme: The pirouete i 2 symbol of the strengh required to rest down the foo. The foot that appears ina dream is that ‘ryan of the body that touches the ground, expresing the ‘connection berween the body and the wirface ofthe earth When one thinks of what the pizovette mymbelizes & i clear thatthe dea ofthe knee represents what x connected ‘othe underground, tothe casual consider the etymolo- By gems (eree) and genus (sex). Afterall the image of the [noe forthe Grecks did not sugges the worship ofthe gods ‘on Moan Olympus the knee was utilized to pay homage t0 {the gods in the underworld. Sophocles has Oedipus, before he goes in death co the god of the underworld, knesl and Drayto the earth ite... in praying tothe pod of the un ‘derworld, kneeling docs nt ar all euggeet devotion or serv ice, bur rather an expression of suachment to them, “The pirouete; in the classical dance, represeens (in co- ‘rastto the usual academic explanations) the manifestation fs dynamic hacmony, an equloium berween height and dept, sky ane earth, weightlessness and weight “The traditional Japanese performing arts share this balance berween height and depth, sky snd earth. In the Jepanese case, however, the equilbrium, the source of strength, emanaces inal directions from the pelvic aes, which mdiates energy into hor ‘ental space. This a why, while the upper body moves as far os posible upwards, the lower body attempts to descend ina kind ‘of counter movernens. Thus the sense, established bythe feet, of fn intimate connection with the ground is all the more (1 THE WAY OF ACTING txercises and the length ofan actor's lege. Nor is a question of body srength, The exercises are intended at means to disco cerasall-consclousnes of the interior of the body, and the actce’s tuccessin deing them confirms his ability omake that discovery. ‘The sctor lene to become conscious of the many lave of nai sivity within bis own body. A Japanese actor has a0 special claim to roccess, or 1 devcioping thone aks in bis own body, any ‘more than anyone else “The gesture of stamping on the ground, whether performed bby Europeans or Japanese, pives the actor asense of the strength Imhorene in his own body Te is a gesture that can Sead to the crea ton ofa clonal space, perhaps even « tual space, in which ne [ci body can achieve a transformation from the personal 0 the universal Ii the Yoshino ares of Nara Prelecute, at the temple of third of each January, 1s called the sbisbror, othe "wild boar ‘chasing ceremony.” The villagers, in bare fect, ery out a series of sable, chemo, chenyaro. as they stamp fiercely with all heir “strength on the floor of the io hall. The current generation of ‘illager: seems to beleve thatthe ehyzhm of such frantic stamp. Ing wan oxginally intended ax « means to chive away the wild [bons coming eo pillage the fcc. According oA History ofthe “Traditial Art tn Japan, compiled by the Research Socety For the Ants, however, the word wiih which the farmers tae to ‘mean "wild boar” 5 actually a corruption of the word “magi ‘ien.” shucks. Ta this interpretation, the reverberatons from the ppoundingon the foor were originally intended to help chase ell firs away, and possessed a magical igalicance in Bringing uch prayere to fulllmenr, [raceme to me, t00, thatthe iden of ‘making 2 great dea of noise in order to chase sway wild boats ‘Can hardly account forthe erymology of the word shrhi. Perhaps there were some tempts, ofcourse to chase them awny, but the ‘boars ean hardly have been the only object of the farmers ‘efforts, There are many things that damage crops, some 01 nec test THE GRAMMAR OF THE FEET strengthened. The symbolic gesture of dragging the fect oF of shythmicilly stamping thereby eveaethis sense of intimacy wich the ground, “That profound student of Japanete culture Orjguichi Shinobu (4867-1933), in his seacy of the Japanese eadtional ar, drew srcention 0 a consistent desir co strike a ehjthm with the feet: this proctice on the stage doubtless derives from the powerful foct stamping orginally used to magical ward off ei. IF such is the cate, the traditional playing space inthe Japanceethente can be defined in term: of the area it can provide for such movements. Vestges of this can be found inthe ancient dances still performed in the nd called sodas which include the kind ‘of foot stumping thar was designed o create sense of peace and Iharmony asthe performer mowes around in a xed space ‘The setes of movernenis I have designed, which range from falling down to sanding up, begin with the rhythmical epesition of the stamping motoes, in which the body, centering oa dhe pelvic area, is made frm; monements of the upper part of te body ace designed to send a genile strength throughout the ‘whole body. As the actor stands tp, he owes ike» puppet cathe thythm of the music. The exercise thas eradicates the ordinary ciently sense of te body. Therefore, when the great majority ‘hese exercises the nuances in their movement they tend to move in a mechanical, constrained fashion. Ie hat been my experience thee American actor, 1 vole as they are in realistic dhease, mos often reac tie wa ‘When they begin, they perform the foot stumping movements wi considerable strength, bur they soun lose energy and besa to move ia s vague and distracced vay. From this they conclude theemy exercies are somehow “Japanese,” that Americans an hot perfoen them because this legs ate, oa the whole, looaer he ‘ny toupe find themselves responding that American legs ste too long. Yer there is absolutely no connection between these io THE GRAMMAR OF THE FEET ‘esstily visible wo the eye. No doubt the original meaning of Shuabr—"teagicinn’—isthe applicable one. What interest me in this isnot the etymology ofthe name, however, but the fact that the farmers pound thet fet on the floor. From ancient umes, ‘pounding on the ground bes conedruted eritual connected with farming. Ie served as a gesture 10 suppress those malign spirits ‘that might bring herm vo erops and ro men. Later this iual also ‘became a charm io ward off aerual predators, 20 that both functions were served a once. Tn the book on the tadtional ans of Japan mentioned above, -ssinilar ceremony x described, which was given the same name Until recently twas performed in place called Kurenai ‘Okayama Prefecture. In that cic, the floor was not stamped rather, the wninscotting of she semple was Gavbed with clay dnd the participants pounded with all dhe might on these su faces, using special sticks made of sumac wood. Such cer monies of stamping and pounding seem 0 have been a part ‘of Japanese ceremonial behavior since the begining of our ‘culture. ‘The Sbinto goddess Ame Usumi no Kami who danced oa en ‘overturned bucket in front of the Henvenly Rock Cave, stamped snd pounded wih her wave in kind of incantarory manner, The ance is often considered to represent the mythological beginnings of the Aagura, the sacted Shon® dances. Origchi Shino tnhis Sic Lectures om the Traditional Jspetere Art, aye the following about the famous dance (as tecoreed fa the Kopthe tnd cther repositories of ancient Japaneie kegend) ‘This overturned bucket can be said to represent the fear; it server at a symbol of the ground. To stamp resoundingly on the earth, to pound on iewith a save, are, to your, indicates thatthe soul, which has been sleeping, inside the earth, ling concealed within i, oF kepe inde, ‘can now come forth, The soul can now be released to oi the other gods who are clove beside tot THE WAY OF ACTING “The act of seaming and pounding not only signex pushing down en the enemy, suppressing him or driving him sexy, but sengests as well the calling forts of te energy of an object of| swonbip, the taking of thet energy ino oneself the Beinging 10 pene of that fe energy Such gestures cam dive way ov splints and bring about magical real permiting, the good spins 10 come imo the body of the periormer with siege {roster than that ofthe had. The many stamping genes in a Buds and mi doubles derive fem these Kinds of physical scnatons. The traditional phate “stamp inthe six direction” fan be interpreted to mean peaturing tothe spin, arousing that spirtuel energy, conoouing ft, aking * co oneell When the ‘pint har entered the one performing the fetes, thae person in turn becomes braveand find hime ready for deeds of eer tod ab Te efor auch reaone tha: the clasic Japanese dramas were ‘often set in spots where toch spits were though so dwell the Site of « buril for example, or raised grave mounel The come struction of theo stape, ever at exist today, includes empey Jats implanted underneath the for the bottom of the sage Ipollowed ost The purpose of dian not enly the urate elfetof| himving preter reverbcrations when the actors stamp tit fet. ‘These sounds can also be understood ana mean to belp i the calling forth of the spiritual enemy of the place, »surmeoning of the ancestral spirits to come and possess the boxly of the performer ina kind of hallaination. The very echocs produced Sand as proof ofthe existence, through physical sesation, of ‘mutual remorse between actor and spit “This sor of sensation i necessary for performers onthe way ‘nen try, The union thet the energy which gives strength 1 ‘Snes ew boy ean be received through the fer i topether| hetutal Tes oar good fortune that 9 actors have continued #0 fctom the bass of this potion up wotd tray. The gravente oF ‘mound resombles the inside of the womb of « mother who has [sven bitty the surounding satfoe ropresents the mother her" oy THE WAY OF ACTIN. methods of performance, fixed long ago, involve « fixed reper- feire). Al inds of sage language are emploved, from cislorue reminiscent of Azbub? itself, to the kind of Jepanete angoage led when the tet is renslated from ore languages: from the ‘mort conemporny slang that mixes English with Japanese, 0 the language of the drarna of ideas, ro that waed in popular cule ‘ere; Frm dislogueste long rmonctogues. And words are not the ‘only clement involved In terms of movement, ators mat take immo sceount Japanese-style costumes as well as Western des. ‘They ned to practice difere: Kinds of motions, fom the dane ing needed for musical 9 the absolute alles required when Siting on auame mating in Japanese se. A commited actor willy comasteras broad a range of movements ssposible. The task i ray 4 dificale one, since audiences neturaly expect £0 Seneas vary of skill on the stage. Then, to, a the tle of Saye language charges. the actor's movements and his povcholopical consciousness must alter, For @ performance £0 Convey ur full aor to the audience, dhe proper relaionhip be foeun the words spoken and the movernents of the actor mut ‘main Grmly established. iy as in the cae of the actors, the upper body ix ele straight and retain tll while the actor's voice is reseed out from the abdomen t9 resonate thrugh the body, dhe performer cannot manage the kind of stage language used by such avant: sarde playwrights as Samuel Beckett or Eagene Toneseo, oF by Such comtemporary Japenese playvrigi as Kara JOro. or Bersuynk Minoru. The 0 acor's boxy has been trained to procluce« kind of chanted vocalization employing «len, bright ices snd quite unmuitable for stage dilogue. Farnous factors perform only inthe 9, without attempting other forms of theatre Mos mocem stage performer, generally speaking. are rnoterainedo te eveloi x0 or habuts actors In fatsifa modern ‘ctor did receive some Kind of Sed training for the modern Stage then he too would risk becominga kind of no acror,a new Kind of exmageta who could only perarm circucmcribed roles, 06 sei. So it follows thatthe performer's actions are based on the Premise that he can transcend his individual self and perform, ‘ymbolialy, forall mankind, “Zachara has ace In Kurt Sachs's World ofthe Dace, he has written com cxming dance for sbundaat crops, thar there was a tbe, ‘bow vanished, in Tasmania that posssred a secret device for bringing vain. They threw themeclves down and rolled ‘on the round, beating with cei bands and feet. Wi dhs peste they iitated the lightning and chunder with thei ‘own bodies: by analogy, they soughe out. Or they leapt up high into she ai, guiding che eneray of neture ro the earth and thereby confining iin che ground. This ancient staal Seems to have existed in older German dance ae well ‘Waen Moses left Egypt he stuck his eane into the rock sa God's order and o found var. Forts of this ceremony, (of srking can be soen in the rituals of many cules. The lapping of hands ib ove version, a gesture of worship ‘Widely cbsecved. This sting can be seen as « gesture of saving bith of the elfor: of pulling forch energy (the sti fg of a flisone may sagges another arly). In baller, the concept of hattoment conveys the same meaning. It brings abou the acquiidon, then the release, of pryhole. seal and bodily energy athe communalty of geatuce tht exinenon aleve beyond the species of ealural veri te lower hal of the body srl the feet alwapsscem to be the operating parts ofthe body rather than the uppet portions. The fet alone can stamp and seike the fart, which represents man's unique foundation ad authority The feet have provided. up until now, the ultimate means of oa: rection berwecn man arn cath, ‘Contemporary Jepenexe actors are required play inavaricy of wples ating aside such forme at ad and Aabuks, where an THE GRAMMAR OF THE FEET limited to one style from within the whole posible range of con remporary there, "Whatever the level of his training, an actor must continue to sharpen his consciousness of both veice and body. Ina sense, ‘contemporary performer end up being as busy as a person in Supermarket He may have 1© koow the vadional vocal fechnigues used in nd and kau, oe well a shone uscd in Westem poplar or operatic mane: he needa knowledge! ta

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