Using, not ignoring, the cultural background of the performer
This is a transcript of a masterclass I held in October 2009 at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, where I directed a student production of East is East. The masterclass demonstrates chapter one of a practice that I have been developing over many years.
My first port of call in the creation of any work is the actor, not the text. I work with the actor until he or she is confident and ready to “play” - it is my belief that they can then go anywhere. It is only when they are in this open state can they then start work on the text, be it a contemporary play, Chekhov or Shakespeare.
I consider it to be my job as director to get the actor to that place. I work with each actor’s individual spirit, embracing their cultural context. This masterclass looks specifically at this area: the cultural context of the performer and how it impacts on the work created in the rehearsal room.
Kristine Landon-Smith
Click here to download the transcript of the masterclass
(Word document 415KB) ›
The transcript contains twelve audio clips from the workshop. Use the links in the document to listen to the clips or click on the links below.