Actor training as a method of directors

Training in context of the Odin Teatret’s creative work and higher education

Abstract

My paper examines the connection between actor training, the creative process, and institutional education using the findings of my PhD research. Using the theories of Watson, Féral, and Camilleri, I address conceptual clarifications of the term "training" in the first section of my study. I make a distinction between the definitions of the term training. Following that, I refer to training as constant practice. Through the history of Odin Teatret, one of the theater companies with the longest histories, I illustrate the connection between their training and performances and explore the degree to which one has defined the other throughout the company's history. I refer to writings by Barba, the Odin actors, and theorists who have talked about the company. As a working method, I examine the director's position in the training framework to address the issue of control over the actor training process. I'll discuss institutional education for actor training in my final paragraph. I'll make the argument that subject-level structured teaching of actor training should be just as crucial to the education of directors in Eastern Europe as it is to the training of actors.