Actor training as a method of directors

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

Authors

  • Gábor Viktor Kozma Faculty of Theater and Film, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania

Keywords:

actor training, Odin Teatret, director training, Eugenio Barba, theatre education, ongoing training, Eastern-European theatre education, training as a working method

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.

Author Biography

Gábor Viktor Kozma, Faculty of Theater and Film, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania

GÁBOR VIKTOR KOZMA is an actor, actor trainer and assistant professor at Babeș-Bolyai University. He is co-artistic leader of the creative community “Hunter’s Chance”. His research interests revolve around techniques and training methods for actors. In recent years he has participated in several research projects in Japan, USA, Denmark, Serbia, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Belgium. He also uses these techniques in his creative work. He is a member of the International Suzuki Company of Toga. He participated in the IX. Theatre Olympics in Japan, with Maeterlinck’s play “The Blue Bird”. He is a fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Arts from 2018.

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Published

2022-12-16

How to Cite

Kozma, G. V. (2022). Actor training as a method of directors: Training in context of the Odin Teatret’s creative work and higher education. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai - Dramatica, 67(2), 29–45. Retrieved from https://dramatica.ro/index.php/j/article/view/252