‘Feldenkrais® for Actors – How to Do Less and Discover More’
Keywords:
movement for actors, embodied acting, somatic actor training, theatre and cognition, Feldenkrais MethodAbstract
Review of ‘Feldenkrais for Actors – How to Do Less and Discover More’ by Victoria Worsley, illustrated by James Humphries; Nick Hern Books London 2016; 272 pages
How do we train actors to develop an organic competence of their craft? How do we educate young people to become agile, creative, sensitive and affective performers in a cultural context that affords an increased disembodiment of everyday life experience? How do we encourage open-ended inquiry within a corporate increasingly goal-oriented and fast-paced vocational educational training system?
Victoria Worsley, London based actor and Feldenkrais® practitioner, published the book Feldenkrais for Actors – How to Do Less and Discover More as a resource for students and teachers in 2016. Her writings emerged from her rich experience as an artist, teacher of Movement for Actors in Drama Conservatories, and as Feldenkrais practitioner who works with the general public. Her book offers a convincing resource for student-actors, professionals and pedagogues, with an historical introduction that links the work of Moshe Feldenkrais to theatre practice and to the current work Feldenkrais/Theatre peer-practitioners in the UK, a large experiential part linked to the needs of the student actor, and an appendix with useful links to resources for further study.
