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TOWARD A GENERAL THEORY OF ACTING Cognitive Studies in Literature and Performance Literature, Science, and a New Humanities Jonathan Gottschall Engaging Audiences Bruce McConachie The Public Intellectualism of Ralph Waldo Emerson and W.E.B. Du Bois Ryan Schneider Performance, Cognitive Theory, and Devotional Culture Jill Stevenson Shakespearean Neuroplay Amy Cook Evolving Hamlet Angus Fletcher Cognition in the Globe Evelyn B. Tribble Toward a General Theory of Acting John Lutterbie Toward a General Theory of Acting Cognitive Science and Performance John Lutterbie TOWARD A GENERAL THEORY OF ACTING Copyright © John Lutterbie, 2011. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 All rights reserved. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-29515-9 ISBN 978-0-230-11946-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-11946-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lutterbie, John Harry, 1948– Toward a general theory of acting : cognitive science and performance / John Lutterbie. p. cm.—(Cognitive Studies in Literature and Performance) 1. Acting—Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series. PN2061.L84 2011 792.02⬘801—dc22 2010048474 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: June 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2012 To Simon and Julia who make every day worth living Previous Publications Hearing Voices: Modern Drama and the Problem of Subjectivity (1997) Contents Editors’ Preface ix Introduction 1 Part I Chapter 1 The Language of Acting 21 Chapter 2 Theatre and Dynamic Systems Theory 77 Chapter 3 The Actor’s Tools 103 Part II Chapter 4 Technique 131 Chapter 5 Improvisation 161 Chapter 6 The Actor’s Score 181 Chapter 7 In Performance 211 Notes 233 Bibliography 249 Index 255 Editors’ Preface N oam Chomsky started a revolution in human self-understanding and reshaped the intellectual landscape to this day by showing how all languages have deep features in common. Gone—or least retreating—is the idea that the mind is a blank slate. In its wake, fierce debates have broken out about what the mind is and how it works. At stake are some of the most urgent questions facing researchers today: questions about the relationship between brain, mind, and culture; about how human universals express themselves in individual minds and lives; about reason, consciousness, and the emotions; about where cultures get their values and how those values fit our underlying predispositions. It is no secret that most humanists have held fast to the idea that the mind is a blank slate. Not only has this metaphor been an article of intellectual faith, it has also underwritten a passionate moral agenda. If human beings have no inherent qualities, our political and social systems are contingent rather than fixed. Intellectuals might be able to play an important role in exposing the byways of power and bringing about a fairer world. But, evidence