Antonio Gramsci: a still valid tool for understanding social processes

        Mussolini's fascist regime thought that Antonio Gramsci could be dealt with by sending him to jail for twenty years in the lugubrious San Vittore prison. But it was there that he wrote some of his most noteworthy works, including "Notebooks from Prison," in which he refined his concepts concerning hegemony.

 

     In the context of a capitalist system of production he believed that the hegemony of the dominant group was not just a result of the control of the State's repressive system; it likewise involves the control or leadership of intelectual and moral institutions in the society. That is,  cultural hegemony achieved by subordinating the mass media, educational and even religious institutions.

 

     In order to maintain its power the dominant sector must get the support of intellectuals, he reasoned, so that their views be filtered down among subordinate sectors of society, uniting all social clases around the views of the dominant group.

 

    Considering the present financial crisis, the struggle for power in outlying areas of the world's power centers and the obvious role of the mass media in acting as spokesman for those on top it is clear that Gramsci's ideas are reference points in any analysis of the world situation today. Economic and financial power concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the mass media that acts as the slogan bearer of the rich--appropriately clothed in order to disguise from the uninformed reader the real intentions of the dominant power structure.

 

    Whether or not you agree with Gramsci's concepts, it is clear that he could not be bought off by the fascists imposters. Mussolini offered him freedom if he would renounce his ideas. "The pardon might preserve my body," he declared "but would kill my soul." 

Roger and Nancy and the Police Officer

Roger was late. He needed a car to get to the train station but his father had taken the Ford to work and his mother had gone shopping in the station wagon. 

"I've got to get there on time," he mused to himself, "she'll dump me if I don´t show up on time."

Nancy was her name, blond, green eyes and a character of sugar and fire. Roger was madly in love with her. They had met two months previously at the skating ring. It appeared to be love at first sight. Roger had had little experience with women. But with Nancy it was as if he were an experienced lover. His memory was still fresh of that date a few days after they met. He had invited her to see his collection of exotic butterflies and she had accepted! God! How he remembered that day! But what was he going to do now? They had promised to meet at the train station at 8 p.m. and it was already 6:30.  He didn't want to be a minute late. It was going to be an important encounter, he was sure of that.  He could take the bicycle to the station. True. But neither a fool nor a big-time cyclist could make 20 miles in half an hour. So he decided to hitch hike.

                When she knocked on the door that evening he was still half dressed. With the straightforwardness of youth he opened the door. The girl retreated a little.

                “I’m sorry. I haven’t finished dressing…why are you running away? Please come in.”

                “I’m a bit ashamed,” said the girl in a not very convincing tone of voice.

                “If it’s because I don’t have my shirt on maybe you could take off your blouse. Then we would be on an equal standing.”

                Then they took off their clothes in silence, piece after piece until they were completely naked. They embraced. He felt her heart pounding. There they were entangled in a monumental embrace, like some piece of heroic sculpture. A stroke of lightening brought out the curves and minute details of each of their bodies.

                “Oh God!  What a woman!” Roger mused, coming out of his daydream.  “I’ve got to get to the train station on time!”

       Sunset Place, smack in the heart of an affluent Los Angeles suburb, was not the ideal place to get a lift. One after another the cars passed by without slowing down even for the red light that was blinking at the corner. Big empty cars with bored looking middle aged women zoomed by. The male drivers, dressed to kill, did not even spare a blink. No screeching brakes were to be heard, no shouts, nothing but the dull whir of engines.

       "God damn it!" In a burst of anger Roger picked up a rock and threw it across the road. Then another flew through the air, and another. He was lifting a third rock when he heard a sharp screech and the sound of a car pulling to a stop.

       "Hey buddie! Whatcha think your're tryin' to prove?" shouted the loud deep voice of a policeman. Roger swallowed hard. He seemed to have lost his tongue.

        "I´m talking to you. Has the cat got your tongue? Don´t you know how to address an officer of the law?"

         Roger slowly advanced towards the officer, trying to organize the thoughts that were racing through his head.   

         "I'm sorry, Sir, really, it's just I'm late and nobody wants to give me a lift."

         "So you figured you'd throw rocks at the cars? Is that it?"

         "Nobody would stop!"

         "What kind of an excuse is that? They have no obligation to stop..."

         "I know but it´s just, I got impatient."

         "Impatient? You think I don’t get impatient with punks like you who break the law for no good reason?"

         "I wasn't breaking the law, Sir." Roger had become deadly calm. "I have a very good reason. If I don't get to the train station, I'll arrive late and Nancy will kill me!"

           "Nancy? Who is she?" Roger did not answer but inside he was struggling for words. How could he explain to a policeman why it was so important to see the woman? 

            "Did you say she is going to kill you?"

            "Not literally but, you know, she's very temperamental."

            The officer smirked, the way he usually did when he had to pick up teenagers.

               

                “It looks like both of you are temperamental. OK. Get in. I´ll take you this time but the next time you mess with the law you’ll regret it.” The officer waved Roger into the car and then got in himself and off they went speeding down the highway, lights flashing, and siren still hooting. Roger closed his eyes and hoped and prayed they would get to the station on time. The officer drove in silence, pushing the car in an out of the traffic with a masterly touch. He knew the way by heart. The last time he had raced to the train station he was hot on the tail of the First National Bank robbery. He arrived late. The robbers left no trail and were not apprehended. However, a witness asserted that the thieves were two men and a woman. Half a million dollars and assorted jewelry in the safe boxes. Sgt. Jonathan Williams felt humiliated by the escape of the robbers and had sworn to himself that he would get them sooner or later.

                As the patrol car pulled into the parking lot in front of the station, the train screeched in and passengers hustled off to their destinies. Roger dashed past the ticket office, and then looked around towards a newspaper stand where Nancy was standing reading the headlines. The officer still followed Roger, as if he were his pet dog. He peered intensely at the girl. She was young, sandy blond hair, a slender figure, inviting hips; dark sun glasses covered her green eyes. There was something about her that called the officer’s attention. Policemen are like that. They register people’s faces as if their eyes were digital cameras.

                “Nancy! Nancy my love! I’m here!”

                Roger rushed up to the woman and embraced her.

                “I was afraid I wouldn’t arrive on time. Didn’t have a car and nobody would stop to pick me up. Oh, I’m so glad to see you!”

                “Keep kissing me my love,” said Nancy. Roger felt her body suddenly stiffen. “Quick, let’s get out of here. I can’t stand train stations.” She began running towards the taxi stand, dragging Roger by the hand.

“What’s the hurry? We’ve waited so long. I just want to be with you, feel your heart beat. Hey, why don’t you take off your glasses? I want to see your eyes.” She paid little heed to his request at first but lowered the glasses just slightly when she flagged the first taxi that stopped.

“Where to?” asked the driver.

“Holiday Inn,” replied Nancy.

The car was idling, ready to begin the trip. The Sgt. Williams peered into the car.

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere?” he asked Nancy.

“That’s none of your business! To the Holiday Inn!”

“Your license please,” demanded the officer, not taking his eyes off Nancy for a second. He was stalling for time.

“Look you helped me arrive on time,” put forth Roger, “now let us go. You have no right to hold us up.”

“We’ll see about that. Your ID Miss.”

Nancy bent over and seemed to fumble in her handbag but with a sudden lurch she jerked open the door and bolted in between the passengers streaming out of the station. A bullet resounded above their heads.

“Stop in the name of the law or I’ll fire!”

Nancy stopped. Sgt. Williams approached her and removed her sun glasses.

“Now will you show me your I.D.?”

“You don’t have the right to do this,” screeched Roger.

“Yes I do. It’s my duty. Miss Nancy Barrymore I hereby arrest you under suspicion for the robbery of the First National Bank. You may consult your own lawyer. If not we will provide a defense attorney for you at the offices of the district Justice of the Peace.”

Roger stared at Nancy in silence, unable to move, much less utter a word of protest. Could it be true that Nancy, the love of his life, a bank robber? 

Script Writing: seminars in February

You read the script, you like your character, work out the physical actions, link up with your fellow actors, map out the movements on stage, maybe ask the director if you can smooth out some heavy phrases that you can't handle too well, maybe even hack others down to size, that is if it is not going to be a commercial performance, maybe played just once at a school...

Then you get a bright idea! What if you or your group were to write the script? That what we plan to tackle in our February script writing seminars. If you are interested, give us a buzz at 4342 3588 or 1562521028 or write

us at hopalfred@gmail.com,

Shivering in the Heat of Time, a verse

I shiver in the desert heat,

   gazing as the poet at the echos

      rebounding from the memory chest,

               touching with sweet pleasure

                     our downy surfaces, our violet whispers.

You are right here near my bony left elbow

     seven thousand miles away, so close

              that your skin rubs mine into silk

                          and causes my few hairs to sing cantatas in mandarin chinese.

Rilke sits nearby composing sonets to lost doves,

            And your voice pierces the air wrapped ´round my heart,

                  And your hands caress the wind as cummings chews on roasted blue berries

                       And you caress the wrinkes on my fingers,

                              as if they were but puppy fur, 

                              your, vast eyes of red blue.

And so we hear each other eeking and creaking

          And so we feel each other clicking and clacking

                     And so we touch each other sobbing and laughing

                               And so we await each other as we wait for the bacon and eggs

                                          next morning, with love in our toes and joy in our hearts.

Locked in the dear crevice of my heart

           I look up awaiting the night´s hidden light

                       so as to ask  you how we should speak to that hidden star,

                                 how we should memorize the caresses our gods have bestowed on us

                                so indulently, so surprisingly, with so much inner music.

"Fences" by August Wilson to be staged in Princeton January 10

If you just happen to be near Princeton, you might like to go to the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton, New Jersey, where on January 10 reknown playwrite, actor and director August Wilson's "Fences" will be staged. Wilson,  Afro-American, is one of the leading theater pundits in the U.S.A.

"Fences,"  will be staged at the McCarter Theater Center from January 10 to February 9.  This is what the director of the play, Phylicia Rashad, told "Gem of the Ocean" in 2007:

“There is much to be said about August Wilson. In him we find the rare combination of poet, playwright, philosopher, historian, humanitarian, musician and spiritual seeker. My first observation of August Wilson was that he was a man of purpose, specificity and deliberation. When we listen as carefully as he did, we discern meaning in every aspect of his work. He understood the power of sound and rhythm inherent in words, speech and music. He worked in alignment with that power. As an actor, I became increasingly sensitive to these rhythms and aware of their importance. August’s characters are defined by speech – the rhythms of speech serve as emotional building blocks that support the progressive movement of the play. If a word is changed or a phrase interpolated, the rhythms are altered but never to the good.”

Producer Emilia Mann has this to say about the show:

"Fences is not only one of my favorite August Wilson plays, but one of my favorite—and I think one of the finest—plays in the American theater canon. A father-son play as relevant today as when it was written in 1987, it is a story about generations, legacy, and survival. Originally a poet and a great lover of the blues, August had a tremendous gift for creating character and composing dialogue. Whether this is your first time attending an August Wilson play or one of many, I am confident that it will be an experience you will not soon forget.
For all of these reasons, I am thrilled to be producing Fences at McCarter. This particular production has been especially rewarding because it involves some of my dearest friends and colleagues. It is not only a co-production with the esteemed Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, but it marks the return of many members of McCarter’s artistic family.
Phylicia Rashad made an indelible mark on this organization and our community during her performance as Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean in 2004. To have Phylicia, who knows and understands August’s work so well, in the director’s chair for Fences is an extraordinary event. I hope you will consider joining us for a conversation between Phylicia Rashad and special guest moderator Melissa Harris-Perry on January 19.
To collaborate with her on the physical production of Fences, Phylicia has assembled a dream team of designers that includes a number of McCarter alums. Before he became an Emmy award-winning production designer, John Iacovelli was a scenic artist and painter in our scene shop. John Gromada, the sound designer, has worked on several McCarter productions, including Fiction and Humpty Dumpty. Also returning is ESOSA, who began his professional theater career as a costume designer on McCarter’s 2002 production of Crowns. He has since experienced a range of well-deserved successes, from a Tony nomination for his work on Broadway’s The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess to his accomplishments on Project Runway.
I hope you enjoy this performance of Fences. As with any of our Theater Series productions, I welcome your thoughts and impressions, which you can send me at emann@mccarter.org."

Energy, impulse, determination, faith and goals--essential ingredients of acting

    It takes energy, impulse, determination and faith to achieve even what we might consider to be insignificant goals, on stage or in everyday life. What is essential, however, is the process leading up to the realization of those objectives.  Peter Brook put it this way: "Acting begins with a tine inner movement so slight that it is almost completely invisible." It then grows, turns into energy, energy into impulse, impulse into desire, desire into determination; for achievement to take place we need faith, we need to believe in our actions and in the possibility of success.

      Is that not also what happens in a love relationship? First an inner movement appears. A message emerges in our most innermost self. It manifests itself in the form of excitement, a surge of energy causes our heart to beat faster, an impulse brings our hands to feel the warmth of her arm; if the impulse receives a go-ahead signal the caress takes on more determination and becomes a hug, the hug a kiss: both bodies become possessed with desire and believe in the need to consummate the act of love.

     Each character an actor attempts to enliven has different levels of energy according to the circumstance or persons with which he or she must interact. She is seated gazing out the window. Suddenly she gets up, picks up the telephone receiver and dials a number. What led her to do that? Had she been carrying on an interior discussion concerning whether or not to call? Something caused her to act with determination, although she might also have repressed her movement stopping short of lifting the receiver.

    In real life we rarely plan our movements with the decisiveness with which an actor organizes his actions. However, everything an actor does on stage is considered by the spectator as purposeful. If the woman is looking out the window, it must be for some reason; if she suddenly picks up the telephone receiver, it certainly is because she has taken a decision.

     The beauty of the acting experience is the richness of meaning which the artists puts into each action, the realization that each action is interconnected but fundamentally different from the previous movement or the subsequent action. Acting is about transcendence and is dialectical in nature. Every action is the continuation and elaboration of a previous action which then gives way to yet another and in the process of exploring these different stages the actor seeks transcendence, transcendence based on the characteristics of the script he is working on.

     “A slight movement of the spine, a change in the direction of a look, can tell something about the inner life of the character and project his thoughts,” says Sonia Moore. Acting indeed is an extremely complex process, as is life itself. An actor speaks not only with the words he says but with the tension or relaxation of his body, with his silence, with the tone of his voice, with the expression in his eyes, with the images which surge in his mind, with the memories which flash in his consciousness when he straightens his tie or examines his face in the mirror.

    Yet there is great generosity in acting. What is done on stage is not for the actor’s stage companion; it is for the audience. Whatever the characteristics of the play might be, the purpose is to allow the spectator to “participate” in his or her own way in the actions, in the emotions, in the search for a solution to the conflict and in the thought processes of the characters on stage. The actor’s energy, impulses, determination, will power and belief are transmitted to the viewers, who in turn re-elaborate them.

Theater Demonstration Class November 30th in Buenos Aires

We all need to work towards clear objectives. First the group appears. They get to know each other limbering up body, voice and soul. Then the story appears. 

"Dramatic literature requires a responsiveness, not just of mind,but of the whole body," says S.W.Dawson, "so that the whole work realize itself."

At one point it becomes necessary to invite  spectators--that's how actors measure their achievements,that is the objective--to test their achievements in front of an audience.

Most of the participants in our demonstration class of theatre in English have had little or no previous acting experience. They have joined the workshop to improve their language and learn creative techniques.

If this idea attracts you, why not drop by 2444 Mendoza street in Buenos Aires at 4pm november 30th! There will be drama games and improvisations and we will present two short plays we have been working on this year.

"An inspectors calls," by J.B.Priestley about a working class girl who killed herself after having difficuties with eac member of the Birling family.

"A Blind Date," a comedy about why might go wrong when you go out with someone you don't know.

CONTACTS: hopalfred@gmail.com

The Hopkins Theatre Workshop announces two free demonstration classes November 30th and December 7th at 4pm, 2444 Mendoza street near Cabildo avenue in Buenos Aires. There will be warm up drills and drama games followed by the presentation of two plays the students have been working on:

1) "An Inspector Calls," an abreviated version of the play by Priestley, about an inspector who investigates the moral responsability of a family in the suicide of a working worman.

2) "A Blind Date," a comedy. What happens when a rather conventional engineer goes on a blind date with an actress whose refined tastes differ sharply from those of the builder of sky scrapers?

More information in facebook: stageandcamera  and the blog: stageandcamera.blogspot.com

Doomsday is upon us! Is it really?

Tomorrow is the day. Doomsday? Oh dear, what’s going to happen to the consumer society? Is this the end of the American Dream or just a momentary nightmare? What should I do with my dollars? Are they going to raise the debt ceiling again, yes, again? Will it get lost in the clouds? And then: what if those machines that print dollars were to break down? What if we were to run out of paper, I mean cutting down so many trees and all. Let’s see: when you raise the debt you have to print more dollars, don’t you? What if China, owner of millions of U.S. debt certificates, were to say: “Hey guys, pay up or else!” Where in the hell is this crazy system taking us to? Buy! Buy! Buy! Can’t I just take in a deep breath and tell my girlfriend she is the flower of my life...or do I have to go buy her a new mobile telephone? Why do politicians sometimes smile and say to us: “buy, buy, that’s the solution to the crisis!” Where are we supposed to get the money from? Isn’t there more to life than going to shopping centers?

Don’t we have the right to ask who started the crisis? And who benefits from it? And why is it that some are stacking up dollars as if they were piles of boxes and others can’t even find anything to put into the boxes? If it is really as serious as they say, why did the Pentagon spend millions threatening to bomb the hell out of Syria? Why is there always another war lurking around the corner—just when there’s a financial, economic, pocket book crisis? Isn’t this like the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea? Are there any other options? Will there be another Boston Tea Party? What will they throw into the sea this time? Good God! Some say we’ve gotta whack the state down to the elementals, the others say no the state should help people when the corporations act like Saturday evening casino players.

Doesn’t this remind you of the cowboy and indians? What was that slogan they used in the so-called westward movement? “The only good indian is a dead indian.” You’re either with us or against us. Black or white. Republican or Democrat. God or the Devil. Good or evil. Cristians or barbarians. Comunism or democracy. Sounds like the recorder has broken down. You listen but can only make out two options. And both are food for nightmares. So just sleep it off. How? How can I sleep if in just a few hours it will be October 17^th. Yes, this is it! Doomsday is upon us, almost!

Stageandcamera announces year end Demonstration Classes

November 30^th and December 7^th

At 4 O’clock in the afternoon

Featuring

                    “An Inspector Calls” by J.B. Priestley

                A shortened, adapted and filmed version by the workshop

      students. An inspector arrives to question members of the

      Birling family concerning their moral responsibility in the

      suicide of a woman who had worked at the Birling  factory.

                                “A Blind Date”   an anonymous comedy

                What happens when a young attractive and demanding actress

                accepts a blind date with an engineer whose culinary tastes begin

and end with hamburgers? A comedy acted and filmed by  workshop students, filled with surprises and an ending ending worthy of Hollywood.

Coach:                   Alfred Seymour Hopkins

Assistant:               Kiran Sharbis

               

Teleactuar Mendoza 2444 (near Cabildo ave.), CABA

Information and booking: hopalfred@gmail.com /

kiransharbis@gmail.com /

http://stageandcamera.blogspot.com.ar

David Maler, director, talks about the staging of "American Dreams and an Elephant"

    

He was busy writing when I entered the café and walked up to his table hesitantly. “Are you David Maler, the theater director?” We had agreed to meet in the La Paz bar-café in Buenos Aires, still a hang-out for artists and egg-heads. The subject? “American Dreams and an Elephant” and the more evasive subject of theater, how actors are like magicians because they create something from nothing.

“My name is David Maler, I’m 23 years old and I’m from the Dominican Republic. I was born in a little fisherman’s village on the southeast of the island. A very picturesque place, no more than 500 people, and my father is an artist and maybe that’s why he chose the place—no electricity, no television, no phones. I grew up there but also travelled around with him and so I have lived in those two very contrasting environments.

“And then somewhere along the line theater appeared...”

“I was a pretty lazy student, really laid back, but then the school put on a show once a year in our school and that was the only time I would work as hard as I could. It seemed to come naturally. Then when I was 16 I did a musical—Jesus Christ Superstar. It wasn’t a big production but I would drive two hours to take lessons with a singing coach. And I realized that that was the first time I really wante to work for something.

“What kind of theater inspires you?”

“Before I graduated I found through a friend of my father’s an amazing theater coach, called Jack Walter, from the Actor’s Studio in New York. He comes from Method and studied with Lee Strasberg and other key figures in the theater world but developed his own approach. So that’s my way to work usually but this play—American Dreams and an Elephant, being played at the El Tinglado teatro in Buenos Aires City—is diffirent because it is a comedy. I do love Russian playwrites though, for all of the dark turmoil that appears in their plays.

-

“Perhaps we might refer also to the internal effect that theater has had on you.”

“We all grow up supressing so many things, but theater has that almost therapeutic effect of allowing those emotions to flow that you have been holding back for so long, although I have always felt that the line should be very clearly established between psychology and theater.”

“Where did the idea for the show come from?”

“Well, Dennis Weisbrot, the author, went to see a play I was acting in. Later on we began working together. But initially “American Dreams” was directed by a woman. A problem appeared concerning the necessay adaptation of the play. It could be presented in any city at any time, but the danger is the possible loss of the strong criticism of U.S. society. Anyway, I dropped out of the project for a while but kept in touch with Dennis. Five or six months ago he called me up and said listen I want to start this up again and asked me if I wanted to direct the play. I re-read it and, well, I was a bit nervious because I had never directed a play before that. So I read it and re-read it until five O’Clock in the morning and then called him up and said: “I’ll do it.” That’s how it all started. “

“How did you go about it?”

“Initially the idea was that everyone would direct his own sketch. But there had to be someone to make sure that a line went through the whole thing. It’s difficult because the show is not lineal: you have four sketches, each completely different. I received a lot of help from the actors telling me how they saw their roles in each scene.”

“In your opinion what is the underlying idea in the four sketches?”

“It has to due with the processes that are taking place in U.S. society, so if you are northamerican you can relate to it more but I think a lot of the processes which are happening are taking place all over the world, globalization, alienation, what is happening at the workplace, information, technology, the effects of war and what that is going to mean for future generations. The show touches on all of these taboo things which are there but we don’t really talk about them. “

“The show appears to have many different messages, not only what is in the script...”

“It isn’t just saying the lines but how you say them. The characters are very cartoonish. Physically we had to make clear to the audience what kind of characters we are dealing with. That called for over the top actions, to the physical actions, to small details, the movement of the hand, how the actors look at the audience. As they say, the eyes are the windows of the soul and in thise case it was extremely important to seek complicity with the audience in circumstances that are very uncomfortable. It is as if the characters were seeking approval. One thing that appears frequently in the sketches is ritual, how actions are repeated robot like and that is a good technique for comedy.”

David Maler, director of “American Dreams and an Elephant.”

On stage Wednesdays at 8pm at the El Tinglado teatro in Buenos Aires City, 948 Mario Bravo. Booking: 4863 1188.

Henri Bergson:"An essay on the meaning of the comic"

At first glance it might appear that comedy is easier than drama; yet an exploration of the nature of good comedy must necessarily lead us to a contrary conclusion. Comedy has its rules; for example the French writer Henri Bergson believed an important ingredient of humor is an involuntary act; likewise the mechanical aspects of life. The following extract is from Bergson's "An essay on the meaning of the comic:"

"A man, running along the street, stumbles and falls; the passers-by burst out laughing. They would not laugh at him, I imagine, could they suppose that the whim had suddenly seized him to sit down on the ground. They laugh because his sitting down is involuntary.

"Consequently, it is not his sudden change of attitude that raises a laugh, but rather the involuntary element in this change,--his clumsiness, in fact. Perhaps there was a stone on the road. He should have altered his pace or avoided the obstacle. Instead of that, through lack of elasticity, through absentmindedness and a kind of physical obstinacy, AS A RESULT, IN FACT, OF RIGIDITY OR OF MOMENTUM, the muscles continued to perform the same movement when the circumstances of the case called for something else. That is the reason of the man’s fall, and also of the people’s laughter.

"Now, take the case of a person who attends to the petty occupations of his everyday life with mathematical precision. The objects around him, however, have all been tampered with by a mischievous wag, the result being that when he dips his pen into the inkstand he draws it out all covered with mud, when he fancies he is sitting down on a solid chair he finds himself sprawling on the floor, in a word his actions are all topsy-turvy or mere beating the air, while in every case the effect is invariably one of momentum. Habit has given the impulse: what was wanted was to check the movement or deflect it. He did nothing of the sort, but continued like a machine in the same straight line. 

"The victim, then, of a practical joke is in a position similar to that of a runner who falls,--he is comic for the same reason. The laughable element in both cases consists of a certain MECHANICAL INELASTICITY, just where one would expect to find the wide-awake adaptability and the living pliableness of a human being. The only difference in the two cases is that the former happened of itself, whilst the latter was obtained artificially. In the first instance, the passer-by does nothing but look on, but in the second the mischievous wag intervenes.

"All the same, in both cases the result has been brought about by an external circumstance. The comic is therefore accidental: it remains, so to speak, in superficial contact with the person. How is it to penetrate within? The necessary conditions will be fulfilled when mechanical rigidity no longer requires for its manifestation a stumbling-block which either the hazard of circumstance or human knavery has set in its way, but extracts by natural processes, from its own store, an inexhaustible series of opportunities for externally revealing its presence. Suppose, then, we imagine a mind always thinking of what it has just done and never of what it is doing, like a song which lags behind its accompaniment. 

"Let us try to picture to ourselves a certain inborn lack of elasticity of both senses and intelligence, which brings it to pass that we continue to see what is no longer visible, to hear what is no longer audible, to say what is no longer to the point: in short, to adapt ourselves to a past and therefore imaginary situation, when we ought to be shaping our conduct in accordance with the reality which is present. This time the comic will take up its abode in the person himself; it is the person who will supply it with everything--matter and form, cause and opportunity. Is it then surprising that the absent-minded individual--for this is the character we have just been describing-- has usually fired the imagination of comic authors? 

"When La Bruyere came across this particular type, he realised, on analysing it, that he had got hold of a recipe for the wholesale manufacture of comic effects. As a matter of fact he overdid it, and gave us far too lengthy and detailed a description of Menalque, coming back to his subject, dwelling and expatiating on it beyond all bounds. The very facility of the subject fascinated him. Absentmindedness, indeed, is not perhaps the actual fountain-head of the comic, but surely it is contiguous to a certain stream of facts and fancies which flows straight from the fountain-head. It is situated, so to say, on one of the great natural watersheds of laughter."

In one of his most celebrated statements on the nature of theatrical art, British director, playwrite and student of theatre Peter Brook, suggests that acting has to do with a tiny quiver inside one's body. This notion leads him to give us some extremely important advise on the nature of theatrical art. The following quotation comes from the chaper "The Immediate Space" in Brook's "The Empty Space," published in 1972 by Pelican Books.

"Acting begins with a tiny inner movement so slight that it is almost completely invisible. We see this when we compare film and stage acting: a good stage actor can act in films, not necessarily vice versa. What happens? I make a proposition to an actor's imagination such as, 'She is leaving you.' At this moment deep in him a subtle movement occurs. Not only in actors. The movement occurs in anyone, but in most non-actors the movement is too slight to manifest itself in any way: the actor is a more sensitive instrument and in him the tremor is detected. In the cinema the great magnifier, the lens, describes this to the film that notes it down, so for the cinema the first flicker is all. In early theatre rehearsals, the impulse may get no further than a flicker--even if the actor wishes to amplify it, all sorts of extraneous psychic psychological tensions can intervene--then the current is short-circuited, earthed. For this flicker to pass into the whole organism, a total relaxation must be there, either god-given or brought about by work. This, in short, is what rehearsals are all about. In this way actors are mediumistic: the idea suddenly envelops the whole in an act of possession: in Grotowski's terminology the actors are 'penetrated'--penetrated by themselves. In very young actors, the obstacles are sometimes very elastic, penetration can happen with surprising ease and they can give subtle and complex encarnations that are the despair of those who have evolved their skill over years. Yet later, with success and experience, the same young actors build up their barriers to themselves."

Our comment:  The acting experience subjects us to a world that goes beyond the one we know. Everything is different. When we improvise we take possession of a (usually) empty space. We invent characters, bring them to life; we imagine places, perhaps castles or offices or beaches where we have never been. We do things we probably would never do in real life. We are allowed to use our voices in sharp contrast to the way we do so outside the rehearsal room. Instead of fretting and stewing about "what is correct" we set about constructing something believable. And we do it together. What we do depends to a great extent on what our companions do because theatre is a social game. When we think we can't do it, someone claps and praises us for how well we have acted. We think we know how to act and we stumble along as if we were blind, as if we had attempted acting for the first time. Then, as Brook so nicely puts it, "a tiny inner movement" begins...and we are on our way!

Interviews with students of the Buenos Aires Stage and Camera Workshop

 What do the students feel about their progress at the workshop on theatre and acting before cameras which began in Buenos Aires three months ago? We have asked them their opinions and here are some of the answers:

Demian Renzulli:

 What led you decide to participate in the theatre workshop?

I needed to speak  English regularly, because my work requires it. While living abroad for a while I found out that speaking with native people is a quite different experience from studying the language at an institute. When I would return to BA and stop speaking in English for a couple of months, I'd feel I was losing touch with that spontaneity you need to sound natural.
I also watch theatre plays regularly and I love reading. Some of my favorite writers (Wilde, Amis, Bukowski) wrote in English. I  was curious about experimenting with something completely new when I heard about the workshop. I considered it to be the best way to connect up all of these things..

 Do you feel this experience has improved your English? Has it increased your knowledge about acting and creativity?

I have always admired the work of many famous actors and heard stories about guys like Day Lewis or Dustin Hoffman who go very far out to get into the skin of the characters they represent. I always found that very interesting but at the same time, a bit hard to believe.

After taking some classes and having a glimpse of what the process involves, I understand that it's not just memorizing a few lines and going to stage trying to look convincing. The whole thing includes a bit of technique, creativity, and specially team work; it's really hard to achieve good results at the end of the process.

Concerning English, I think tjhis is a good combination bringing together reading and speaking. You likewise learn a lot by listening to your fellow actors, observing how each actor handles the different situations, specially while improvising.

Does doing both theatre and acting in front of cameras produce confusion or uncertainity? Which do you prefer and why?

I find it a bit harder to do it in front of cameras. The notion about ignoring that object that's always pointing at you as if it wasn't there, is a bit confusing, really. You also have to control your body and be careful with your voice and watch out for other noises.

In movies, you can take a shot many times and perhaps the final product depends more on the director: he decides how many takes will be made and which will finally go into the movie.

On the contrary, in theatre I think there's more freedom. Also, what people finally enjoy (or not), depends mainly on the actors and what happens in real time. If you mess up you can't go back and do it again.

I think from the point of view of an actor, I would say that I prefer theatre but even so I find it very interesting to learn about filmaking and all that stuff.

CARMEN LOPEZ

 What led you to participate in the theatre workshop?

My love for the English language along with a need I felt to enhance my ability to express myself better –in any language- was what made me decide to participate in the theatre workshop. As a journalist, I have always enjoyed reading British/American news articles. Besides, I like contemporary English literature (particularly authors such as David Lodge and Philip Roth, who write satires). As before taking up this workshop, I had never attended theatre classes, I thought (and still think) that in a foreign language I might be able to lose my inhibitions more easily. In a word, joining the theatre workshop is part of a personal quest for both enjoyment and self-development.   

 Do you feel this experience has improved your English? Has it increased your knowledge about acting and creativity?

While I didn’t take this workshop in order to improve my English, it certainly has helped! As regards my knowledge about acting, this is my first experience, so I know that there’s a long way left to run. However, I feel that I immediately experienced an improvement in my creativity. The activities in the workshop have helped me a lot to be less stuck in my ways and become more mindful of everyday life (perhaps looking for ideas to perform better)!

 Does doing both theatre and acting in front of cameras produce confusion or uncertainity? Which do you prefer and why?

It’s been quite difficult for me to act in front of cameras, particularly because of my complete lack of experience in “ordinary” acting. I guess that, as soon as I learn the basics (which is taking me quite a long time!), I will enjoy it. Anyway this experience is going to be very useful for my professional career –as a journalist—I mean learning how to act in front of cameras can obviously be important for journalists!  Nevertheless, for now I think I prefer developing my skills in for acting on stage. But one never knows. Maybe later on I will change my mind!

 MARIAN OTTONELLO

What made you decide to participate in the theatre workshop?

I started loving theatre at a very early age, when I attended an English school where our school plays were all in English. After I finished School I started began studying theatre in different Theatre Schools and also took some seminaries. However, when I heard about the possibility to act in front of cameras in English, I wanted to try it because it would give me the opportunity to do what I had done in school but now as a grown-up. As I don´t often use the language now, this is an opportuity to freshen up or  practice my English in the way I most enjoy, through acting. I think this workshop will also be important for my my acting CV.

Do you feel this experience has improved your English? Has it increased your knowledge about acting and creativity?

           
 In my case, I’m not sure if it has improved my English but it has helped to  keep in practice and use the language well. Concerning the acting aspect, I think I’m learning  how to act in front of cameras, as I feel I am already attached to the theatrical way of acting. For example, I’m getting more used to the idea of economizing my actions and facial expressions. Sometimes I´m really afraid of exaggerating things, and maybe before the camera things must be a bit more “bigger” in order for the spectator to notice those actions and reactions. The idea of the workshop is to learn by playing, to play in order to find the character we are working on, so exaggerating things is part of the exploration we carry out in working on  our characters.  

Does doing both theatre and acting in front of cameras produce confusion or uncertainty? Which do you prefer and why?

I love the idea of being in front of cameras, always did. But now that I have the experience of both theatre and cameras, I really enjoying it and believe it´s useful for my acting overall experience. Of the two I realize I prefer theatre, because that´s what I always have always done.I feel more comfortable and have always enjoyed being there at that exact moment, all the feelings it provokes and the public in front of us. I prefer the whole story taking place right there, than filming on scenes. Of course I understand that´s how it is working with cameras and find it interesting and can benifit from mis stakes; yet I prefer to improvise something fast on the moment if I’ve made a mistake and carry on, because solving issues on stage is part of being a theatre actor.