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Description:
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The social and cultural upheaval of the 1960s spawned a wide range of "alternative" theatre companies concerned with finding a solution to what they perceived as the imminent death of theatre in the United States . The Performance Group , under the direction of Richard Schechner , proved one of the most important .
The study is presented in three sections . Section one sets forth the history of TPG , the theory of environmental theatre , and a study of influences upon the company's work . Section two examines the productions Dionysus in 69 , Makbeth , and Commune with regard to their development from the initial idea through performance , including descriptions of the physical environments , acting problems , and performance methodology . The concluding section summarizes TPG's actor training and performance methods , the role of the actor in the mise -en -scene , and unique problems arising from the basic theories of environmental theatre . It studies the changing definition of the actor's role in theatre and explores the contribution that TPG's work can make to contemporary developments in actor training .
TPG pioneered a style of performance that emphasized the actor as the central figure in the creative theatrical process , working within an environmental design that merged audience and performance spaces . In the course of their productions , the company developed a system of actor training which drew upon numerous antecedents in theatre , social science , music , dance , and visual art . They created a methodology concerned with mastery of the actor's physical and vocal instrument , self -referentiality , and heightened communication among actors and between actors and audience . Their training process provides a means of dealing with many of the problems which face actors working in the contemporary theatre . |