Day 6

Assignment: Read "Lillian" by David Cale. The first monologue play in the book, Talk To Me.
News: The World of Storytelling is expected to be in by Wednesday. Please have a copy with you for class on Friday.

Today we met in the Belk Theatre to watch Gwenda LedBetter perform a section of her show, Friday's Father.
Consider that a generation of theatre artists embarked on a "hero's journey" into the world of storytelling and are making their return to the stage with the boon of their experience. Gwenda's work may be an example of this returning.

Comments following the performance:
Caitlin noted that the storyteller enjoys the prerogative of commenting on the story, introducing a personal reaction, etc. in short, being herself. As opposed to the actor bound in an impersonation.
Chip suggested the idea of the "actor's contract" and asked what the "storyteller's contract" might be.
What are the unspoken agreements between teller and listener and how might they be different from the expectation of actors?

The discussion raises concerns about the role of the actor similar to those explored by Bertolt Brecht in the 1930's and formulated by him as a style he named "epic". Note that Brecht was greatly influenced by the work of Meyerhold (biomechanics) and was doing his pioneering work in Germany at the same time that Decroux was developing his "corporeal mime" in France.
Links for more: Brecht's Epic Actor, Meyerhold's Biomechanics, Decroux's Corporeal Mime.
Also, an interesting sampling of Decroux's work on film.