What becomes possible when a role asks for a way of being that is unfamiliar to you?
The Actor's Other Selves: Subpersonalities as an Acting Approach, by Eric Morris. Ermor Enterprises, 2021. ISBN 9780983629986.
What the book addresses
Morris's tenth book focuses on subpersonalities as resources for actors. The publisher's description traces an inquiry from Jung and the formation of selves into experience and choice hunting, ways of accessing a self, Externals, Imaging and character research. It includes Voice Dialogue, writing, movement, dance, music, drawing and roleplay among its approaches.
Publisher-supplied description and library record · Morris's announcement of his tenth book.
How to read it
Begin by distinguishing the actor, the character and the particular self you are exploring. The role may contain contradictory impulses that a single personality label cannot hold. Follow the book's account of how a self becomes experientially available, then examine what the material actually requires. Notice the difference between discovering an impulse and deciding how to use it within a scene. Read the complete directions before attempting a technique; a list of chapter subjects cannot supply the process.
An original rehearsal investigation
Choose a scene you already know. Identify two contrasting demands you can support from the text, such as protecting someone and insisting on a difficult truth. Explore each demand through an ordinary physical action and a short spoken passage. Then play the whole scene with a partner, allowing the relationship to affect you. Afterwards, name a concrete change in breath, rhythm, attention or behavior. This is an original JBAS reading investigation, not a reproduced Morris exercise or a Voice Dialogue session.
Connections and distinctions
The book makes a direct connection between psychological inquiry and the practical preparation of a role. Compare it with Acting, Imaging and the Unconscious and with the Stones' account of the Psychology of Selves. Preserve the origins of Voice Dialogue when studying Morris's acting applications. A character's behavior is not a diagnosis, and an imagined self does not settle who you are.
Selves, voice and acting craft
Morris’s distinction between instrument and craft connects Personal Inventory, Sensory Work and Imaging with the actor’s preparation. The Stones’ Psychology of Selves investigates primary and disowned selves; Roy Hart voice work expands the exploration through sound and movement. In JBAS Archetype Work, these resources support awareness, expressive range and character exploration. The practical task is to discover what a particular approach changes in the actor’s experience and in the scene.
Hal and Sidra Stone in actor training · Subpersonality · Archetype.
This original reading guide introduces the book through its published description and provides JBAS study questions. Read the complete book for Morris's developed argument and exercise instructions.
Eric Morris: biography, contribution and all ten books · Further Reading.
