Psychophysical actor training
Life, work and teaching
Phillip Zarrilli developed a psychophysical approach to actor training through practices drawn from Asian martial arts and yoga. Psychophysical describes the relationship between the actor's mental and bodily activity in performance.
His training addresses breath, attention, awareness, energy, and the performer’s capacity to shape action. Traditional disciplines are brought into a studio language through which their principles can be investigated in contemporary acting. Zarrilli describes the training as preparation of the actor's bodymind for performance.
The actor's study
The process concerns the impulses and structure of an actor's actions within a particular dramaturgy. Awareness and feeling develop in relation to the work being performed. Physical practice and the actor's interior life are examined together.
For your training, Zarrilli provides a substantial reference for preparation of the instrument. Read his own description to understand the disciplines involved and how he adapts them for actors. Preserve their cultural origins when comparing this work with other approaches to breath, movement, imagination, and presence.
