Character analysis and movement psychology
Life, work and teaching
Yat Malmgren developed a distinctive approach to character analysis from his background in dance and the work of Rudolf Laban. He co-founded Drama Centre London with Christopher Fettes and John Blatchley in 1963.
His teaching joined movement psychology with the actor's inner motivation and expressive behaviour. Laban's analysis of movement supplied a vocabulary for examining the relationship between physical action, psychological impulse, and character. Malmgren adapted and developed that inheritance for actors.
The actor's study
The work offers a route into transformation through the actor's body. Its concern with internal motivation and outward expression connects the physical instrument with the construction of a role. The Drama Centre tradition carried this training into the work of British and international actors.
For your study, distinguish Malmgren's character analysis from Laban's broader movement system. The connection is substantial, and the later development has its own teaching history. Reading about both makes the relationship between movement, intention, and characterization more precise.
