DANCING IN THE DARK: FORGING A NEW APPROACH TO ACTOR TRAINING

A Thesis

Presented to

The Faculty of the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre

San Jose State University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

By

Gwen Templeton

May 2004

© 2004

Gwen Templeton

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ABSTRACT

This thesis addresses the apparent mind-body split found in modern American actor training through the research and development of an exercise called Dancing in the Dark. The exercise is a guided journey of dance and music designed to induce trance states in its participants. This thesis examines the origins and development of this exercise and its subsequent employment in which the participants provided survey responses to test the success of trance induction. Building on the research gathered from the Dancing in the Dark workshop participants, the exercise was then employed repeatedly with a cast of actors in San Jose State’s production of The Crucible. Research gathered from the actors’ journal entries chronicle the use of the exercise in rehearsal. The journal entries also provide the litmus test for evaluating how the actors’ perceived the altered states of consciousness affected their ability to perform.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	vi
Chapter One Actor as Shaman: A New Approach to Physical Action and the Training of the Actor	1
Chapter Two The Neo-Pagan Way: Drumming, Dancing and the Origins of the Exercise	21
Chapter Three Dancing in the Dark: Teaching Trance States Induction Through Movement Improvisation	38
Chapter Four The Crucible: Bringing Dancing in the Dark into Rehearsal	62
Chapter Five Dancing in the Footlights: Actors’ Perceptions of Performance	86
Appendix A Pantheacon Survey	103
Appendix B Annotated Bibliography	104
Works Cited	111

Works Cited

Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Expanded Ed. New York: Peguin-Arkana, 1986.

“About NROOGD.” Newly Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. October 2002 <http://www.nroogd.org/who.htm>.

Chapple, Eliot D. Culture and Biological Man. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1970.

Cohen, Robert. Acting One. 4^th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.

Diamond, David. “Balancing Acts: Anne Bogart and Kristin Linklater Debate the
Current Trends in American Actor-Training.” American Theatre

volume 18. (January 2001). February 4, 2004. <http://www.tcg.org/am_theatre/at_articles/AT_Volume_18/Jan01/jan01_bogart_linklater.html>.

“Dark Forest Basic Script.” Newly Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. Unpublished script. September 2002.

Gowan, John Curtis. Trance, Art and Creativity. Northridge California: California State University Press, 1975.

Grotowski, Jerzy. Towards a Poor Theatre. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968.

Graber, Ken. Ghosts in the Bedroom. Deerfeild Beach, Florida: Heath Communications, Inc. 1991.

Harlow, Alison. Personal interview. 21 October 2002.

Heller, Joseph and William Henkin. Bodywise. Berkeley, California: Wingbow Press, 1986.

Johari, Harish. Charkas: Energy Centers of Transformation. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1987.

“Journal Entries.” San Jose State University, The Crucible Cast. Unpublished Journals. November 2004.

Kelly, Aidan A., ed. Neo-Pagan Witchcraft II. New York: Garland, 1990.

McCoy, Edain. Celtic Women’s Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2001.

Marowitz, Charles. The Act of Being: Towards a Theory of Acting. New York: 1978.

Marowitz, Charles. The Other Way: an Alternative Approach to Acting and Directing. New York: Applause Books, 1999.

Marowitz, Charles. Stanislavski and the Method. New York: The Citadel Press, 1964.

Mischke, Annette. Personal interview. 4 November 2002.

Newly Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. “Script for Public Ritual.” Unpublished script. September 2002.

Nehar, Andrew. Human Biology. Vol. 34. New York: Anchor Books, 1962.

Ornstein, Robert. The Psychology of Consciousness. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman, 1972.

“Pantheacon 2003.” Ancient Ways Newsletter. 8. 2. Spring 2003.

Redmond, Layne. When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm. New York: Three Rivers Books, 1997.

Rouget, Gilbert. Music and Trance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.

Sacharow, Lawrence. “Enemies: A Russian Love Story, Meyerhold and Stanislavsky, the Two Opposing Titans of Russian Theatre, Are the Seeds for Renewal and Reawakening in Today’s Moscow?” American Theatre, Jan. 2004: 34+.

Schechner, Richard and Lisa Wolford, ed. The Grotowski Sourcebook. London: Routledge, 2001.

“Survey Responses.” Pantheacon. Unpublished Surveys. 2003.

Starhawk. The Spiral Dance. Tenth Anniversary Ed. San Francisco: Harper-Collins, 1989.

Suzuki,Tadashi. The Way of the Actor. NewYork: Theater Communications Group, 1986.

Turner, Glenn. Personal Interview. 21 September 2002.

Templeton, Gwen. Dancing in the Dark. Unpublished Script. Pantheacon 2003.

Waugh, Stephen. An Acrobat of the Heart: A Physical Approach to Acting, Inspired by the Work of Jerzy Grotowski. New York: Vintage Books/ Random House, 2000.

“Witchcraft: A Spiritual and Ethical Overview.” Covenant of the Goddess. October 2002 <http://www.cog.org/gog_overview.html>.

Walker, Barbara G. The Women’s Dictionary of Myth and Symbols. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

Appendix B

Annotated Bibliography of Additional Resources

Acting Texts:

Finlay, Robert and Vallee, Lillian. Grotowski and His Laboratory. New York: PAJ Publications, 1986.

Kumiega, Jennifer. The Theatre of Grotwoski. New York, Methuen Inc., 1985.

Mitter, Shomit. Systems of Rehearsal: Stanislavsky, Brecht, Grotowski and Brook. London: Routledge, 1992.

Moffitt, Dale. Bewteen Two Silences: Talking with Peter Brook. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1999.

Shaman Texts: Scholarship among Neo-Pagan texts can at times be dubious, in order to solve this dilemma, I broadened my research to encompass a wide scope of the available literature. I have included annotation of the following texts to assist the reader is reviewing this literature.

Bend, Cynthia and Wiger, Tayja. Birth of the Modern Shaman. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1988. Interesting book on the experiential journey a person takes as a shaman.

Condren, Mary. The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1989. Matriarchal legends from ancient Celtic mythology wrapped in a beautifully written book.

Campbell, Joseph. “The Way of the Animal Powers”. The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Memphis: Vanderbilt University Dept. of Environmental & Water Resources Engineering,1983. A study of the way many ancient cultures has mixed images of man and animal to denote sexual power, He draws on his expertise in anthropology, paleontology, ethnology, archeology and linguistics to interests anyone concerned with mythology, comparative religion, history, and the study of man.

Conway, D.J. By Oak, Ash and Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism. St. Paul Minn.: Llewellyn, 1994. An exploration of Shamanic practices by the ancient Celtic Druids – a history as well as a book of rituals.

Conway, D.J. Falcon Feather and Valkyrie Sword: Feminine Shamanism, Witchcraft and Magick. St. Paul Minn.: Llewellyn, 1995. Look at shamanism in women’s spiritual practice, concerned more with the Norse mythology. An Asatru study.

Conway, D.J. Maiden, Mother, Crone: The Myth and Reality of the Triple Goddess. St. Paul Minn.: Llewellyn, 1995. Fascinating study of the three faces of the goddess in Wicca, with stunning illustrations.

Dames, Michael. “The Goddess in Wales.” ReVision. 21. 3 (1999): 15-30. This is an interesting article on the history and flourishing goddess worship in modern England.

Fitch, Eric L. In Search of Herne the Hunter. London: Capall Bann Publishing,1991. A study of the legend of Herne, takes an interesting view on Herne actually developing from the Celtic name for the horned god Cernunnos the Stag Lord.

Goodrich, Norma Lorre. Priestesses. New York: Harper Collins, 1989. Goodrich’s book is a study of priestesses from the Hitties through the Romans.

Graves, Robert. The White Goddess. New York: Farrar, Straus and Girioux, 1966. A great work of poetic verse; that can sometime be confused for scholarship. This is a massive, mythic framework for the Goddess. Graves work is a really important book in the history of the rise of Neo-Pagan spiritual practice.

Green, Miranda. Animals in Celtic Life and Myth. London: Routledge, 1997. This is a general history and overview of the importance of animal worship in Celtic mythology; especially in the combining of man and animal to denote power.

Green, Miranda. Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson, 1998. Green’s book is a general history of Celtic mythology and legend; a wealth of information on the diversity of roles played by animals in Iron Age Celtic society.

Green, Miranda. The Gods of the Celts. New York: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1997. This book is a history and study of Cernunnos the Stag Lord, the Celtic god of the forests; and beasts. Among the topics are cults of the sun and sky, fertility and mother goddesses, animals and animalism, and symbolism and imagery.

Janto, Hrana. “Hrana's Gallery of Goddesses”. HranaJanto.com. February 2003. <http://www.hranajanto.com/goddessgallery/GGF-all.html>. This is a really beautiful web site containing stunning images and historical information about the goddesses of the world.

Jones, Noragh. Power of Raven, Wisdom of Serpent: Celtic Women’s Spirituality. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1994. A study of the three faces of the goddess, centered in Celtic mythology.

Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James. The Malleus Maleficarum. This is a very brutal and informative book written in the 1500’s on how to spot a witch and burn her. This book is very significant in explaining the origin of witch-hunts and persecutions of witches throughout history. The text was written originally by two Catholic priests, in which they fabricated evil practices of witches and ways to identify them and eradicate them.

McCoy, Edain. Celtic Women’s Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2001. A good source of practice, theory and ritual ideas – deals mainly with the female pantheon of Celtic mythology.

Lugodoc, “Shrine of the Horned Gods.” Lugodoc.com. February 2003 <http://www.lugodoc.demon.co.uk/oldgods.htm>. A wonderfully informative site filled with information about the male deities in Wiccan practice.

Northup, Lesley A. “Narrative and Women’s Ritualizing.” Women and Language. 19. 1 (1996): 53-59. This is a rather informative article describing the experiences of women, who have formed ritual groups; under the guise of feminist psychotherapy.

Percy, Thomas. Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. London: Routledge, 1st edition, 1996. Book of ancient poetry of Britain, contains Celtic and Anglo- Saxon verse, a collection of ballads, songs, romances and historical poetry, annotated with Percy's literary-antiquarian observations. It is a seminal text in English literature, one that profoundly influenced writers from Thomas Chatterton to Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Rowan, John. The Horned God. London: Routledge, 1993. A study of the combining of man and beast in many cultures, the horns of the stag typically signified shamanic powers.

Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. New York: Dorset Press, 1976. A study of Matriarchal religions of the ancient world. This work has a feminist viewpoint and is a wealth of source material.

Valiente, Doreen. Witchcraft for Tomorrow. London: Robert Hale, 1978. A lucid and well written book on wicca –written from the viewpoint of a Gardnarian priestess.

Vinci, Leo. Pan: Great God of Nature. London: Neptune Press, 1995. A study of the ancient Greek God Pan, the god of Nature: fields and forests, The god of music, sheep, shepards, bee keeping, and general fertility gods.

Worth, Valerie. The Crone’s Book of Words. St. Paul, Minn: Llewellyn, 1971. A well written book on the third face of the goddess, the old and wise stage of the crone. The book contains beautiful poetry as well and a wonderful book of shadows.

The Wiccan Way: Neo-Pagan Practice and Mythology: The Neo-Pagan literature has the same problem in scholarship found in many of the shamanic texts. To circumvent this problem, I have included a wide scope of the literature and provided short annotation to all the entries to assist the reader.

“About NROOGD.” New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. October 2002 <http://www.nroogd.org/who.htm>. Web site hosted by NROOGD – clearing house for basic information about NROOGD and calendar for their public events.

Ashley, Leonard R. N. The Complete Book of Magic and Witchcraft. New York: Barricade Press, Inc., 1986. Basic how to practice Wicca book, has a really impressive herbal grimore.

Baskin, Wade, and Wedeck, H. E. Dictionary of Pagan Religions. New York: Philosophical Library, 1971. An encyclopedia of knowledge on non-Christian religions. This book is written from a Christian viewpoint and can be a little misinformed in some areas, especially with some of the pagan deities.

Campanelli, Dan and Pauline. Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1991. General history on the Sabbats, includes basic mythology of the Celts, Greeks and Romans.

Campanelli, Dan and Pauline. Circles, Groves and Sanctuaries. St. Paul, Llewellyn, 1991. A book on the ways pagans worship and the places where their rituals take place.

Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1992. An exploration of early Celtic and Druidic magickal practice.

Cookson, Catherine. “Reports From the Trenches: A Case Study of Religious Freedom Issues Faced by Wiccans Practicing in the United States.” Journal of Church and State. 39. 4 (1997): 723-48. Article focusing on how openly practicing Wicca has led to some fairly horrific difficulties for people in smaller suburban communities, includes personal accounts of court cases and police files.

Crowley, Vivianne. Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age. London: Aquarian, 1989. Basic history and practice book on Wicca.

Eliade, Mircea. Rites and Symbols of Initiation. New York: Harper and Row, 1969. Strange little book on the secret rites of pagans. This is written from a non pagan viewpoint and at times can be hilariously misinformed. But it is a good barometer of what non-pagans may have been raised to think of witchcraft.

Farrar, Janet and Stewart. Eight Sabbats For Witches. London: Robert Hale, 1981. A book of theory and practice; giving history and rituals for the eight holy days in the wheel of the year.

Gardner, Gerald B. The Meaning of Witchcraft. London: Aquarian, 1959. One of the first scholarly texts ever written on Witchcraft. Influential in many ways, it is the ‘bible’ of the Gardnarian tradition of Wicca. Gardner is considered to be the “father of modern Witchcraft” and founder of the Gardnarian tradition. This book is a fascinating look into the mind of a divine madman.

Gardner, Gerald B. Witchcraft Today. New York: Citidel, 1955. First published after the repeal of the Witchcraft Acts in England. There is some questionable scholarship here, but if not for Gardner the rest of the scholarly work on Neo-Pagan worship would not have been written.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. Combined Ed. London: Penguin, 1992. This is a monumental framework of the Greek and Roman myths.

Hauck, William Dennis. The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation. New York: Peguin-Compass, 1999. A study of approaching Shamanism from the practice of Thelemic magick, this book is a strange and interesting idea to approach the experience from the ceremonial.

Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Wiccan 101 – but contains a great book of recipes used for the Sabbat rituals.

Kelly, Aidan A., ed. Neo-Pagan Witchcraft II. New York: Garland, 1990. Controversial book about Wicca, some scholars have criticized this work as being a weird paraphrase of other’s works. However the parts, which are truly from Adian Kelly’s mind are fascinating.

Lorde, Clair and Simon. The Wiccan Guide to Witches Ways. New South Wales, Australia: K.J. Forrest, 1980. How to guide on Wiccan ritual, has more information on the horned one than usually found.

Magliocco, Sabina. Neo-Pagan Sacred Art and Altars: Making Things Whole. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001. This is a beautiful book detailing the use of art and tools in ritual practice. The book has lots of stunning pictures.

Martello, Leo L. Witchcraft the Old Religion. Secaucus: University Books, 1974. This is a book that is a general history of witchcraft from ancient to modern times.

McCoy, Edain. Inside a Witch’s Coven. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1997. A inside view of what it is like to work in a small private group – highlights most of the differences between public and private rituals.

McCoy, Edain. Making Magick. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1997. This is a collection of rituals, and serves as a brief history and starter guide on Wicca.

McCoy, Edain. The Sabbats. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1994. Contains the history and ideas for ritual for each of the eight great holy days on the witches’ calendar.

McCoy, Edain. A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1994. This is a really interesting exploration into the mythology and history of faeries – mainly based in Celtic and Norse traditions.

Newly Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn. “Script for Public Ritual.” Unpublished script. September 2002. Script used in all NROOGD public rituals although the general content may change the form of the script always remains the same.

Pennick, Nigel. The Pagan Book of Days. Rochester, Vt.: Destiny, 1992. This is a brief history and practice overview of the eight great holy days on the wheel of the year.

Reik, Theodor. Pagan Rites in Judaism: From Sex Initiation, Magic, Moon-cult, Multiation, and Other Primitive Rituals. New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 1964. This is a really fascinating book about initiations in Judaism and pagan religions.

Repohl, Roger F. “Liturgy as Vehicle.” America. 171. 8 (1994): 18-25. A journal article about using religious liturgy, or performance texts in non-performative situations – how to on raising the energy of a crowd.

Schechner, Richard. The Future of Ritual: Writings on Culture and Performance. London: Routledge, 1993. Interesting book on how rituals have been a part of theater and are now creeping back into theatrical work.

Stewart, R. J. Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses. London: Blanford, 1990. This is a Celtic mythology 101 book with stunningly beautiful illustrations.

Stewart, R. J. The Power Within the Land. Shaftsbury, Dorset: Element Books, 1991. Beautifully written study of Druids, with credible information dispelling some of the general thought of Druidic practice.

Stewart, R. J.The Underworld Initiation: A Journey Towards Psychic Transformation. Wellinghorough, England: Aquarian, 1985. R.J. Stewart’s personal account of transformation interwoven in the Hades/Persephone Myth.

Valiente, Doreen. Where Witchcraft Lives. London: Aquarian, 1962. Valiente, one of the original coven members of Gerald Gardner, is considered to be one of the founder’s of modern witchcraft and her book is a wonderful source book on Wiccan Practice.

Wavell, Stewart, Butt, Audrey and Epton, Nina. Trances. London: Allen and Unwin, 1966. This is a book that contains several articles about rituals among animals, people and theater.

Willoughby, Harold R. Pagan Regeneration: A Study of Mystery Initiations in the Graeco-Roman World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1974. Launching from the Eleusinian Mystery Cults, this work is a study of the form and function of initiation.

“Witchcraft: A Spiritual and Ethical Overview.” Covenant of the Goddess. October 2002 <http://www.cog.org/gog_overview.html>. Web site Hosted by The Covenant of the Goddess, an international Wiccan organization dedicated to raising the understanding and credibility of Neo-Pagan spirituality.

York, Micheal. The Emerging Network: A Sociology of the New Age and Neo-pagan Movements. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995. A history of the Neo-Pagan spiritual movement – not to impressive in the scholarly work: there are several inaccuracies in his overview.

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