Acting, Archetype, and Neuroscience Superscenes for Rehearsal and Performance

"How do we move actors into the less accessible regions of themselves and release hotter, more dangerous, and less literal means of approaching a role?" Superscenes are a revolutionary new mode of teaching and rehearsal, allowing the actor to discover and utilize the primal energies underlying dramatic texts. In Acting, Archetype, and Neuroscience Jane Drake Brody draws upon a lifetime’s experience in the theatre, alongside the best insights into pedagogical practice in the field, the work of philosophers and writers who have focused on myth and archetype, and the latest insights of neuroscience. The resulting interdisciplinary, exciting volume works to: Mine the essentials of accepted acting theory while finding ways to access more primally-based human behavior in actors Restore a focus on storytelling that has been lost in the rush to create complex characters with arresting physical and vocal lives Uncover the mythical bones buried within every piece of dramatic writing; the skeletal framework upon which hangs the language and drama of the play itself Focus on the actor’s body as the only place where the conflict inherent in drama can be animated. Acting, Archetype, and Neuroscience weaves together a wealth of seemingly disparate performance methods, exciting actors to imaginatively and playfully take risks they might otherwise avoid. A radical new mixture of theory and practice by a highly respected teacher of acting, this volume is a must-read for students and performance practitioners alike.

Preface Introduction Section One: Origins Chapter 1: Returning to Mythic Roots Physical Beginnings of Acting Current Actor Training Current Training Hymn: To Vulcan (Hephaistos), Fumigation from Frankincense and Manna Chapter 2: Resurrecting Mythic Stories Linking Neuroscience and Archetypal Mythology Chapter 3: Primary Conflict and the Hero’s Journey Primary Conflict: Order Versus Chaos Peter and Wendy Section Two: The Exercises and the Work Chapter 4: The Exercises Meditation Magnets Push, Pull, Hold, Release Sticks Viewpoints Second Viewpoints Class: Contact and Company Day Three: Company, Architecture, and Music Chapter 5: Beginning Superscenes Text and Archetypes Fourth Session: Exercise: Using the Monomyth A Linear Representation of the Hero’s Journey Inciting Incident: Exact Scene? Exact Line? Exact Rationale? Chapter 6: Two Hero’s Journeys The Hero’s Journey of Muhammad Ali Hamlet’s Journey: A Brief and Debatable Look at Hamlet as Hero Chapter 7: Bridging and Superscenes Bridges Superscenes Superscenes and Memory Section Three: Neuroscience and Images Chapter 8: Mirror Neurons, Emotions, Memory, Meditation, Embodiment, and Images The Limbic System The Eternally Balancing Body Meditation Phenomenology: The Study of the Experience of Intention Mirror Neurons Second Person Interactivity: MNs The Use of Metaphor, Image, and Active Words Memory: Images and the Brain Memory, Archetype, and Mirror Neurons Memory Consolidation Chapter 9: Archetypal Patterns Family Stories CG Jung Archetypal Patterns of Plots Chapter 10: Archetypal Journey; In The Blood by Susan Lori Parks The Ancient Story, Myth and Archetype Protagonist/Antagonist Statement Hester’s Hero’s Journey Chapter 11: Conclusion Bibliography Index

Jane DrakeBrody teachesgraduate and undergraduate Acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University, following a long career as an actress, director, professional acting coach and casting director. Her many film and TV casting credits include the Oscar winning Fargo, for which she received the Casting Society of America's Best Location Casting Award.