The Instinct In Goethe's Plays

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“Would that the stage were a tight rope where no incompetent would dare to tread.”
-GOETHE
Goethe is speaking from an author’s point of view. It is the actor’s tremendous and frustrating challenge to act in plays written by Goethe and other great playwrights. Actors have to communicate complex and subtle ideas, like those that appear in Strindberg, Ibsen, Shaw and Arthur Miller. The modern actor must have virtues that the playwright, perhaps, does not have, and one is the instinct that awakens the actor to act. That instinct is stronger than we know or can analyze. An actor’s total being – mind, spirit, soul, and that essence which is talent – must be devoted to his craft. In this life, most people are forced to use only one side of …show more content…

The imagination consists of the ability to envision things you have never thought of. In order to do this readily, one must be made aware of how rich memory is, for collective memory is such that nothing is ever forgotten. An actor can draw on the slightest figment of the imagination to illustrate another time or place. In imagination, an actor must not confine themselves to the social movement of their generation, for if they do, the result is a disrespect for the world in general and an alienation from anything that is not immediately recognizable as part of the everyday. The most common, inartistic way of observation deals only with cold facts and objects. Therefore, it is of great importance that an actor develops the ability to look past the obvious, into the depths of their …show more content…

An action could be strong or weak, the difference being that a strong action has an objective. When completing an action, an actor must know what to do, where to do it, when to do it, and why to do it. Note that he or she does not need to know how to do it beforehand. The how is spontaneous and unexpected. Every action has its nature or truth, which can be broken down into activities. To make it easier for an actor to show an activity, they may chose to physicalize the activity, or to do something physical. As long as the physical is truthful for the circumstance, it becomes more enjoyable to watch and perform. This can be utilized when entering or leaving the stage, to avoid having a blank expression or straying from the character. All of the emotion required of an actor can be found through his imagination in the circumstances. Any emotions the actor finds unimaginable, can be substituted with a response from real life to a similar action. All the play’s actions and emotions together form the author’s ruling idea, which is the theme, or overall action of the

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