Training as a Complex System: How Meditation Practices Nourish the Actor’s Layered System Of Knowledge

Stratification makes the theatre a complex system. And what is more complex than the human being? The proposal of many important theatre reformers, like Stanislavskij, Mejerchol'd, Grotowski, until Eugenio Barba, was to bring a new life into the theatre, starting from the actor. They referred to an actor with a precise technique learned and strengthened over the years by his training. If we consider the actor’s training as a layered system of techniques, we can find several disciplines of the body, well-known methods as Feldenkrais, Alexander, Pilates including meditative practices that at first sight seem to be far away from the theatre. So, is it possible to find a relationship between the meditation practices and the performative practices? One of the most significant starting points is the work of Ėjzenštejn: during his research about the Theory of Montage, he analyses the relationship between the Ignacio de Loyola's spiritual exercises, the performer's practice and the concept of “ex-tasis”. He discovers a strong connection between a meditative and ritual practice and the meticulous work of the actor on his action's montage. I had the possibility to work on this relationship by chanting the mantra of the Buddhist practice during the process of a performance’s creation. I can mention three preliminary points of connection between the two practices: the capacity of staying focused and concentrated; the way to create a connection with my surrounding according to the principal of non-duality between me and the environment, and consequently with the other performers of my group; and the importance to take concrete action with the aim of reaching an objective. The presentation will show some concrete examples of this relationship in order to discover the possibilities of future studies and research on this subject.