Eilon Morris

Rhythm in Acting and Performance: New Publication

I am delighted to announce the release of my new book, Rhythm in Acting and Performance: Embodied Approaches and Understandings, to be published by Methuen Drama and available from 27 of July 2017.

Focusing on key approaches to rhythm within European and American theatre and performance since the end of the nineteenth century, including the work of Konstantin Stanislavski, Suzanne Bing, Jerzy Grotowski and Anne Bogart, Rhythm in Acting and Performance traces this common and yet diverse subject through a range of contexts and perspectives.

From the rhythming of movement and speech in ancient Greece to the use of musicality in contemporary dramaturgy and actor training, author Eilon Morris examines the principles and techniques underpinning these practices and the ways they have been and continue to be embodied within training and performance.

Offering informative and useful insights to aid and inspire further creative and academic explorations, and including case studies, practical examples, analytical reflections and interviews, Rhythm in Acting and Performance is an ideal guide for students and practitioners.

‘Morris opens up this vital but neglected term with a multiplicity of approaches, ranging from historical context and practitioner analyses and interviews through 24 sample exercises to more philosophical reflections. This broad range is artfully grounded by his highly informed and embodied understanding of rhythm.’

-Paul Allain, Professor of Theatre and Performance and Dean of the
Graduate School, University of Kent

Table of contents

PART ONE Establishing a Pulse

    1. What is Rhythm? An Open Question

      The etymology of rhythm
      Productive categories of rhythm
      Reflections

    2. An Epoch of Rhythm: Now and Then

      Natural and organic rhythm
      Mechanical and deterministic rhythmic aesthetics
      Rhythm as a universal language
      Authenticity and real time
      A new epoch of rhythm
      Reflections

      PART TWO Stanislavski on Rhythm

    3. Tapping emotions: the Ins and Outs of Tempo-Rhythm

      An aspiring opera singer
      Psychophysical techniques
      Eurhythmics and polyrhythm
      Tempo and rhythm – ins and outs
      Tempo-rhythm in training
      Tempo-rhythm in rehearsals
      Reflections

      PART THREE Structure and Spontaneity

    4. Suzanne Bing: Music and Games in Actor Training

      Initial interests in rhythm
      Children’s school in Paris
      Applying eurhythmics in actor training
      Voice, movement and storytelling
      Musique corporelle
      Legacy of rhythm and play
      Reflections

    5. Vsevolod Meyerhold: Rhythm Not Metre

      Form as a means to freedom
      A rhythmic vocabulary
      Rhythm versus metre
      Tripartite rhythm
      Reflections

    6. John Britton: Smashing the Ensemble Groove

      Musical accompaniment
      Jazz as model for ensemble improvisation
      Ensemble
      Smashing the groove
      The shape of an action
      The energetic
      Reflections

    7. Anne Bogart and Tina Landau: A Horizontal Viewpoint

      A non-hierarchical ethos
      Musical accompaniment
      Rhythm in Suzuki work
      Viewpoints of time
      Reflections
      Reflections on structure and spontaneity 

      PART FOUR The Ecstatic Performer

    8. Rhythm and Altered States of Consciousness: Entrainment and Communitas

      Rhythmic entrainment
      Group/ensemble rhythm
      Reflections

    9. Jerzy Grotowski: Seeking Pulse, Movement and Rhythm

      Influences and sources
      Exercises plastiques
      Techniques of sources
      Reflections

    10. Nicolás Núñez: Becoming Present

      Slow walking
      Contemplative running
      Cosmic verticality
      ‘Here and now’
      Continuity of effort and the sustaining of rhythm
      Reflections

    11. Eilon Morris: Orbits – Cultivating Simultaneity

      Vertical time
      Orbits
      Running Orbits
      Reflections
      Reflections on polyrhythm and simultaneity

      PART FIVE A Plurality of Voices

    12. Rhythming Words: Where, how and Why

      Meaning and rhythm
      Reflections

    13. Creating spaces: Conversations with Judith Adams and Karen Christopher

      Judith Adams
      Karen Christopher
      Reflections

    14. The Poetry of the Breath: Conversations with Bruce Myers and Kate Papi

      Bruce Myers
      Kate Papi
      Reflections

    15. The tune is a Framework: A Conversation with Chris Coe and Frankie Armstrong

      Reflections

      PART SIX Reflections

      Coda

      Glossary
      Notes
      References
      Index

– See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/rhythm-in-acting-and-performance-9781472589873/

Eilon