Acting Training...philosophy of the dedicated actor

This week I am researching acting training, a usual venture each year, awakening and alerting me to the old and the new in training the artist.  How best to train the actor?

I read many books, the one i have in my hand right now is Anne Bogart Viewpoints, edited by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Joel A. Smith (1995) Published by Smith and Kraus, Inc.

Page 7, and there is a quote from James Baldwin who writes:  "The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by the answers" and there is deep resonance: the 'knowing' vs the 'unknowing'...the less we know when we are standing on the rehearsal room floor, the more open we are to what is present, the space between, and the gifts on offer from your fellow actors, designer, director etc.

Anne Bogart believes, as do I,  that one of our functions as theatre makers is to remind our audiences of the important issues of the day. But not just that.  To awaken our audiences to the remarkable miracles of life.   Our job as artists is to awaken our audiences, and this can only happen we we ourselves awaken. And what does that require? Mindfulness, awareness and presence.

So that is the prime focus of 4change coaching this year: mindfulness. awake awake for there is knocking at the gate...