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An Approach to Human Movement for the Stage

Campbell, C. Jean Bailey

Abstract Details

1976, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Theatre.
The inherent expressive nature of human movement and the expressive mission of the theatre encourage a deep understanding of the art of human movement by practitioners in the theatre. In an effort to help directors and actors select and describe effective stage movement, this study developed an approach to human movement which is based on selected facts and principles from several related disciplines. The unique view of human movement that emerged from the study revealed many commonalities in human movement. All movement tasks involve holding, receiving, or moving weight by combining five basic movement patterns which were found to be combinations of three basic actions: flexion, extension, or rotation. The principles that underlie effective human movement emerged from several disciplines. Anatomy presented basic concepts of the structure of the human body; physiology supplied knowledge of the functions of the body and established the principles of physiological adaptation and conditioning. Knowledge of mechanical physics increased the acceptance of the body as a system of levers and explained the laws that govern all bodies in space. The theories of expressive movement and the method recommended for the analysis and description of human movement emerged from the writings of Rudolf Laban who based his work on the philosophy that movement characterizes man by displaying the inner attitude of yielding to or fighting against the four Motion Factors of Time, Weight, Space, and Flow. The method formulated for analyzing movement tasks recommends describing what the body does during the tasks, where the body moves, and how the body moves. The study concluded that an understanding of the principles that underlie efficient and expressive movement are valuable to the theatre director and actor in the development of movement sequences for the stage, in the selection of vocabulary for analyzing and describing movement, and in teaching and rehearsing actors.
Charles R. Boughton (Advisor)

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Campbell, C. J. B. (1976). An Approach to Human Movement for the Stage [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156630207090226

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Campbell, C.. An Approach to Human Movement for the Stage. 1976. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156630207090226.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Campbell, C.. "An Approach to Human Movement for the Stage." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 1976. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156630207090226

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)