Acting on what?
Dr. Kaushik Dutta Sharma : Associate Professor Centre for Theatre & Acting Skills Before Acting out a character the actor needs to become an actor. The training process converts the daily body into the extra - daily, a finely tuned instrument that rivets us with its ‘presence’. Before the play, comes the rehearsal, and before rehearsing for the play comes the training of the actor. As for any singer or dancer, before the performance comes the rigour of training. Of course there are exceptions, the ‘gifted’, the ones that excelled in acting, learning it on the go as it were, being in the trade. An actor’s work does not start with the analysis of the character or play, it begins before. It starts by acting on his body and voice. The process is like training in Martial Arts. In Kerala, the children’s bodies are prepared for Kathakali, a dance form and Kalaripayattu, a martial art form in the same way. The flexibility, the dexterity and the surprise moves are exer...