Focusing on the dynamics of teaching in the performing arts, this book explores how educators can foster or hinder creativity. It addresses challenges such as engaging silent students, helping young artists overcome inhibitions, and navigating issues of resistance, judgment, and race in the classroom. Aimed at both seasoned and novice teachers across various disciplines, it offers valuable insights and an honest perspective on the art of teaching.
Courageous and compelling, an invaluable resource for actors, directors, and teachers that can open a pathway to inner creativity. "The actor will do, in public, what is considered impossible." When the renowned Polish director Jerzy Grotowski began his 1967 American workshop with these words, his students were stunned. But within four weeks they themselves had experienced the "impossible." In An Acrobat of the Heart, teacher-director-playwright Stephen Wangh draws on Grotowski's insights and on the work of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and others to bridge the gap between rigorous physical training and practical scene and character technique. Wangh's students give candid descriptions of their struggles and breakthroughs, demonstrating how to transform these remarkable lessons into a personal journey of artistic growth.