Inspired by the work of Polish director Jerzy Grotowski, this guide to acting technique explains how a special series of physical exercises can open a path to the actor's inner creativity and offers helpful tips on how to bridge the gap between physical training and practical scene and character technique. Original. 12,500 first printing. 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 reveals how Jerzy Grotowski's physical exercises can open a pathway to the actor's inner creativity. Drawing on Grotowski's insights and on the work of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and others, Wangh bridges 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. Courageous and compelling, An Acrobat of the Heart is an invaluable resource for actors, directors, and teachers alike. Preface xvii Introduction xxxi To the Reader xliii An Actor's Warm-up 3(40) Asking Questions 3(3) Tuning Your Inner Strings 6(2) Finding Safe Space 8(3) The Stream-of-Consciousness Warm-up 11(7) A Balancing Act 18(2) Slow Motion 20(3) The Body Part Warm-up 23(5) Acting on Impulse 28(8) What Is an Actor's Warm-up? 36(3) Work Clothes 39(4) Les Exercises Corporels 43(32) The Spine 44(1) Undulations 45(2) Digesting the Work---The Hunker 47(3) The Cat 50(10) More Exercises Corporels 60(2) The Forward and Backward Rolls 62(1) The Headstands 63(4) The Backbends 67(3) Tiger Leaps 70(5) Les Exercises Plastiques 75(61) Plastique Isolations 75(4) The Plastique River 79(5) Image? What Image? 84(1) Eye Focus 85(2) Touch 87(1) The Pushing Exercise 88(3) Image Walks 91(6) Sticking with Images 97(3) Working with Tension 100(3) The Container and the Kiss 103(2) Effort, Openness, and Imagery 105(4) Physical Acting and ``Serious'' Acting 109(3) Bad Acting 112(6) The ``Just Stand'' Exercises 118(7) Bodily Emotions 125(11) Listening 136(14) Paradoxes of Acting 136(2) I Feel 138(2) The First Crossing 140(2) The Second Crossing 142(1) Two-Person Plastique Rivers 143(4) Face Tracing 147(3) Voice Work 150(19) A Loss of Voice 150(2) Connecting the Voice and Body 152(5) Working with Sound in a Group 157(2) Receiving with the Voice 159(3) Consonants 162(3) ``Yes-No'' and Gibberish 165(4) Scene Work 169(67) Choosing a Scene 169(4) ``Dropping-In'' Plastiques 173(9) The Weapons Work 182(3) What about Objectives and Intentions? 185(3) Blocking and Stage Movement 188(2) The Dropping-In Crossing 190(1) Private Space 190(5) What about the ``Prior Circumstances''? 195(2) Rehearsing on Your Own 197(3) How to Talk to Another Actor 200(2) Listening All the Time 202(5) Positive Feedback 207(2) The Eyes 209(3) Finding the Right Gesture 212(5) Plastiques with Real Objects 217(2) Working with Mistakes 219(1) Pauses 220(4) Details 224(3) Precision 227(3) The Improvisation and the Score 230(2) An Acrobat of the Heart 232(4) Character Work 236(62) Why Bother? 237(2) What Is Character? 239(2) Character from the Body 241(3) Baseball (Three-Part Character) 244(4) Imitation 248(1) Character or Caricature 249(3) Anti-typecasting 252(3) Standing It 255(4) Dress-up 259(3) Characters Who Listen 262(3) Character Scenes Choosing 265(5) Character Word Jam: The Cinderella Exercise 270(2) ``I Can't Play You'' 272(2) Autobiography 274(4) Rehearsing Character Scenes 278(1) Playing Comedy 279(3) There Is No Stanley Kowalski 282(5) Traduttore, Traditore 287(5) Field of Dreams 292(6) Acting, Sanity, and Survival 298(25) Self-Judgment and Stage Fright 298(5) Acting or Therapy? 303(3) A Stradivarius in the Rain 306(1) Is Acting a Spiritual Discipline? 307(3) Is Acting a Political Activity? or, What is Selling Out? 310(3) Acting in the Real World 313(4) How to Choose an Acting Teacher 317(6) Afterthoughts from Andre Gregory 323(6) Bibliography 329(4) Permissions Acknowledgments 333