Crosspoints: Toward an Integrative Framework for Actor training, Rehearsal and Performance

The range of actor training methods used in most conservatoire-style curricula are derived from dramatic text analysis methods pioneered by Constsntin Stanislavski. Predominant shifts in aesthetics such as those ushered forth by postmodernism, new technologies, hybrid arts and cross-cultural collaboration present new problems for the contemporary actor. The broadening of the field of performance suggests that dramatic acting techniques are not universally suited to the expanding horizon of practices.

This research extends a tributary of actor training that is generally related to Jerzy Grotowski's work. It uses the term "source" in a way that evokes Grotowski's Theatre of Sources but is not directly connected to it. This research also incorporates pedagogical and sociological theory to outline issues such as symbolic control and "legitimate" versus "avant-garde" cultural production. This work is an exegesis describing the development of the Crosspoints, exaining how it was inspired by the Viewpoints. It documents the process of creating the method through stages of ideation, the invention of exercises and the design of an instructional model (the "pedagogising") of the approach. Through situated practice-based research across multiple sites, exercises were imagined, metaphors and illustrations were created, workshops were taught, and a handbook was written (and illustrated). Accompanying this paper is a handbook intended for actors, directors and teachers. It is the artistic artifact of the process and instructs the reader on ways to incorporate Crosspoints with current acting pedagogy. It also suggests future investigations to extend the system.