Author: Franc ̧ois Joseph Talma
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2016-06-23
Total Pages: 32
ISBN-13: 9781332878505
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Excerpt from Talma on the Actor's Art No one an read Talma's subtle yet simple description of the qualities and the course of study essential to the actor, without a conviction that acting is one of the most fascinating of the arts. To the actor the whole field of human nature is Open. Whether in the ideal world of the stage or in the actual world of social intercourse, hismind is continually accumulating impressions Which become a part of his artistic being. This experience is common to the students of 'other arts, 'ibut the actor has this advantage, that all he learns is embodied in his own personality, not translated through some medium, like the painter's canvas or the novelist's page. At the same time, this purely personal art is subjected to the most severe tests. It is easier to detect a aw in an actor's impersonation than an improbability in a book. The man enacts the character before many - a false intonation jars immediately upon the ear, an unnatural look or gesture is promptly convicted by the eye. The co-operation of sensibility and intelligence of which Talma speaks, has thus to be conducted under the most exacting conditions. There must be no suggestion of effort. The essence of acting is its apparent Spontaneity. Perfect illusion is attained when every effect seems to be an accident. If the declamation is too measured, the sense of truth is at once impaired 3 if, on the other hand, it falls only the shadow of a shade below the level of appropriate expres sion, the auditor's sympathy is instantly checked. The union of grandeur without pomp, and nature without triviality, is of an artistic ideals the most difficult to attain; and with this goal before him no actor can feel that his art is a plaything. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
