Skådespelarens praktiska kunskap

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Skådespelarens praktiska kunskap – Maria Johansson
Abstract
The aim of this dissertation is to articulate the actors’ practical knowledge. I have shared
some of the questions that have arisen through my active years as a professional actor with a
group of actors with different backgrounds and levels of experience.
The actors are sceptical towards fixed theories and methods imposed on them from outside. In
order to show the complexity of a character, the actor needs concrete workable images. As
one such image, this dissertation uses Aristotle’s term “Lesbian rule”, a mason’s ruler made
of lead so that it is adjustable when measuring an uneven surface.
This dissertation has four main sections, entitled: Intuition, Courage, Anecdotes, and the
Creative process.
Intuition works on an individual level and is only one of the parameters used when creating
and performing a role. This dissertation uses “what-is-currently-going-on” as a key term, as
well as Swedish philosopher Hans Larsson’s use of intuition as an agile attentiveness.
Acting implies exposure both of your physical and emotional self. At almost all stages in the
actor’s work process s/he is also exposed to judgment from others. During rehearsal the actor
has to ask him- or herself if the choices made for the representation of the character are
possible to reproduce over and over again. High ambitions have to be balanced against a
personal wellbeing. These perspectives are central in the discussion on courage.
For the actor an anecdote about acting is a way of practising and showing your skills as an
actor. As the actor is constantly facing new work situations, the anecdote can also tell who
you are in a context of your own choice. The concept of the anecdote is used to exemplify the
actor’s situated knowledge.
During the creative process the actor works with openness and introversion at the same time.
Being an artist in a collective requires trust and an ability to wait for the hermeneutical
process to make a whole of the individual parts. It is vital for the actor to realize that nothing
is final. Every performance has to be performed as if for the first time.
The main thesis of this dissertation is that the actors’ knowledge is embodied and based on
situation.