Transforming gesture to sign in the theatre

Authors

  • John Lutterbie Stony Brook University/Professor

Abstract

This paper explores the transition from speech-gesture to theatrical gesture.
Gestures, according to David McNeill and Susan Goldin-Meadow, are an integral part of speech, performing a crucial function in the organization of thought into language. In acting gesture is defined as a sign that communicates a character‟s action, state of mind and relationship with other characters to an audience. Portraying Granpa Joad, in a production of The Grapes of Wrath, I performed a spontaneous gesture in rehearsal that, fulfilling the needs of a theatrical gesture, was transformed into a sign through the repetition of rehearsal. Dynamic Systems Theory is used to understand the transformative process of making a spontaneous gesture into a complex, intentional, and communicative act.

Key Words: Dynamic Systems Theory, Gesture, Language, Signs, Acting, Theatre

Author Biography

John Lutterbie, Stony Brook University/Professor

Prof. John Lutterbie - John Lutterbie, Associate Professor at Stony Brook University, teaches theatre and performance theory in the Department of Theatre Arts, and the the history of performance art in the Department of Art. He is the author of Toward a General Theory of Acting: Cognitive Science and Performance (forthcoming) and Hearing Voices: Modern Drama and the Problem of Subjectivity (University of Michigan Press). In addition, he has published in numerous journals including Theatre Journal, The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Performance Research, The Journal of Psychiatry and the Humanities, and Modern Drama.

Published

2021-02-24