"Theatrical Performance Training for Essentialism" is a cross-department, cross-grade, cross-major elective course for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, and is listed as the first-class course for graduate students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. At the end of this semester, Xiao Ying, the teacher of this course, held an open class in the New Space Theater to show the teaching of the course.
"Essentialism" comes from the concept of theatre put forward by Mr Wang Zuolin. "Essentialism" is originated from Chinese aesthetic thought, which means neglecting the external fidelity of artistic image and emphasizing the essence of internal spirit. The aesthetic pursuit of theatrical performance for essentialism is to pursue psychological realism and its physiology internally, and to pursue dream realism and its poetic expression externally. The purpose and significance of the theatrical performance training for essentialism are: stimulating natural instincts, liberating the body, guiding spontaneous creation, and presenting stage images with true artistic aesthetics and vitality; looking for the aesthetic connection between tradition and the present, exploring the creative integration of the theatrical essence of the East and the West, and striving to introduce training techniques and theatrical works with Chinese characteristics and modern qualities.
This course makes certain attempts and explorations from both the origin of traditional theatre and the current improvisational training. At the same time, it selects some monologues and dialogues from Shakespearean plays for students to make their own creation, so as to explore the aesthetic pursuit of theatrical performance for essentialism.
In process of its construction, this course has realized the connection and collaboration of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students across departments, majors and grades. The students have actively created and boldly explored in the training, showed unlimited possibilities in the limited space, and reached the other side of the artistic conception of aesthetics.
