Formative Draft
From Stanislavski to Contemporary Performance: practice and theory (ENGL2020)
Name: Se Nie Ho (Sabrina)
Student ID: 20303783
We started the exploration of Meyerhold’s Biomechanics by practicing the dactyl and
etudes prescribed in his theory. An ‘essential’ part of Meyerhold’s actor training, the dactyl
and etudes serve to ready the actor physically and mentally for the performances that they are
about to conduct to best create a form of theatre that embodies the essence of ‘theatrical’.1
Beginning with the dactyl, we formed a circle facing inwards to conduct the exercise
sequence together. The dactyl consisted of bending the knees slightly in a neutral stance,
whereby we stood with our legs straightened and our feet planted flat and hip-width apart from
each other. Then, we straightened the posture and elongated the arms above the head in a wide
arc before bringing them down to produce one clap at the thorax and the abdomen level each.
This produced a long beat and two short beats to create a rhythm and sense of musicality, a
vital aspect of Meyerhold’s biomechanics.2 This warm-up is primarily aimed at enhancing the
actors’ precision, coordination, and focus by refining their ability to coordinate with others on
the stage.
Initially, the sequence and coordination of the motions felt stiff and hesitant due to our
unfamiliarity with the broadness of the motions in comparison to the minute and ‘natural’
movements we had done following Stanislavski’s naturalistic style of theatre. This was further
exacerbated by our attempts to coordinate with one another to synchronise the start of the dactyl.
However, we were able to carry out the dactyl comparably smoother than the first one we did
as we continued. This was done by making eye contact with the others in the circle, and after
getting accustomed to the sequence of motions.
Following this, we conducted a pair-work exercise where we tried to produce
a handshake following the key principles of biomechanics: a theatre that emphasises on the
Robert Leach, ‘Meyerhold and Biomechanics’, in Actor Training (2nd edn), ed. by Alison Hodge, (Oxon:
Routledge, 2010), pp. 26-41.
2
Leach, p. 30.
1
actor’s physicality, plasticity, and expression. While a handshake is a common gesture,
applying biomechanics made it a strange and unfamiliar act that was both unnatural and
theatrical. Meyerhold was quoted saying that, ‘each exercise is a melodrama. Each movement
gives the actor a sense of performing on the stage.’3
I found this exercise particularly difficult due to the level of fitness, coordination, and
precision it required. The stance needed for it, having to pivot our foot by a 90-degree angle,
and the action of twisting and elongating our bodies resulted in us feeling slightly off-balance
and physically strained. In addition to that, having to coordinate the sequence of motions in
both the upper and lower body was tedious. Without putting sufficient focus into thinking of
our actions, we would end up either forgetting parts of the sequence or neglect to be precise
with how we move other parts of our body. For example, in my focus to ensure I was doing the
legwork correctly, I neglected to realise that my wrist had bent inwards instead of being aligned
with the straightness of my arm; breaking the form and precision we had to illustrate.
3
Edward Braun, Meyerhold on Theatre ([n.p.]: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2016), pp. 243–254.