Grotowski and Peter Brook’s Acting Methods

The Theatrical Styles of Grotowski and Peter Brook

Grotowski Theatre:

• Communicating through focused sounds and movements 
• because Grotowski actors believe that acting is a search for self knowledge and awareness, their style has taught them to break free of limitations and utilize their full potential 
• Improving concentration by working in silence as a creative passage 
• Developed highly specific physical and vocal training 
• Grotowski wanted his actors to have direct control over even their most minute movements; clarity is key
• Actors need to see how they impact others when they look and listen to them
• “Poor Theatre” forced actors to use all their skills to transform simplistic spaces and objects into a whole range of imaginative worlds, with heavy symbolism and direct audience interaction 
• Like in Brecht’s method, Grotowski emphasised the use of emotional memories to recall and recreate actors’ experiences with total honesty and total commitment, no matter how painful or private a memory might be. Through a genuine process, even with the simplest of activities, actors would come closer to having self-knowledge

Peter Brook's Theatre of Cruelty, although inspired by the ideas of Artaud, made the concepts of shock-and-awe more clear on stage. Brook's beliefs were simpler and less spiritual, as he wanted to “reinvigorate the theater” with theatrical aspects not tied to language. He did not want rhetoric to serve as the main device for communication, and instead staged a real, raw and emotional experience for the audience with used all aspects of a stage: lighting, set, props, costumes, and most importantly, action. Brook’s work is one successful example of non-directional directing, wherein the director's job is to stimulate such an outpouring of emotion in an actor that it completely transforms the subjective nature of the actor's original impulse. In order for the actor to authentically feel what their character is meant to feel, they must first discover those emotions on their own, without input from a director. Then, when the audience can truly feel the emotions and sympathize with them, they have succeeded. To Brook, the human connection is the essence of good theatre. His use of acrobatics and highly physical elements in his performances shifted emphasis so that actions spoke louder than words. His end goal would always be to create authentic human connection between the actor and audience.