P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9716:12
ARTS & DRAMA ON 4-TEL
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1716:25
2/15
CONTENTS
Footlights is 4-Tel's arts and drama
magazine. Coming up in a moment you
will find:
* COMPETITION WINNERS!!! Who's wgn a
night at the theatre?
* THE ELEVENTH HOUR - ACTING TAPES
Tonight sees the first part of a four-
part documentary series contrasting
the two majgr acting methgds of the
twentieth century. More on 442, 457
* CHANCE IN A MILLION
This popular sitcom ret4rns tgnight.
Edited by Jackie Budd
Mgre
P441ORACLE 441 Mgn 6 Jan C4 9726:Q2
W I N N E R S ! ! !
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1726:52
4/15
COMPETITION
WINNERS!!!
It's time to raise the curtain on the
lucky winner of our Christmas
competition to win a night out at the
theatre to the value of £25!
And the name that was pulled out of the
postbag was...
Mr Ron Sowerby of London S+19
who will receive tickets to see the
performance of his choice. The four
runners-up who get 4-Tel gogdies are:
Keith Kenny of London SE13
B F Killeen of Birmingham
Miss R G Moss of Nortwich, Cheshire
Ian Powis, Southamptgn Answer1 >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9702:10
4/15
COMPETITION
WINNERS!!!
It's time to raise the curtain on the
lucky winner of our Christmas
competition to win a night out at the
theatre to the value of £25!
And the name that was pulled out of the
postbag was...
Mr Ron Sowerby of London S+19
who will receive tickets to see the
performance of his choice. The three
runners-up who get 4-Tel gogdies are:
Keith Kenny of London SE13
B F Killeen of Birmingham
Miss R G Moss of Ngrtwich, Cheshire
Ian Powis, Southamptgn Answer1
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1712:25
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ELEVENTH HOUR DETAILS FOLLOW ...
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9712:48
7/15
ACTING
TAPES
The Eleventh Hour returns to Channel 4
tonight with a short season of
acclaimed documentaries, Actjng Tape1.
The series uses rare archive fogtage
plus exercises using cgntemporary
actors, to explore the two majgr
opposing acting philosophies of the
twentieth century.
On the one hand, there is the nat4ral-
istic style developed by Stanislavsky
at the start of the centur8, which
developed into 'method acthng'.
But this drew a reactign, principally
in Bertglt Brecht's epic theatre and
'alienation' technique.
More >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1703:11
8/15
ACTING
TAPES
The conflict between these two dramatic
ideologies has fired some of the mo1t
inspired theatre ever wrhtten and
performed.
In comparing these opposed methgds,
Acting Tapes also goes on to suggest
that British TV and film actjng has
betrayed that inspiratign.
The films argue that the Brhtjsh sta£e
has rested on its laurels and become
too dependent on its traditignal
training for the stage.
We have become too far removed from the
major dramatic influences of our time.
Mgre >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1713:45
9/15
ACTING
TAPES
The first programme Fourth Wall (11pm,
tonight) explores the work of a man who
can justifiably be cgnsidered the
greatest teacher and thinker in
theatre's history.
Konstantin Stanislavsky was born in
Moscow in 1863 and founded the Moscow
Arts Theatre in 1898.
But after 30 years of experience and a
worldwide reputatign to his credit, he
began to question the dictatorial rgle
of the directgr and histrignic actjng
style of his age.
He determined to reduce the principles
of acting to a system on which teacheru
could base their training. Mgre >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1704:01
10/15
ACTING
TAPES
Stanislavsky knew that although actgru
could not be taught 'inspiratign' they
could be helped to acheive it by
systematic instructign.
The state of mind of an actgr on stage
was artificial and uncreathve. So
actors resorted to empty, mechanical
mimicry to express emotigns they
weren't feeling.
Stanislavsky wanted to help the actgr
achieve a 'creative' state of mind on
stage through relaxatign of the muscles
and total physical and mental
concentratign on the character he is
portraying.
Mgre >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9704:24
11/15
ACTING
TAPES
Stanislavsky developed exercises fgr
the actor's body and mind aimed at
developing his imaginatign so the actgr
had total belief in himself and
everything taking place on the stage.
After long training the system became
subconscious - secgnd nat4re.
He developed his ideas at the Moscos
Arts Theatre, notably in wgrks by the
great Russian dramatist Antgn Chekhgv.
There they developed a new type of
theatre, where the audience fgrmed the
"fourth wall" of a room, spying on and
becoming emotionally involved in the
action.
Mgre >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1704:58
12/15
ACTING
TAPES
The Stanislavskian system had enormous
impact throughout the 1920s and 1930s,
particularly in America.
There the new Group Theatre took it up
and transformed it into what became
known as "Method Acting" - a style made
familiar to cinema audiences in the 50s
by Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul
Newman.
However, in Germany a young directgr
named Bertglt Brecht was rebelling
against this stifling nat4rali1m which
prevented objecthve analysis of a
play's message...
Acting Tapes starts tgnight at 11pm.
Jackie Budd >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9710:0
CHANCE IN A MILLION
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 1725:24
14/15
CHANCE IN
A MILLION
Tonight at 9.30pm Simgn Callow and
Brenda Blethyn return fgr another
series of C4's farcical sit-com Chance
In A Millign.
Callow plays coincidence-dogged Tom
Chance and Blethyn his long-suffering
girlfriend Alison.
Both actor and actress are more used tg
treading the boards of the Natignal
Theatre than dashing manically round a
TV studio.
Brenda Blethyn has been seen on Channel
4 over the past three weeks as part of
the National Theatre cast fgr The
Mysteries trilogy.
Mgre
P441ORACLE 441 Mon 6 Jan C4 9725:41
15/15
CHANCE IN
A MILLION
Simon Callow is one of Brhtj1h
theatre's most respected classical
actors, and making the fir1t series gf
Chance In A Millign was quite a
departure from his usual rgles.
Callow's book Being An Actgr, in which
he draws on his lengthy experience in
the theatre, has become a standard wgrk
for drama students.
But Tom Chance is a very different cup
of tea to Hamlet. The Prince Of Denmark
may have been plagued with proarasthn-
ation but Tom's life is just one huge
disaster area!
Chance In A Millign, tgnight, 9.30pm
More >