Živá hudba

Abstrakt (Fulltext in Czech available on the CZ version of our website) This interdisciplinary study looks at the phenomenon of the neutral mask and its essential preparatory exercises in the teaching of physical acting. The qualitative design of the research aims at a descriptive-comparative analy¬sis with a focus on the empirical investigation and evaluation of the methodology for teaching the neutral mask in the field of theatre education. The study offers associative parallels to mythology, ancient philosophy and theatre for basic exercises empha¬sizing technical and creative training. The neutral mask is an artefact that combines ritual origin and a reference to the theatrical environment. It is an object that transcends disciplines and thus any definition, as it is by its nature an elusive visual mediator of contact with oneself and the sur¬rounding world. The goal of the study is to answer questions related to the effectiveness of teaching physical acting and the sustainability of the curriculum in terms of the long-term impact of the technique as an acting tool. The initial impulses to the study are most often paradoxes generated by a neutral mask, for example the motivation for exercising with it is usually not related to a specific char¬acter but always stems from a realistic situation or environment or a common activity. Attention is therefore paid to the key principles common to exercis¬es focused on the meaning-making of movement and the economisation of nonverbal expression. Concepts such as stage presence, universal poetic awareness, tension, isolation, pushing and pulling forces, dynamics and mimodynamics, embodiment and identification are communicated here. It is assumed that working with a the¬atrical, especially with a neutral mask, fundamentally affects the quality of the systematic training of a professional artist. From a certain point of view, the neutral mask has the potential to become part of theatre training, the essence of physical theatre.