Zarrilli Body

The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Theatre Journal.http://www.jstor.orgToward a Phenomenological Model of the Actor's Embodied Modes of Experience Author(s): Phillip B. Zarrilli Source:Theatre Journal, Vol. 56, No. 4, Theorizing the Performer (Dec., 2004), pp. 653-666Published by:The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/25069533Accessed: 25-08-2014 02:00 UTCYour use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jspJSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected] content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsToward a Phenomenological Modelofthe Actor'sEmbodiedModesof Experience1 Phillip B.Zarrilli Howcanthe contemporary actor's body and experience in performance be theorized?2What methodological toolsareusefulinan attempt tobetterunderstand theembodiedworkoftheactor?This essayapplies one among asetof complimentary methodological toolstothis question?apost-Merleau-Pontyphenomenology.3 Like allaccountsofembodimentand experience thisoneis necessarily limited by "our propositional modesof representation," sinceitis extremely difficult"to express the full meaning ofour experience."4 In spite ofsuch limitations, this essay isintendedto contributeto phenomenological studiesofembodiment byextending theirfocusfrom Phillip Zarrillitrainsactorsanddirects internationally. Hismostrecent productions includeThe Beckett Project inIrelandatthe Granary Theatre (Cork, May 2004), and TheWaterStation by Ota Shogo withTTRPatThe Esplinade(Singapore, September 2004). He recently led workshops at GardzieniceTheatre Association, theCentre of Studies onjerzy Grotowski (Wroclaw), and for Tainan Jen Theatre.Heistheauthor of numerousbooksand essays,includingActing (Re) Considered (secondedition,2002), KathakaliDance-Drama:WhereGodsandDemonsCometo Play (2000), andWhenthe Body BecomesAll Eyes(1998). Heis currently atworkonanewbookand DVD-ROM, The Psychophysical Actorat Work: Acting ". .. atthenerveends."Heis Professor of Performance Practiceatthe Universityof Exeter,UK, andrunsa private studioin Wales. 1 Researchforthis essay wasundertakenwithassistance providedby a grant fromAHRB (UK). 2 Although the modelof "contemporaryacting"presented inthis essay inits present formdoesnot addressthe experiential bodiesofactorswith physical or sensoryimpairments, orhowissuesof gender or ethnicityimpinge onthe experientialbody, themodelcouldbeelaboratedinthefutureto accountfor modesofembodied experience notaddressedhere. 3 Inadditionto phenomenologymyongoing examinationofembodimentandawarenessutilizes philosophicallinguistics[George LakoffandMark Johnson, Philosophy intheFlesh (New York:Basic Books,1999)]; alternative paradigms, discourses, and ways of articulatingexperience innon-Western practices [see in particular Yasuo Yuasa, The Body(Albany: SUNY Press,1987), whichaddressesthe Japanesebody in performance;Phillip Zarrilli, KathakaliDance-Drama:WhereGodsandDemonsCometo Play(London:Routledge, 2000); Whenthe Body BecomesAll Eyes:Paradigms, DiscoursesandPractices of Powerin Kalarippayattu, aSouthIndianMartialArt (New Delhi:Oxford University Press,1998)]; and contemporary discoursesand practices ofembodimentandawarenessinactor training and perform ance [Phillip Zarrilli, Acting (Re)Considered (London, Routledge, 2002, second edition); "TheMeta physical Studio," TDR46.2 (2002): 157-70; "Negotiating Performance Epistemologies:Knowledges About,For, and In," Studiesin Theatreand Performance 21.1 (2001):31-46]. SeealsoRichard Shusterman, Performing Live:AestheticAlternatives for theEnds of Art (Ithaca: Cornell University Press,2000). Fora history of phenomenology fromEdmundHusserl (1859-1938) tothe present, andforadiscussionof limitationsand possibilities, seeDermot Moran, AnIntroductionto Phenomenology(London: Routlege, 2000). 4 Mark Johnson, The Body intheMind:the Bodily Basis ofMeaning,Imagination, andReason (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,1987), 4. Theatre Journal 56 (2004) 653-666?2004 by The Johns HopkinsUniversity Press This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions654 / Phillip B. Zarrilli exclusiveconcernwiththe everyday tosuch non-everydaypractices as acting, andto buildontheearlierusesof phenomenology inthe analysis oftheatre.Previousstudies by BertO. States, Bruce Wilshire, Alice Rayner, andStantonGarnerhavecontributed muchtoour understanding ofthetheatrical event, andredressedthecritical disap pearance ofthe (lived)body andembodimentinthecreationof meaning and experience withinthetheatrical event;5however, thefocusinthis essay is specifically ontheactor'smodesofembodiment per se.Future publications willaddresshowa phenomenologically informeddiscussionsuchasthiscanbeof pragmatic useinthe studio, asthe modelof modesofembodiment developed hereis applied to psycho physicaltraining oftheactorandto specificdramaturgies.6 Merleau-Ponty andthe"Problem"ofthe Body Beginning intheseventeenth century, Western philosophers cameto identify the body asa physicalobject muchlikeothermaterial objects?ashaving certain anatomicalandfunctional properties thatcouldbecharacterized as following certain scientific principles.Among those systematicallychallenging this understanding of the bodyduring the 1960s, aseriesofthreebooks by Maurice Merleau-Ponty? Phenomenologyof Perception, The Primacyof Perception, andTheVisibleandthe Invisible? markeda paradigmatic shiftin Western thinking abouttheroleofthe body inthe constitutionof experience whenheraisedthefundamental philosophicalproblem of the body's role (or lack thereof) in constitutingexperience.7Merleau-Pontycritiqued thehitherto static, objective natureof most representations ofthe body and experience: [TJhinking whichlooksonfrom above, andthinksofthe object-in-general mustreturnto the"thereis" whichunderlies it; tothe site, thesoilofthesensibleand opened worldsuch asitisinourlifeandforour body?not that possiblebody whichwe maylegitimately thinkofasaninformationmachinebutthatactual body Icall mine, thissentinel standing quietly atthecommandof my wordsandacts.8 Rejecting theexclusive assumption ofthenaturalsciencesandmodern psychology thattreatedthe physicalbody(K?rper) asa thing,object, instrument, or machineunder thecommandandcontrolofan all-knowing mind, and therebychallenging the 5 BertO. States, Great Reckonings inLittleRooms:On Phenomenologyof Theater (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971); Bruce Wilshire, Role Playing and Identity: TheLimits of Theatreas Metaphor (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,1982); Alice Rayner, ToActToDoTo Perform: Dramaandthe Phenomenologyof Action (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,1994); Stanton Garner, Bodied Spaces:Phenomenology and Performance in Contemporary Drama (Ithaca: Cornell University Press,1994). AsGarner explains,"Phenomenology offersto supplement thesemiotic (or materialist)body withthe phenomenal (and phenomenalizing)body?to counterthe signifyingbody inits dephysicalized readability withwhatwe might callthe'embodied' body inits materialresistance. Byaddressing issuesof embodiment, phenomenologyopensup thedimensionof 'livedness,' ofwhich objectifying theory can give noaccountandwhichit mustbracketinorderto maintainits analytic stance.The phenomenalbody resiststhe epistemological modelofa corporealobjectyielding its meanings toa decorporealized observer" (50). 6 The Psychophysical ActoratWork: acting ". .. atthenerveends" (London:Routledge Press, forth coming bookwith DVD-ROM). 7 Maurice Merleau-Ponty,PhenomenologyofPerception(London:Routledge and Kegan Paul,1962), The Primacyof Perception (Evanston: Northwestern University Press,1964), TheVisibleandtheInvisible (Evanston: Northwestern University Press,1968). 8 Merleau-Ponty, The PrimacyofPerception, 160-61. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODES OF EXPERIENCE / 655 Cartesian cogito, Merleau-Ponty (re)claimed the centrality ofthelived body (Leib) and embodied experience asthe very meansand medium through whichthe worldcomes into being andis experienced. Hedemanded anaccountofthe"actual body Icall mine," that is, the body as"an experiencedphenomenon ... inthe immediacy ofits lived concreteness," and"notasa representableobject... fortheabstractive gaze."9 He therebyrejectedmind-body dualism, and (re)claimed the centrality ofthe body andembodied experience asthelocusfor "experience asitislivedina deepening awareness."10For Merleau-Ponty, thefocusof philosophicalinquiry shiftedfrom"I think"toanexaminationofthe"I can"ofthe body, i.e., sight and movementas modes of entering into intersensoryrelationships with objects, or"theworld."11Dermot Moransummarizes Merleau-Ponty's contribution as undoubtedlyproducing "the mostdetailed example ofthe mannerin which phenomenology caninteractwiththe sciencesandtheartsto provide a descriptive accountofthenatureofhuman bodily being-in-the-world."12 TheProblemofthe Contemporary Actor's Body[ies] We organize "the world"weencounterinto significantgestalts, but"the body" I call mineis nota body, orthe body, butrather a process of embodying theseveralbodies oneencountersin everydayexperience as wellas highlyspecialized modesofnon everyday or "extra-daily" bodiesof practices such as acting or training in psycho physicaldisciplines toact.Thisnotionofembodimentasa process ofencounters opensup "the body" notasan object, and"carriesus past theinveterate tendency to reify whatweare trying tothinkandunderstandand engage."13 AsStantonGarner points out, "embodiednessis subject tomodificationand transformation, multiple and varying modesof disclosure, and ... theformsof ambiguity thatcharacterizethe phenomenal realm representexperience in flux, oscillating withinandbetweenmodes of perceptual orientation."14 This essaybegins withanexaminationofDrewLeder's post-Merleau-Ponty accountofone ofthe most vexingproblems ofthe body?corporeal absence,i.e., the "question of why the body, asa ground of experience ... tendstorecedefromdirect experience" and thereby becomesabsenttous.15Leder provides anextensiveaccount ofthe modesof bodily absencecharacteristicofthe everyday surfaceandrecessive bodies.Given my focus onthe contemporary actor'smodesof bodilybeing-in-the world, I build upon Leder's account byproposing twoadditional extra-daily modesof embodimentandtheir respective modesofabsencecharacteristicof acting: an aesthetic"inner" bodymind discoveredand shapedthroughlong-term,extra-daily modesof practice, andanaesthetic"outer" body constituted by the actions/tasks of a performance score?that body offeredfortheabstractive gaze ofthe spectator. 9 CalvinO. Schr?g,Experience and Being (Evanston: Northwestern University Press,1969), 130. 10 DavidMichael Levin, The Body's Recollection ofBeing(London: Routledge, 1985), 62. 11 Merleau-Ponty,PhenomenologyofPerception, 87. 12 Moran, AnIntroductionto Phenomenology, 434. 13 DavidMichael Levin, "The Ontological DimensionofEmbodiment: Heidegger'sThinking of Being," inThe Body, ed.DonnWelton (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers,1999),122^9,128. 14 Garner, Bodied Spaces, 51. 15 Drew Leder, TheAbsent Body(Chicago:University of Chicago Press,1990), 1. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions656 / Phillip B. Zarrilli AFundamentalParadox:"Theabsent body" Drawingupon, but attempting toaddresssomeofthe inadequacies in Merleau Ponty'sphenomenological accountofthe everydayexperience ofthe body, Drew Leder's The Absent Body addressesafundamental problem and paradox:16 Whileinonesensethe body isthemost abiding and inescapablepresence inour lives, itis also essentially characterized by absence.That is, one'sown body is rarely thethematic object of experience. When reading abookorlostin thought,my own bodily state may be thefarthest thing from my awareness.I experientially dwellina worldof ideas, paying littleheedto myphysical sensationsor posture.17 Such forgetfulness isnot"restrictedtomomentsof higher-levelcognition," but equally characterizesour engagement in activitiessuchas sports,physical labor, orthe performing arts?dance, acting, live performance, etc.When "engaged inafierce sport, musclesflexedand responsive tothe slightest movementsof myopponent... it is preciselyupon this opponent, this game, that my attention dwells, noton my own embodiment."18 Howare wetoaccountforthis bodily absence?For Leder, thelived body (Leib) is nota homogenousthing, butrather"a complexharmony ofdifferent regions, each operatingaccording to indigenousprinciples and incorporating different parts ofthe worldintoits space."19 Leder provides a lengthydescription oftwomodesof embodiment through whichour everydayexperience is usually constituted?the surfacebody andtherecessive body (see figure 1), eachof whichischaracterized by its ownmodeof bodily absence.20 The"Ecstatic"Surface Body We intersubjectivelyengage the worldaroundus through oursensorimotor surface body, suchas whenweusea handto explore, touch, orrelatetothe world.This body encompasses themost prominent functionswhich shape our experiential field, suchas the power ofthe gaze. Thebasicstanceofthesurface body vis-?-vistheworldit encountersis"ecstatic"inthatthesenses open outtothe world.Thisisthe body of 16 Ledertrainedasa physician andreceivedhisM.D.before turning to philosophy. His phenomeno logical accountisthereforeinformed by biom?dicalmodelsof physiology,anatomy, etc.Hisaccount isalso culturally sensitive, recognizing that anyinsight abouttheconstructionofhuman experience "involvesan ambiguous setof possibilities andtendenciesthattakeondefinite shapeonly witha culturalcontext .... The body'spractices and self-interpretations are alwaysalreadyshapedby culture" (The Absent Body, 151), andIwouldaddalso bygender and ethnicity. 17 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 1.Ratherthan dismissing Descartes' body-mind dualismoutof hand, Lederaddresseshis projectdirectly,providing a phenomenologically-informed accountofhow Descartesreachedhisconclusions.He argues thatitis precisely our experience ofthe body'sdisap pearance thatisthefoundationforDescartes' mind-body dualism."Becausethe body isatacitand self-concealing structure, therationalmindcancometoseemdisembodied" (Ibid.,108). 18 Ibid., 1. 19 Ibid., 2. 201focushereonthe mainfeaturesofLeder'saccountrelevanttoanexaminationof myargument in relationtoactor training and performance. Foranaccountwhichin manywaysparallels Leder's, see ShigenoriNagatomo's versionof Japanesephilosopher YasuoYuasa's "body-scheme"("An Eastern Concept ofthe Body: Yuasa's Body-Scheme," in Attunement Through the Body[Albany: SUNY Press, 1992]). This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODESOF EXPERIENCE / 657 First body surface body Second body recessive body Third body aestheticinner bodymind sensorimotor ecstatic visceralsubtle outward focal& background disappearance [stance in relationtothe world] recessive hidden/then ecstaticin practice [fundamental direction] inwardonceawakened: outward / inward asadialectic [mode of disappearance] depth absent disappearance oncecultivated recedes "Fourth body" aesthetic"outer" body [the "body" constituted by actions /tasks in performance, i.e., the"character"in drama, offeredfor the gaze ofthe audience] fictive oncecreatedas score, thenecstatic orrecessive oncecreatedas score, thattoand fromwhichoneacts absent oncecreated exteroception [plus proprioception] thatfrom whichI existintheworld "flesh" modesof disappearance areboth focal/ background andrecessive [mode of perception] interoception attentivenessto"asif" exteroception, proprioception, interoception [mode ofoperation/awareness] theinner depths that through which I mayheighten or cultivate my relationship to subtlemodesof "interiority" and/ orthe"world" [voluntary] [mediated/marked primarilyby] "blood""breath" "appearance" that through which I "appear" toact ina "world" Figure 1.Theactor'sembodiedmodesof experience. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions658 / Phillip B. Zarrilli "flesh."21Unlessdisturbedor interrupted insome way, our experience is usually characterized by acertain degree of ongoingspatiotemporalcontinuity."Myeyes can scana visualworldthatis withoutsudden gaps orcrevices.IfI abandonone sense, perhapsclosingmyeyes, theothersenses help to maintainthe continuity ofthe world."22 Physiologically, thesurface body ischaracterized primarilybyexteroception, i.e., theouter-directedfivesenses open usouttotheexternal world, usually "without immediateemotional response."23 However, thelived body always constitutesa nullpoint intheworldIinhabit.NomatterwhereI physically move, andeveninthemidstof motion, mybody retainsthestatusofanabsolute"here"around whichall"theres"are arrayed .... Precisely asthecenter point fromwhichthe perceptual field radiates, the perceptualorgan remainsanabsenceor nullity inthemidstofthe perceived.24 Giventhatthe body constitutesa nullpoint in our perceptual field, we experiencefrom the body, andthe sensory world"involves aconstantreferencetoour possibilities of active response."25 Itis precisely intheecstaticnatureofour corporeality thatthefirst reasonthatthe body is forgotten, i.e., "the body concealsitself precisely intheactof revealing whatis Other."26This primordial absenceiscorrelativewiththe very factof beingpresent in/to the worldwe experience. "Thesurface body tendsto disappear fromthematicawareness precisely becauseitisthat from whichI existinthe world," i.e., "myorgans of perception and motility are themselves transparent atthemoment ofuse."27 Whenwefixourvisualfocus "upon that whichlies spatially and temporally ahead, thebackofthe body is comparativelyforgotten. Itisabsorbedin background disappearance. "28 This commonplacedisappearance ofoursurface body is made possible in partby the operation ofasecondmodeof perception?proprioception?the "senseof balance, position, andmuscular tension, providedbyreceptors in muscles, joints, tendons, and theinnerear."29 Proprioception allowsoursurface body to adjust our limbs,muscles, etc. appropriately to any motor task;therefore, wedonot usually havetothinkabout howto walk up asetof steps. Thesensorimotor repertoire ofthelived body isin aconstantstateoftransformation mostevidentwhen learning a newskill.Skill acquisition is atfirstextrinsicwhereone acts"totheskill qua thematized goal."30 For example, whenfirst learning thelion pose intheIndianmartial art, kalarippayattu(see figure 2), a beginner mustlearnhowto assumethe pose"correctly"byplacing onefoot facing forward, andtheotherfootat ninetydegrees while keeping thetwoheelsinline withone another, theknees directly 21 Leder'suseof"flesh"and"ecstatic"tomarkthesurface body areboth descriptive, butalso metaphoric.Similarly, "blood"and"breath" metaphorically markthesecondandthird bodies, respectively. 22 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 42. 23 Ibid., 43. 24 Ibid., 13. 25 Ibid., 18. 26 Ibid., 22. 27 Ibid., 53. 28 Ibid., 29. 29 Ibid., 39. 30 Ibid., 31. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODESOF EXPERIENCE / 659 abovethefeet providingsupport, theexternalfocus ahead, andthe spinelengthened. Skill acquisition isoftenatfirstcharacterized by avolitionalshiftofattention prompted either by ateacher'sinstruction to, for example, "checkthe alignment ofthe heels"oraself-consciousshiftofone'sattentiontocheckone'sown alignment. The "to"overtimebecomesthe "from,"i.e., asone acquires skillin taking thelion pose and moving toandfromit.Whatwasextrinsicbecomesintrinsicand"intuitive."The practitioner has incorporated thelion pose andits steps tothe point of mastery in which s/he cannowactonand operate onthe worldfroma place of knowing howto movetoandfromthelion pose. Theindividual's proprioceptive senseallowsoneto make subtle, minor adjustments tothe very actof placing thefoot without thematizing the adjustment, i.e., one's bodymind"intuitively"adjusts asonemoves.Inthissense, the bodydisappears. The"Recessive"Visceral Body Thesecond body Lederdescribesistherecessive body, i.e., the deep, inner, visceral body of corporealdepths whichin physical termsincludesthe massofinternal organs and processesenvelopedby the body surface, suchas digestion andsensationssuchas Figure 2.Thelion pose from kalarippayattu: anintensive trainingworkshop atGardzieniceTheatre Association, led by theauthorinthecenterforward position. When learning thelion pose the big toeofthefoot being kicked upwards is ideallyslightly rotated, andtheextended big toecreatesan oppositional tensionasitextends upwards fromtheotherfourtoeswhichareextendedinthe opposite direction.Afterthe foot/big toehave goneup toaboutforehead level, they travel downward, andtheexternal gaze shouldbe following the big toedown.Asa beginningworkshop, notall participants areableto embody and display the fully "correct"formdescribedhere.For somethe big toeisnot properly extended, noristhefoot rotated, noristhe gazefollowing the big toeonitsdownward journey.Eventually, asoneattunesthe body toward"correct" practice, the "internal eye" is keeping anawarnessandlinktothe "negative"space oftherootfootthatis groundedinto/through thefloor. [May 1999 (Poland)] Photo by Przemek Sieraczyrtski. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions660 / Phillip B. Zarrilli hunger.Physiologically, our experience ofourinternalvisceraand organs ischaracter ized byinteroception.Compared tothesurface body,"interoception doesnotsharethe multidimensionality of exteroception."31 Leder provides the example of taking a bite of an apple which, before swallowing, is experiencedthroughsight, touch,smell, and taste.Butonce swallowed, "these possibilities areswallowed up aswell."32 Except for theoccasionalandoften unpleasant evidenceof digestiveactivity or dysfunction, "the incorporation ofan object intovisceral space involvesits withdrawalfrom exterocep tive experience."33 Thewithdrawalofthevisceral body is a formof "depthdisappear ance"inthatthevisceraare "part ofthe body whichwedonotuseto perceive oract upon the worldin a directsense."34 Lacking the specificity ofthesurface body, visceral sensationsarethereforeoften vague and anonymous?weexperience this body as recessive,i.e., going or falling intothe background. Characterized by its recession, the visceral body isthereforemuchmoredifficulttothematize.35Thisisthe (metaphorical) body of "blood," suggesting that depth dimensionof experience "beneaththesurface flesh,"36 as wellasour temporalemergence intolifeatthe momentofbirth. Thenormative disappearance ofbothsurfaceandrecessivebodiesisreversedwhen we experiencepain or dysfunction. In pain,sensory intensificationinthe body demandsdirectthematization.37Painisan affectivecallwhichhasthe "quality of compulsion," i.e., the pain seizesandconstrictsourattention.I mustactnowtothe body torelievethediscomfort.38IfI begin tolose my balancewhen walking up asetof steps,myproprioceptive sensethematizesthe dysfunction in mynormally"good" balance, andI automaticallyattempt to regainmy balancebefore falling. In bothcases I involuntarily acttowardthe body, notfromit. Our everydayexperience ofthelived body isaconstant intermingling and exchange of"fleshand blood,"i.e., "weformone organic/perceptual circuit"inhabit ing the surface/recessive body[ies] asa gestalt whichmovesbetweenecstaticand recessive states?projecting outintothe worldand falling back.39The body'sdisap pearance andabsence thereby markour"ceaselessrelationtotheworld."40Leder's accountconcludesthatthelived body's ecstaticandrecessivenature provides an "ambiguous setof possibilities andtendenciesthattakeondefinite shapeonly within aculturalcontext."41TheWesthastendedtovalorize"immaterial reason," andthis dissociationofmindfrom body has encouraged usto"abandonsensorimotoraware nessforabstractedmathematicalor linguistic forms"incontrastto more positive 31 Ibid., 40. 32 Ibid., 39. 33 Ibid., 39. 34 Ibid., 53. 35 Itisnow commonlyrecognized thatbiofeedback techniques or yoga canleadtoa lowering of blood pressure, etc. throughop?rantconditioning (Ibid.,53). 36 Ibid., 66. 37 Ibid., 77ff. 38 Painis notirresistible.Inthe midstofanathletic competition athletes may overcome physicalpain as theyoperate at peakperformance. "Atrained yogi canlearnto ignorepainentirely and suppress reflexivemotor responses. Butthe powerful distractions, training, oractsofwill necessary toresist pain's callbear testimony toits originalstrength"(Ibid.,73). 39 Ibid., 160. 40 Ibid., 160. 41 Ibid., 151. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODESOF EXPERIENCE / 661 modesof cultivating the types of bodily awarenessoften required ofthe actor/ performer.42 The"Aesthetic""Inner" Bodymind Since my interestisin constructing a phenomenologicalanalysis ofthelived body whichtakesaccountnot only ofthe everyday surfaceandrecessive bodies, butalsoof the non-ordinary,extra-daily lived body, I proposeadding tothesurfaceandrecessive bodiesan equallyimportant (third) modeofawarenessand experience?the "aes thetic"inner bodymind. This body isthatrealmof extra-dailyperception and experience associatedwith long-term,in-depthengagement incertain psychophysical practices or trainingregimes?yoga, themartial arts, acting/performing per se, or similarformsofembodied practice which engage the physicalbody andattention (mind) in cultivating and attuning bothtosubtlelevelsof experience andawareness. This process ofcultivationandattunementis aestheticinthatitis non-ordinary, takes place over time, andallowsfor a shiftinone's experience ofthe body andmind aspects fromtheir grossseparation, marked by the body's constant disappearance, to amuch subtler, dialectical engagement of body-in-mind and mind-in-body It is, therefore, markedasaestheticsince experience is gradually refinedtoever-subtler levelsof awareness, andinnersincethis modeof experiencebegins withan explora tionfromwithinastheawareness learnsto explore the body. Itakeasan example the well-documented paradigm ofthe bodyminddeveloped in Indian yoga andthe closely relatedIndianmartial art, kalarippayattu, where asubtle levelofinnerawarenessisoftenaccessed through attentivenesstothebreath.43In contrasttothe involuntary,everyday modesof disappearance and absence, orthe suddenattention given "to"the body in pain, these positive,voluntary modesof refined self-presencing allowthe practitioner to explore realmsofembodiment which, while always bound by certain phenomenal constraints, neverthelessallowoneto (re)negotiate thetermsand quality of engagement ofthelived bodymind inits encounterwithitselfinthe world?atleast duringoptimal momentsof psychophysi cal practice or engagement.44 At first, thissubtleinner bodymind is hidden,unknown, andthereforefundamen tally absentfrom experience. Sincethis bodymind andmodeof experience isnot necessary forthesurvivalofthe everydaybody, itis understoodtolie dormant within, 42 Ibid., 153. 43 On yoga see JeanVarenne, Yoga andthe HinduTradition (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1976); Georg Feuerstein, The Philosophyof Classical Yoga(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1980); and JeanFilliozat, Religion,Philosophy and Yoga(Delhi:Motilal,1991). On kalarippayattu andits relationship tothe yogicparadigm see Zarrilli, Whenthe Body BecomesAll Eyes(123-53), and"Three BodiesofPracticeinaTraditionalIndianMartial Art," SocialScienceand Medicine, 28.12:1289-310. Althoughculturallyspecific, the map and paradigm ofthe yogic subtle bodypoints toa type of experience ofthe "body" notaddressed by thebiom?dical paradigm. 44 Since my discussionfocuseson acting, I havechosentousetheterm extra-daily to markthe type of non-ordinary,voluntary modesof engagement describedhere.The pursuit of non-ordinary modes of experience canofcoursebe applied tothe practice of everydayliving, asistheidealincertainforms ofBuddhist engagement inthe everyday world, orasevidentinthe legacy ofElsaGindlerand body awareness training for everyday life (see, for example, Rebecca Loukes, "Body Awareness Training: the Legacy ofElsa Gindler," PhD thesis, Department of Drama, University of Exeter,2003). This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions662 / Phillip B. Zarrilli available only toand through certainmodesof psychophysicalpractice that engage theawareness.Whenanindividual undergoes assiduous practice of particular embodied disciplines like yoga andrelatedmartial arts, this body hasthe potential to be awakened,i.e., this modeof experience and perceptionthrough the body is opened andcan becomeavailabletothe experience ofthe practitioner asthe bodymind. To awakenthesubtleinner bodymind, onemustfirstattend directly toa particular embodied activity. Inthe practice of yoga andthe martialartssuchattentivenessis oftenachieved by meansofattentivenesstothebreath.Thisinner body istherefore literally as wellas metaphorically marked by thebreath?theinnercirculationof wind/energy/life-force identifiedinnon-Western paradigms ofthe body as prana or pranavayu in India, in Chinese practices as qui, andin Japanese aski.ForBuddhistsand Hindus, thisinner bodymind is fullymapped asthesubtle body of yoga wherethebreathorlife-force travels along channels (nadi) andactivateswheels (chakras) along thelineofthe spine.45 ForChineseTaoiststhis modeofinner experience oftheviscerais pictured "ascenters alonggreater andlesser pathways forthecirculationof qui/'46 Over long-termpractice, theresultisthatone's experience of body andmind aspects of experience canbe fundamentally altered,i.e., aninnersubtle bodymind is revealed, andcanbecultivated aestheticallythroughspecificpractices. Onceawak ened, this bodymind ormodeofawarenessbecomesecstaticandcan bedirected inward and/or outward through one's practice. Theecstaticnatureofthisinner experience is oftenmanifestin non-Western paradigms as extremely subtlevibrations and/or heat.It can operatefrom-the-body, "to"theinteriorofthe body, orbetweenthe fromandtheto.Insome disciplines,especiallyinwardly directedformsof meditation intendedtotakethe practitioneraway from engagement withthe everyday worldand awayfrom-the-body towardrenunciationor self-transcendence, thedirectionis inward, andthe body therefore intentionally recedes.Thesemodesof practice are ecstatically recessive.Butinother disciplines,especially martialartsorthosemodesof meditationintendedtoenlivenandalterone'sencounterwiththeimmediateenviron ment, thedirectionis outwardtowardthisencounterwiththeenvironmentandworld asonemeetsit.Itisinthese outwardly oriented practices thatone'sstance ecstatically modulatesbetweentheinnerand outer, the to-the-body and from-the-body?the inner/depth core, andtheouterworld oneencounters. Ofallthe processes oftherecessivevisceral body,respiration?the actof breathing whichinvolvessurface exchanges severaltimeseachminute?isthe mostaccessibleof ourvisceral processes tointentionalcontrol.Our breathingrespondsinstantaneously toshiftsin emotion;therefore, "breathing is'basedinexistencemorethan any other physiological function.'"47Itis through thebreaththattheaestheticinner body reaches 45 Leder explains that"Suchsch?masaremeanttohavenot onlyexplanatory but phenomenological power,chartingexperiencesopen tothe ordinaryperson ortothosewho engage in spiritualpractices. These energeticportrayalsmaycapture thesubtleand shiftingquality ofinner experience betterthan an image of fixed, massyorgans" (The Absent Body, 182-83). Theaestheticinner bodycorresponds to Yasuo'sfourthcircuit?the"circuitofunconscious quasi-body" whichmediatesbetweentheother experiential circuits (Nagatomo, "AnEastern Concept ofthe Body," 59). 46 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 182. 47 Ibid., 183. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODESOF EXPERIENCE / 663 andtouchesboththesurface body of exteroception, andalsothe depth("blood") body ofourinnerrecesses. Thefundamentalstateofabsenceofthis third, aesthetic inner-bodymind is wit nessedinour everydayrelationship to breathing. Theactof breathing, likeother visceral domains, normallydisappears unless a particularphysical conditionsuchasa heart problem, oranon-normativemodeofexertionsuchas climbing twohundred stairs quickly, callsourattentiontodifficultiesor pain in breathing.Alternatively, focusing ourattentionin andontheactof breathing in a particularway, andinrelation tothe body,provides onemeans by whichtobothwork against therecessive disappearance ofthebreathinordertocultivatethebreathandourinnerawareness towarda heightened, "ecstatic"stateof engagement ina particularpractice and/or in relationto a"world."For example, somemastersoftheIndian martial art, kalarippayattu, teach simplebreathing exercisesatthe beginning of training.48 Individualsstandwith feetatshoulder width, external gaze fixedonand through a point aheadat eye level. They areinstructedto keep themouth closed, andtobreath through the nose, simultaneously (and literally)following withtheir"inner eye" thebreathasittravels in anddown along thelineofthe spine downtothelowerabdominal region abouttwo inchesbelowthenavel (inSanskrit, therootofthe navel, nabhi muid). Sensing the completion ofthe in-breath, and keeping theinner eye fixedonthe breath, on the exhalation they followthebreathonits journey back up andout through the nose.The practitioner's attentionis directed simultaneously outwardwiththeexternal eye, and inwardanddownwiththe"inner eye." Suchattentive breathing can gradually shiftone'sawarenesstothebreathinthe hereandnowasittraversesits way tothevisceral depths ofthe body belowthe navel. Eventually, with long-termpractice, the sensory awarenessof following thebreathcan beextendedfromthelowerabdomendownward through thelower body andout through thesolesofthe feet, upthrough thetorso along thelineofthe spine, andout the top ofthe head, andout through the arms/hands/fingers or palms asthe"inner windor energy" travels through the body.Although itis normalfora beginner toat first "space out"or experience the mind wanderingaway from staying attentivetothe simple taskof following thebreathtoandfromthelower abdomen?keeping the "eyes inthe gut"?overlong-termpractice suchattentivenesstobreathworks against thenormative disappearance ofthe body. Although I havefocusedhere onthe example ofthesubtle body of yoga and kalarippayattu becausethis particular interior map ofthesubtle body hasbeenwell documented ethnographically, theexistenceof an aesthetic inner-bodymind marked by this particularmap is not, Iwould argue, exclusivetothese particularpractices. Rather, numerousmodesoftraditionalaswellas contemporary actor/dancer training suchas Japanese noh, LeCoq,Meyerhold's biomechanics, Grotowski-based work, butoh, Suzuki training, kathakali dance-drama, etc. providepractitioners withmodes of deep, assiduous training in whichthe practitioner hasthe potential to develop an aesthetic inner-bodymind. Each particular cultural,historical, or artistic/pedagogical practice overtime develops aversionofthisaestheticinner bodymind. Themature practitionerideallydevelops the ability to voluntarily thematizethe bodythrough use 48 Zarrilli, Whenthe Body BecomesAll Eyes, 128-39. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions664 / Phillip B. Zarrilli ofthebreathsothatone "stays [more] present" inthe momentof practice.Although this type of "self-presencing"experience is notoneofthe primary,everyday"ways in whichmostofus liveoutthe body,"49 forthe actor, martial artist, or meditator, such attending to bodilyactivity itselfis practically cultivated throughlong-termtraining and/or throughlong-termexperience on stageper se, whereoneisabletoattaina non-ordinary,optimal "inner"awarenesstobe deployed inone's practice.50 Tosummarizethediscussionthus far, one's experience ofthe gestaltbody-as-a wholeis usually withinthecontextof experientialdisappearance; however, forthe individual practicing some type of psychophysicaldiscipline or throughlong-term embodied practice, the experience ofsurfaceandrecessivebodiescanbeenhanced andmodulated by the gradualawakening andattunementofa third, inneraesthetic inner bodymind. TheAesthetic"Outer" Body In performance, theactorenactsa specificperformance score?thatsetof actions/ tasksthatconstitutetheaestheticouter body offeredfortheabstractive gaze ofthe spectator?often readand experienced ascharacterinaconventionaldrama.The actor's body, therefore, is duallypresent forthe objectivegaze and/or experience ofan audience, andasasiteof experience fortheactor per se.Theactor's body isasite through which representation as wellas experience are generated forbothselfand other.Theactor undergoes an experience thatisone's own, andisthereforeconstitu tiveofone's being-in-the-world, and simultaneously constitutesa worldfortheother. StantonGarnerdescribesthisasthe"irreducibletwinnessof a fieldthatis?fromall points?simultaneously inhabitedandseen."51For spectatorsattending theenactment of a drama, thisfourth body is conventionally readand experienced asa particular character. Duringperformance, theactor ideally embodies, attends to, andinhabits an experiential fieldstructured by thesetof actions/tasks immediately athandwhich collectively constitutethe performance score, anddoesso witha modeofembodied inhabitation fulfilling the qualities andconstraintsoftheaestheticconventions receivedorconstructedforthat particularperformance. Fortheactor operating at virtuosic levels, oncethescoreiscreated through rehearsalsora period of devising, it presents itselftotheactoras potentially bothecstaticand recessive,i.e., thatstructure to which and/or from whichoneactsorbodiesforththe performance. Thefundamen taldirectionisbothtoand from,i.e., theactor's performance isa modulationor oscillationinrelationtothatscore.Asa constructed/fictivescore, thissetoftasksor actionsis absentuntilitis created, andbodiedforthin performance. Oncecreatedand present fortheactorasa score, themodesof disappearance areboth focal/background andrecessive.Fortheactorwithintheenactmentofthescoreina role, one's perceptionoperates between exteroception,proprioception, and interoception, i.e., 49 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 153. 50 Whetherornotthe type ofawarenesscultivatedinrelationtoa specificpractice istransferableto other practices, orto daily life, isan interesting but complexquestion thatcannotbe fully addressedin this essay. 51 Garner, Bodied Spaces, 51. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsMODELOF THEACTOR'SEMBODIEDMODESOF EXPERIENCE / 665 adjustments are madeas necessary to/with/for theimmediatedemandsofthefour bodies. Ideally, theactorthematizesthescoreasit unfolds, inhabiting as fully as possible eachactionwithinthe score, and linking eachactionasitsmomentof enactmentarrives. However, constant adjustments mustbemadetoandwithinthe momentofenactment?toone's balance, totheactionofanother actor, toa cough ora laugh fromthe audience, etc.The experiential fieldoftheactor is, as Garner explains, "subject to ambiguity andoscillation.Atthecenterofthis ambiguity isthetension betweeninsideandoutside."52The actor,therefore, operates withadualconsciousness ina process ofconstantmodulationofthefourbodieswithalltheir ambiguities and tendencies, alwaysideallythematizing the unfolding score.Theactoris inhabiting and embodying ascore through whichhe appears toactina world.Theactor'sbreath appears tobethecharacter's breath,i.e., theactor'sbreathbothishisownand simultaneously isthebreathofthecharacter. Forthe actor-as-self, the "organic/perceptual circuit" experience knits together all ofthebodiesasa gestalt withinwhichthereis constant, dialecticmovementbetween ecstaticandrecessivestateswith respect toeachofthebodies.53Noneofthebodiesis settledor absolute, but always inaconstantstateof ambiguity. Therefore, theactor's lived experience withintheworldof performanceengages aconstantdialectic betweenand among thesefourbodies. Optimally, in heightenedextra-daily activities suchas performance, thesurfaceandrecessivebodies may recedefurtherintothe background, butofcourseare alwayspresent. Thelived body asa gestalt is present as an intersecting,intertwining, chiasmof multiple bodies. Concluding Discussion:TheActor's "Body" asthe"Chiasmatic Body" Thenotionthatthe experience ofthelived bodymay bestbedescribedasa "chiasm"?braiding,intertwining, or criss-crossing?originated with Merleau-Ponty's earlydescription ofthe intertwining thatcharacterizesthe body's fundamental relationship tothe world through thesurface body.54 Inthe model proposed here, the chiasmicnatureof experience asa braiding and intertwining is more complexly elaboratedinthemodulationofthefourmodesof bodilyexperience described above?theecstatic surface, the depth/visceral recessive, thesubtleinner bodies, and thefictive body oftheactor'sscore.Leder's analysis addsto Merleau-Ponty the dimensionof depth or verticality associatedwithour deep, visceral experience.55 Such verticality is mostevidentinthe voluntary modesof psychophysicalpractice that awaken experiencethrough the subtle, inner bodymind. In yoga andselectedmartial artslikethe yoga-basedkalarippayattu, whenoneexercisesthe bodymindthrough the various forms, oneis understoodto be literallybraiding,interweaving, or tying knots withintheinner body. Asthe practitionerrepeats overandover again a formlikethe lion pose, she movesfromonelionintoanother bysliding therearfoot along theearth andinside "through thecentre" (orabdomen) before sliding thefootforward.When performedcorrectly withthe hips forwardanda lengthenedspine, the repetitious actionof bringing the foot/leg in (to one's center), andthenout (from the center) 52 Ibid., 51. 53 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 160. 54 Merleau-Ponty, TheVisibleandthe Invisible, passim. 55 Leder, TheAbsent Body, 62-63. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions666 / Phillip B. Zarrilli constitutes aformof churning or knotting which literally exercisesthelower abdominal region. Thisactof tying or braiding createsaconstant opposition?thetype of opposition we experience whenwetiea tight knotina rope,pulling withourtwo handsonbothendsofthe ropesimultaneously in opposite directionsto tighten the knot.Heretheresultsof long-term exerciseofthe body-as-chiasm canbemanifestas a groundingenergy circulatedoutfromthelower abdomen, through thefeet (the ends ofthe rope),along the spine, andavailable to/in thehands (the endsofthe rope). Insuch heightened modesof psychophysicalpractice, oneisableto experience a "bidirectional incorporation" where"theboundariesbetweeninnerandouter ... becomemore porous."56 Thelowerabdominal region istheactivatedinner depth to andfrom whichone'sattentivethematizationofthe body cantravel along thelineof the spine outward through therear foot, outthe top ofthe head, through the palms. Ideally withina SouthAsian paradigm, one's ability to engage andencounterthe worldis heightened andattunedtothe point where"the body becomesall eyes," with an ability to respondimmediatelythrough the bodymind tothe sensory surround.57 Thechiasmicmodelof experience andembodimentoutlinedhere points nottoa modeof subjectivity thatis unitary inits self-presencing, butratherthe operation of subjectivity asa constantlyshifting tactical improvisationmodulating betwixtand betweenone's bodymind andits modesof engaging itsown deployment inthescore (physical and textual) duringtraining and performance. Oneisin aconstant process of makingadjustments toone's presence and/or absenceinrelationtothebodiesas they encounterthis particular momentofenactmentofascore. Withinthe phenomenologi calmodel explored here, theactor's complexsubjectivity isneversettledorfixed withina present ora body, butratheris engagedcontinually ina process ofitsown play withthe"to"sand"from"swhicharecharacteristicofeach modeofembodiment. Thestructureoftheactor'sscore provides theactorwithonesetoftasksoractionsto be played, i.e., to be corporeallyengaged withand through one's bodymind. Inour practices as actors, actor trainers, or directors, the implications oftheissues raisedinthis essay includethe following: how an understanding ofour multiple modesofembodimentandtherecessivenatureofeach bodymight leadtothe development of strategies for enhancing thecultivationof workon impulse, action, and a bodily-based awarenessinwhichabsentor negativespace isinhabited as part of the performanceprocess. In my own training and performance work, Icontinueto ask, isit possible forthe gestalt oftheactor's body-as-a-whole tothematize voluntarily and thereby betterinhabitboththe body and space aroundthe body which usually "disappear"? For example, what happens whenonelooksfrombehindor maintains anactiveawarenessofthesolesofthefeetasone part ofthedialecticofthebodies-in performance? These, of course, are open-endedquestions of"how." 56 Ibid., 165. 57 Forafullelaborationofthis metaphor of optimalbodymindengagement, see Zarrilli, Whenthe Body BecomesAll Eyes. This content downloaded from 186.18.61.140 on Mon, 25 Aug 2014 02:00:11 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions