The Golden Buddha Changing Masks
An Opening to Transformative Theatre
Theater instructors and students, aspiring actors, and working theater professionals can all benefit from this examination of acting as a self-development practice and spiritual path. Beginning with a brief history of the acting profession, the text covers Stanislavski and other special approaches to actor training, practices specific to acting that can open up wider perspectives, ways to promote both personal and professional development, the place of sexual energy in acting, and more. Also included is a section of practical exercises, based on the author's experience with professional theater companies, various forms of meditation and martial arts, and stage combat. The exercises emphasize both movement and perception and can readily be used in a wide variety of venues, from children's drama classes to community theater training, university acting courses, and professional acting. Using classic theater training and resources as a foundation, this guide incorporates the spiritual aspects of acting for a deeper artistic experience.
Mark Olsen has a background both in professional theater and also on the spiritual path. He first studied acting in college, then studied Kabbalist mime, shaman theater-craft, and experimental theater. He has been on Broadway, toured with the mime/mask group Mummenschanz, and has taught at the University of Houston and Wright State University. He is a professor of acting and movement with the Pennsylvania State University School of Theatre and the author of The Actor with a Thousand Faces and The Conception Mandala. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania.
