Focusing and Drama

Home | Newsletter Table of Contents | Previous Page of Newsletter | Next Page of Newsletter The Theatre And Focusing: A D ouble Process By Michael Seibel, Greece I was born and raised in Germany where I studied music and dramatic arts. I worked for many years as a theatre director in Germany , but in 1994 I followed an inner impulse and moved to Athens, Greece. I now work in Greece as a theatre director and acting teacher at several drama schools. I have always considered Greece the birthplace of western theatre, and Athens seemed like the right place to research the universal theatrical language and perhaps to discover the secrets behind the artistic creative process. So I should not have been surprised that it was here in Athens, this ancient center of artistic creativity, that I learned about Focusing. In cooperat ion with Pavlos Zarogiannis and Anna Karali from the Hellenic Focusing Center, I developed a use for Focusing that works well for actors and others in the theatrical field, and even with the audience itself. The purpose of this article is to introduce this way of using Focusing. After learning Focusing and applying it in my everyday theatrical work, I discovered that the Focusing process actually parallels the creative process. I gradually realized that the creation of a work of art is based on steps that are nearly identical to the Focusing steps. For example, a poet looking for the right word or a painter looking for the right color needs to tune in to his felt sense in order to make the right selection. Most of the time, artists are not conscious of moving through Focus ing steps. They only know what they need and they recognize the feeling of harmony when they get it right. When an artist creates a work by using a Focusing-oriented approach, his own body is a source of inspiration. Because Focusing is intentional and not merely unconsciou s, he also comes to a better understanding of his own creative Michael Seibel is a theatre director living in Greece. He can be reached at [email protected] .

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Focusing and Drama