什么是表演

在舞台上或摄影机前，藉由动作、姿势和声调来扮演某一角色的艺术。西方传统戏剧源於西元前6世纪的希腊；悲剧作家泰斯庇斯（thespis）被认为是在戏剧中首创演员角色的先驱。亚里斯多德认为表演是：以正确的语调来诠释不同情感；并认为这种才能是天生的，且怀疑表演是可传授的。表演这门艺术在中世纪时已逐渐式微，当时由职业工会和业余者演出的基督教礼拜式戏剧（liturgical drama）盛行。现代的职业表演随着16世纪时，义大利的即兴喜剧剧团的演出而浮现；至莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）时代达於鼎盛。直到18世纪，经由英国的演员兼经理加立克（David Garrick）、演员席登斯（Sarah Siddons）、基恩（Edmund Kean）、欧文（Henry Zrving）等人的努力，表演才被正视为一项专业。现代表演风格受俄国导演史坦尼斯拉夫斯基（Konstantin Stanislavsky）影响，他强调演员对角色的认知。而德国戏剧家布莱希特（Bertolt Brecht）则坚持演员的客观性和训练的重要性。在美国，史坦尼斯拉夫斯基表演法（Stanislavsky method）被史特拉斯伯格（Lee Strasberg）和阿德勒（S. Adler, 1901～1992）采用，这是目前最基本的表演训练，着重在情绪的培养、记忆的感觉、脸部和声音的训练、即兴表演等。

acting

Art of representing a character on a stage or before a camera by means of movement, gesture, and intonation. Acting in the Western tradition originated in Greece in the 6th century BC; the tragedian Thespis is traditionally regarded as founder of the profession. Aristotle defined acting as “the right management of the voice to express various emotions” and declared it a natural gift that he doubted could be taught. Acting declined as an art in the Middle Ages, when Christian liturgical drama was performed by craft guilds and amateurs. Modern professional acting emerged in the 16th century with Italy's commedia dell'arte troupes. It flourished during the era of William Shakespeare. Not until the 18th century, however, was acting considered a profession to be taken seriously, through the efforts in England of the actor-manager David Garrick and the talents of such actors as Sarah Siddons, Edmund Kean, and Henry Irving. Modern acting styles have been influenced by Konstantin Stanislavsky's emphasis on the actor's identification with his role and by Bertolt Brecht's insistence on the objectivity and discipline of the actor. The Stanislavsky method was adapted in the U.S. by Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler (1901-1992) and is the basis of most contemporary training, which features the cultivation of emotional and sense memory, physical and vocal training, and improvisation.