Searching for a Path to Authenticity Through Physical Theatre Practices as the Baron Docteur in Parks' Venus

This thesis explores my attempt to develop a system to help achieve authenticity in performance. My primary research involved reading the works of such authors as Kristen Linklater, Anne Bogart, Michael Chekhov, Keith Johnstone, and several others. This theoretical understanding was supplemented by personal explorations in the studio, as well as in the rehearsal hall. I then attempt to synthesize the discoveries made therein into a set of practices that I apply to the rehearsal and performance of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus. Ultimately I make the first steps toward discovering emotional access through interoceptive examination, embodied listening by deprioritizing vision and hearing, and spontaneity of action achieved through acknowledgement and acceptance of tension. Finally, I look at how I will continue this work in the future.