Abstract
This thesis investigates themes and topics concerning the lived experience of contemporary actor training drawn from the experiences of the author as both researcher and subject whilst working as a teacher in leadership at the Guildford School of Acting. The key research themes addressed in this thesis seek to define the lived experience of contemporary actor training, establishing its contemporary context through investigations drawn from case studies at the Guildford School of Acting. Utilising an interdisciplinary understanding of Vygotsky’s and Stanislavski’s considerations of the term perezhivanie, a call to action is presented from the intersection of diverse and global viewpoints including students, teachers, members from the professional creative industries. The findings outline a need for change through impactful action. Such action must not only positively affect the lived experience of the key stakeholders in actor training but is also reliant on an ethos of equitable empowering collaborative partnership amongst these members of the actor training community. Considerations of access, identity and representation are explored, with further areas for investigation established including the response to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd and implications arising from the #MeToo movement for young people engaging in performance. Subsequent recommendations are that actor training pedagogy must progress to include interdisciplinary intersectional insight, seeking to respond to the change and challenge of its socio-political context to address learning with resilient agility, learning from the continued marginalisation of those living with a disability, as well as responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. The concept of the locus of control is identified as key to amplifying the importance of acknowledging diverse lived experiences, so that all frames of reference are understood via appropriately nuanced and differentiated approaches, thus enabling and empowering accessible actor training.