Lorna Marshall

Yoshi Oida

Yoshi Oida is a Japanese actor and director who has worked mainly in the West as a member of Peter Brook's theatre company in Paris. He blends the oriental tradition of supreme and studied control with the Western performer's need to characterise and expose depths of emotion. In this study of the actor's art written with Lorna Marshall, Yoshi Oida provides every performer with all the simple tools which help place the technique of acting behind a cloak of invisibility. Yoshi Oida believes that once the audience becomes openly aware of the actor's method and becomes too conscious of the actor's artistry, the wonder of performance dies. The audience must never see the actor but only his or her performance.

The Invisible Actor

The Invisible Actor presents the captivating and unique methods of the distinguished Japanese actor and director, Yoshi Oida. While a member of Peter Brook's theatre company in Paris, Yoshi Oida developed a masterful approach to acting that combined the oriental tradition of supreme and studied control with the Western performer's need to characterise and expose depths of emotion. Written with Lorna Marshall, Yoshi Oida explains that once the audience becomes openly aware of the actor's method and becomes too conscious of the actor's artistry, the wonder of performance dies. The audience must never see the actor but only his or her performance. Throughout Lorna Marshall provides contextual commentary on Yoshi Oida's work and methods. In a new foreword to accompany the Bloomsbury Revelations edition, Yoshi Oida revisits the questions that have informed his career as an actor and explores how his skilful approach to acting has shaped the wider contours of his life.

His account includes an explanation of the genesis of the techniques and exercises which have formed the basis of their internationally-celebrated work.

An Actor Adrift

A founding member of Peter Brook's international theatre company, Yoshi Oida infuses his acting and directing with the artistry of the Oriental traditions and a mastery of Western forms. In this disarmingly accessible study of the art of acting he shares his unique experience and range of expertise. An Actor's Tricks offers a meticulous scrutiny of the actor's preparation for performance and comes with a foreword by Peter Brook. Drawing on an unrivalled wealth and range of expertise in the fields of acting, directing and training, Yoshi Oida and Lorna Marshall provide an authoritative and fascinating study of the art of the actor. In scrutinising the process of performance from the twin perspectives of the actor and director, An Actor's Tricks is filled with hints, insights and stories from productions with Peter Brook and from around the world. Beginning with the daily preparation to train the body, it moves to the process of rehearsal for a performance right up to the moment when the actor steps onstage. An appendix of practical exercises is included for the actor to follow. The books combines principles and techniques from both Western and Eastern disciplines of acting to provide a masterful study essential for every actor and director.

An Actor's Tricks

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

An Actor Adrift is the remarkable account of Japanese actor director Yoshi Oida, who in 1968 left Japan and joined Peter Brook's international theatre company in Paris. Since then he has become a leading member and trainer in the company. In this book, part personal story and part a workbook for actors and directors wishing to understand and employ Peter Brook's techniques, Oida describes the formation and early training of Brook's company and provides an account of the first decade of work. It provides a fascinating account of the company's first public performance - The Conference of the Birds in Iran, of the extraordinary explorative journey that followed through Africa, of work in America and of the return to work in France. While he relates productions of The Ik, The Conference of the Birds, The Mahabharata, Orghast and Timon of Athens, he interweaves his vivid personal experience as an actor in whom Eastern and Western culture and practices come together.

Yoshi Oida

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