[NEohioPAL] "What Were They Thinking?! A new CJN series featuring Cleveland artists

Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL neohiopal at lists.neohiopal.org
Tue Jul 29 13:39:10 PDT 2014


What Were They Thinking: Artists on Stage

 

 Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

 

"I pretty much try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face."  ~ Johnny Depp

 

Art is such a peculiar enterprise that even its most skillful practitioners can't quite explain how they do what they do when they do it.  And yet the latest issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - a bedtime staple on most nightstands - reported new research on how performing artists think when they create.   

 

Brain signals were measured using lightweight wireless sensors as professional dancers expressed themselves through movement.  It was discovered that what appears so intuitive, impetuous and effortless is the result of vigorously snapping synapses in the sensory motor network and the prefrontal cortex kicking into overdrive.  

  

So what's going on inside the heads of actors?  

 

Sure, acting requires memorization and a host of complex psychological skills, such as imagination and empathy, to evoke visceral emotions during a performance.  But do actors actually think when they act?  And what do they think about?  

 

To help advance the state of neurological research, but without all the paperwork, two prominent, deep-thinking stage performers met with the CJN at their mother ship - Corky and Lenny's deli - to discuss this issue.  And to have a light snack.  

 

They are long-time actor/director/improv guru Marc Moritz, who decided to forego a light snack and have the corned beef and fries, and popular standup comedian/writer/voice-over actor Marc Jaffe, who ate more sensibly.  

 

The results of this meeting are as startling as they are insightful.    

 

Moritz:  What was the question?

 

Jaffe:  He asked what we have in our head when we perform.  I have the Garfield 1-2323 jingle for aluminum siding.  It's been there since 1967. 

 

For more of this interview, go to: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/
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