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17. Psychology in Drama

17. Psychology in Drama

Lessons of the 'Troupe 1931' Theater Ensemble

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Topper Sherwood
Oct 09, 2023
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Berlin Stories
Berlin Stories
17. Psychology in Drama
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The original author of these essays was Ingeborg Franke von Wangenheim

Our director, Gustav Wangenheim, was never against using psychology as a means for deepening the actors’ insight into our characters, or for improving our understanding of any dramatic content. This sets him against others in the field today, those who reject psychology as a tool for understanding anything.

I’m of the same mind: People in theater who reject this new realm of thought are dismissing a useful tool for improving one’s art. To the director — and to us actors — psychology is just another tool in the toolbox, a language that helps us comprehend in new ways our world of people (our characters), their truths, and the paths they choose.

Cover of “Berlin Psychoanalytic” by Veronica Fuechtner. (University of California Press, 2011.)

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