The lived experience of actor training: Perezhivanie - A literature review

Abstract

This paper examines definitions of the lived experience through a literature review that focusses the lens on both Vygotsky’s and Stanislavski’s considerations of the lived experience, or in the original Russian perezhivanie. This literature review seeks to establish both the distinction between the use of the term by the practitioners in the context of their respective fields, as well as to present the links between the rendering of the theory of perezhivanie as relevant in a contemporary creative performer training learning environment. The etymology of the term perezhivanie is investigated and contextual historical readings of the term perezhivanie are presented, with connections made between the practice of the teacher in the learning environment of the actor and the teacher’s interaction with the lived experience of the student actor engaging in a creative process.