Communication in Theatre Directing and Performance: From Rehears ...

2.2. Development

2.2.1. Underlying Evidence

A concept well suited to represent this ability is ‘bodymind’, a term coined by Dr Candace Pert (1998) when her research with neuroreceptor transmitters in the brain, and whether there were specific receptors to pick up opiates (she found that there were), led her to formulate a holistic view of the human archetype. Instead of an early view of the dualistic nature of mind and body, proposed by the Greeks of antiquity and later incorporated into Islamic and Christian philosophy (Hutchinson 1996, 52, under ‘Aristotle’) with all the following belief systems predicated on that position, Pert concluded that people are ‘bodyminds’, one whole and inseparable life form that functions within a holistic framework. This research and conceptualisation has since been strengthened in affective neuroscience (Ashly, Valentin, and Turken 2002; Buchanan and Adolphs 2002) and through studying the integration between immune and other systems (Claragnier, Falchier, and Kennedy 2004; Morrison, Lloyd, and di Pellegrino 2004). Humans’ integrated systems act together, within the body, in a synchronized manner such that communication can be subliminal and occur at a sophisticated level between people. This type of communication cannot be documented through field observations in a theatre production, for instance. There will occur elements of subtle communication between company members in a rehearsal that perhaps even they are unaware of, expressed only as ‘leaked’ behaviour that is quite unconscious to them. As such, this type of communication is open to several interpretations rather than any specific manifestation of deliberate expression. Any investigations must, therefore, be confined to clearly identifiable verbal and gestural communications.

Verbal language is a fundamental component of any communication-based observation. Physiological and neurological data demonstrate how through evolution humans acquired and developed language, leading to a strong hypothesis that phonetic, emotive vocalisations, coupled with prosody, were combined with a capacity for vocal mimicry and led to