In December, 1988, I began research for this thesis, interested in studying the nature of Elizabethan nobility as presented in four of Shakespeare’s queens. As an experienced actress, I welcomed the opportunity to delve into such topics as Renaissance history and literature, performance practice, women’s issues of the era, and heroic archetypal character types in order to construct sound character analyses for these roles. My thought was to accompany my literary study with performances of monologues taken from each play, demonstrating how theory about performance practice can be translated into form.
Behind my keen interest to learn more about Shakespeare, I was fascinated by his portrayal of royal women who displayed dignity and strength in the face of challenging circumstances; the nature of nobility was the intriguing factor. My understanding of how to portray this one character trait on the stage seemed to me to be the critical factor to my work, one which would carry the part if I could hone it. Since two of my chosen queens, Hermione (The Winter’s Tale) and Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra) had similarities, both in character and story line, to that of goddess archetypes (Demeter and Isis), I began research into goddess archetypes to see if I could discover ways to bring alive the inherent royal strength and nobility found in the goddess, and carry it over into my acting. What I found was a gold mine.
I discovered, particularly through the works of Dr. Jean Bolen (Goddesses in Everywoman), and Dr. Erich Neumann (The Great Mother, Armor and Psyche, Art and the Creative Unconscious), that within every woman, and therefore every actress’s psyche, there is the feminine archetype, composed of four major groupings or “mysteries,” as defined by Neumann. Tapping into these mysteries allows a powerful force to surface from the subconscious, and release into a woman’s life. I realized that by using archetypal identification techniques, spoken of in different ways by Bolen, Jung and Neumann, along with method acting techniques, I could tap into the goddess archetypal aspects residing in myself, thus enabling my acting presentation to be genuine and powerful.
As my research continued, three queens were eliminated: Hermione (The Winter’s Tale), Catherine (Henry VIII), and Imogen (Cymbeline), because I could not find adequate source material in the literature to prove that they could be played based on a goddess archetype. I decided to work solely with Cleopatra, because all the source material I found, which is based on the historical Cleopatra, presented her as a goddess figure and a royal figure. As well, Shakespeare’s presentation of Cleopatra’s character as containing good/evil personality traits indicated his understanding of her multi-faceted personality, and was a perfect example with which to work.
Discovering that the archetypal mysteries of Isis were birth, rebirth, fruition, and immortality, I became fascinated with how these qualities could be expressed personally and collectively, thereby sustaining their essences in our lives socially. I researched the beginnings of theatre, sacred ritual and dance, myth, symbols, collective worship, and read all the Joseph Campbell I could find. I was captivated with how these powerful forces could be used artistically. Personal identification with mythological images and characters such as heroes and villains, and historic material steeped in royal splendor, have all opened doors in consciousness, in times past, to what inherently abides inside us. Speaking of the mythological archetype, Joseph Campbell states that there is “a wonderful reconstruction of the bolder, cleaner, more spacious and fully human life,” that comes from expressing the hero we carry within.
I have found that the archetypal mysteries of birth, rebirth, fruition and immortality found within the goddess Isis are tremendously powerful tools for the artist to use. As images, they evoke their own processes, and thereby may allow renewal of life processes when represented through artistic mediums. I was so interested in these mysteries, that I chose to work with them through another medium, that of art (see Appendix II), in order to visualize them, which in turn, has assisted in my understanding of how these mysteries affect my own acting processes while presenting Cleopatra.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
1 Introduction
2 Theory: The Nature, Power and Use of the Positive Feminine Archetype
3 Method: Identification with the Archetype
4 Application: Cleopatra as Isis
5 Process: Script Analysis
6 Conclusion: The Positive Feminine Archetype in the Performing Arts
7 Appendix I: Illustrations by Neumann
8 Appendix II: Illustrations by the Author
9 Appendix III: The Historical Cleopatra
Bibliography
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Releasing The Power of The Positive Feminine Archetype In The Performing Arts
