Conclusion
The exploration of gesture in naturalism can be vitally enhanced through an understanding of the research that psycholinguistics offers. A phenomenological approach in performance pedagogy considering each actor as a body/subject in constant interaction with her or his own ‘lifeworld’ offers a contextualised vision of how bodies interact on or off stage. Assisting in each actor’s developing awareness of the interconnections between their felt meanings and their physical and vocal expressions is a rich pedagogical investment in enabling ongoing learning processes for any student of performance. Whilst the concept of universal ‘body language’ is erroneous given the complex interventions of culture with any body/subject, the psycholinguistic research revealing the interconnections between imagery, language and gesture provide fields of possibilities for exploring subtle interactions0 in face-to-face spoken communication in performance. Through such means it is possible to gain an enlightened view of how through bodies and voices human beings bridge their separateness as they act, talk and listen.
References
Bavelas, Janet. 2007. ‘Face-to-face dialogue as a micro-social context: The example of motor
mimicry’. In Gesture and the Dynamic Dimension of Language: Essays in Honor of David
McNeil, edited by Duncan, Susan D; Cassell, Justine; Levy, Elena Terry. Amsterdam and
Philidelphia: John Benjamins Publishers: 127–146.
Beattie, Geoffrey and Shovelton, Heather. 2007. ‘The role of iconic gestures in semantic
communication and its theoretical and practical implications’. In Gesture and the Dynamic
Dimension of Language: Essays in Honor of David McNeil, edited by
Duncan, Susan D; Cassell, Justine; Levy, Elena Terry. Amsterdam and Philidelphia: John
Benjamins Publishers: 221–241.
Casey, Edward. 1998. ‘The ghost of embodiment: on bodily habitudes and schemata’. In Body and
Flesh: A Philosophical Reader, edited by Welton, Don. Oxford: Blackwell: 207-225.
Chekhov, Michael. 2002 To the Actor: On the Technique of Acting. New York: Routledge.
Cook, Susan Wagner; Goldin-Meadow, Susan; Mitchell, Zachary. 2008. ‘Gesturing makes
learning last’. Cognition 106 (2): 1047-1058.
Daniel, Howard. 1965. The Commedia Dell’Arte and Jacques Callot. Sydney: Wentworth Press.
Delsarte Project. 2011. [Internet]. Accessed 4 June 2011. Available from:
http://www.delsarteproject.com/?A_Brief_History_of_Delsarte
Ekman, Paul. 1973. Darwin and Facial Expression: A Century of Research in Review. New York:
Academic Press.
Ekman, Paul. 1985. Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage. New
York: Norton.
Ekman, Paul. 2003. Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication
and Emotional Life. New York: Time Books.
Ekman, Paul. 2008. Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and
Compassion, New York: Time Books.
Goldin-Meadow, Susan. 1999. ‘The role of gesture in communication and thinking’. Trends in
Cognitive Sciences 3 (11): 419-429.
Goldin-Meadow, Susan. 2003. Hearing Gesture: How Our Hands Help Us Think. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press.
Hayes, Janys. 2010. The Knowing Body: Yat Malmgren’s Acting Technique. Saarbrucken: VDM
Verlag Dr Muller.
Irigaray, Luce. 1986. ‘The fecundity of the caress’. In Face to Face with Levinas, edited by Cohen,
Richard A. Albany: State University of New York Press: 231-272.
Kelly, Spencer D; Barr, Dale J; Church, R Breckinridge; Lynch, Katheryn. 1999. ‘Offering a hand to
pragmatic understandings:The role of speech and gesture in comprehension and memory’.
Journal of Memory and Language 40 (4) (May): 577-592.
Kendon, Adam. 1994. ‘Do gestures communicate?: A review’. Research Language Society Interact
27 (3): 175-200.
Kendon, Adam. 2004. Gesture: Visible Action as Utterance. New York: University of Chicago Press.
Krause, Duane. 1995. ‘An epic system’. In Acting (Re)considered: Theories and Practices, edited by
Zarrilli, Phillip B. London: Routledge: 262-274.
Laban, Rudolf. 1960. The Mastery of Movement. 2nd edn. Ullmann, Lisa ed. (revised and enlarged).
London: Macdonald and Evans.
Laban, Rudolf. 1960. The Mastery of Movement. 3rd edn. Ullmann, Lisa ed. London: Macdonald and
Evans.
Laban, Rudolf; Lawrence, FC. 1947. Effort Economy of Human Movement. London: Macdonald and
Evans.
Lacan, Jacques. 1999. ‘Towards a genetic theory of ego’. In The Body: Classic and Contemporary
Readings, edited by Welton, Donn. Malden, Massachussetts.: Blackwell: 213-217.
Lamb, Warren; Watson, Elizabeth. 1979. Body Code: The Meaning in Movement. London:
Routledge.
Leahy, Kath. 1996. ‘Power and presence in actor-training institution audition’. Australasian Drama
Studies 28 (April): 133–139.
Lie to me. 2009. creator and producer Baum, Samuel. Image Entertainment. Twentieth Century Fox.
Lingis, Alphonso. 2004. Trust. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
McNeill, David. 1992. Hand and Mind: What Gestures Reveal about Thought. Chicago: Chicago
University Press.
McNeill, David, editor. 2000. Language and Gesture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mc Neill, David. 2005. Gesture and Thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. 1968. The Structure of Behaviour. translator Fisher, Alden. London:
Methuen.
Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. 2002. The Phenomenology of Perception. translator Smith, Colin. London:
Routledge.
Müller, Cornelia. 2007. ‘A dynamic view of metaphor, gesture and thought’. In Gesture and
the Dynamic Dimension of Language: Essays in Honor of David McNeil, edited by
Duncan, Susan D; Cassell, Justine; Levy, Elena Terry. Amsterdam and Philidelphia: John
Benjamins Publishers: 109–116.
Newlove, Jean. 1993. Laban for Actors and Dancers. London: Nick Hern Books.
Noland, Carrie. 2007. ‘Motor intentionality: gestural meaning in Bill Viola and Merleau-Ponty’.
Postmodern Culture 17 (3): 1-29. Accessed 2 May 2009. Available from:
http://muse.uq.edu.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/journals/postmodern_culture/v017/17.3noland.html
North, Marion. 1975. Personality Assessment Through Movement. University of California: Plays inc.
Özyürek, Ash; Kita, Sotaro. 2007. ‘How does spoken language shape iconic gestures’. In Gesture and
the Dynamic Dimension of Language: Essays in Honor of David McNeil, edited by
Duncan, Susan D; Cassell, Justine; Levy, Elena Terry. Amsterdam and Philidelphia: John
Benjamins Publishers: 67–74.
Özyürek, Ash; Kelly, Spencer D. 2007. ‘Gesture, brain, and language’. Brain and Language 101
(3) (June): 181-184.
Pease, Allan. 1987. Body Language: How to Read Others’ Thoughts by their Gestures. Avalon
Beach, New South Wales: Camel.
Ruyter, Nancy Lee Chalfer. 1996. ‘The Delsarte heritage’. Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 14 (1): 62-74.
Smith, Stephen J. 2006. ‘Gesture, landscape and embrace: A phenomenological analysis of elemental
motions’. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology 6 (May): 1-10.
Stebbins, Genevieve. 1977. The Delsarte System of Expression. Princeton, New Jersey: Dance
Horizons.
Talking Twins Pt. 2. [Internet]. Accessed 2 July 2011. Available from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY
Walton, J Michael. 1984. Tragedy Reviewed: The Greek Sense of Theatre. London and New York:
Methuen.
Wilshire, Bruce. 1991. Role-playing and Identity: The Limits of Theatre as Metaphor. Indianapolis:
Indiana University Press.
Young, Iris Marion. 2005. On Female Bodily Experience “Throwing Like a Girl” and Other Essays.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Zarrilli, Phillip B. 1995a. ‘Introduction to part II’. In Acting Re(Considered): Theories and Practices,
edited by Zarrilli, Phillip B. London: Routledge: 72–84.
Zarrilli, Phillip B. 1995b. ‘… on the edge of a breath looking in’. In Acting Re(Considered): Theories
and Practices, edited by Zarrilli, Phillip B. London: Routledge: 177–196.
Zarrilli, Phillip B. 1997. “Acting “at the nerve ends”: Beckett, Blau, and the necessary’. Theatre Topics
7 (2): 103–116.
Zarrilli, Phillip, B. 2004. ‘Toward a phenomenological model of the actor’s embodied modes of
experience’. Theatre Journal 56 (4): 653–666.