Shakespeare and Breath: Examining the psycho-physical impact breath has on both actor and audience in the contemporary performance of Shakespeare.

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My proposed research aims to unearth the potent, psycho-physical impact inhalation, exhalation and breath suspension has on the contemporary performance of Shakespeare.Breath, as an index term, is strikingly absent from the majority of theoretical acting monographs; the breadth and depth of its value in performance practice remains overlooked and underdeveloped. Jane Boston and Rena Cook, in their seminal text Breath in Action decry that breath is 'rarely examined in detail' (Boston/Cook 13), highlighting that the primacy of breath 'has remained an under-theorized area of work' that needs 'to be more closely scrutinized in the training studio' (Boston 200).The foundational texts of theatre practitioners such as Cicely Berry, Patsy Rodenburg, Peter Hall and Kristin Linklater are over thirty years old. Whilst their contribution to theatre practice remains significant, the psycho-physical impact of breath on both actor and audience remains sufficiently silenced by the limited scope of existing discourse.Theatre director, Richard Eyre, asserts that 'the life of [Shakespeare's] plays are in the language' (Eyre176); such linguistic centrism has concealed breath's vital role in the inspiration, articulation and transmission of thought and emotion in performance. My interdisciplinary research will ignite fresh dialogue between the art and science of acting; broadening existing discourse by bringing Shakespeare studies, theatre practice and respiratory physiology into dynamic discourse.My research seeks to examine the diverse ways in which breath impacts an actor's psycho-physical understanding of character. I aim to uncover how patterns of inhalation and exhalation can stimulate physical sensations in the actor's body that correspond directly with the textual evidence of a character's emotional state. I aim to prove that creative respiration - the control of inhalation and exhalation as an artistic choice - is key to sustaining an audience's receptive connection to Shakespeare in performance, both intellectually and emotionally.Unexamined respiratory habits splinter the textual comprehension of Shakespeare's work for actor and audience. My proposed research will highlight how an act of respiration surreptitiously permeates the line between actor and character; allowing simultaneous connection with the real and the imagined present and enabling an authentic embodiment of Shakespeare's language today. Without this research, breath's potency as a creative tool will remain unexplored and my hypothesis - that the conscious manipulation of breath patterns onstage directly affects and informs an audience's emotional response - will remain unanswered.This research is a unique examination of breath in twenty-first century Shakespearean performance practice; it combines historical scholarship with practice-led research and the latest in respiratory and vocal physiology. Throughout my research I will enrich the contemporary relevance of my findings by observing the professional rehearsal room and interviewing established theatre practitioners. As my research period progresses, I will gather and record respiratory data within a live performance setting to ensure there is scientific credence to my findings.I hope my research will make a striking, original contribution to the field of performance practice; resonating with actors in training, with the professional rehearsal room and with the wider academic field of contemporary theatre practice.