Biomechanics was a system of actor training developed by

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

. Its purpose was to widen the emotional potential of a theater piece and express thoughts and ideas that could not be easily presented through the naturalistic theater of the period. The techniques of biomechanics were developed during the rehearsals of a series of plays directed by Meyerhold in the 1920s and 1930s when

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

was at its height in Russia. Biomechanics is a precursor to and influence on much of the 20th century's

physical theatre Physical theatre is a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. Although several performance theatre disciplines are often described as "physical theatre," the genre's characteristic aspe ...

. Despite a lack of scenery in many of Meyerhold's plays, “if the actor remains on the bare stage, the greatness of the theater stays with him”.Gorchakov, N. A. The Theater in Soviet Russia. New York: Columbia UP, 1957. Print. In a similar vein, Markov claims that the constructivists saw the stage “merely as a platform for showing off the external technique of the actor”.Markov, P. A. The Soviet Theatre. London: V. Gollancz, 1934. Print. This facilitated Meyerhold's use of biomechanics, an acting system which relied on motion rather than language or illusion. Opposing the Stanislavsky System, which Meyerhold believed “over emphasized the 'spirit' and 'psychologizing'”, biomechanics emphasized “elementary laws of reflexes”. In addition to the scenery facilitating this technique, the costumes were also integral. In constructivist fashion, the costumes were not extravagant, but drastically simplified, which allowed the actors to easily perform using biomechanics and without hiding mistakes. This method of acting lends itself very well to the constructivist style of being basic and as straightforward as possible. Meyerhold's success with biomechanics played a large role in the introduction of “physical training into the curriculum of every Soviet drama school”.Meyerhold, V. Ė., and Edward Braun. Meyerhold on Theatre. New York: Hill and Wang 1969. Print. Physical training for actors is an aspect that is still employed today, especially for actors who participate in dance numbers and musicals.

References

{{Reflist *Potter, Nicole (2002). "Movement for Actors," ''Allworth Press'', 3-15. Acting techniques