It's interesting. In Movement the other day, Vlad (teacher) put something into perspective for us. 40 minutes into class, he pointed out that we were all exhausted, that our bodies were telling us to stop, to rest. After 40 minutes. (Granted, those 40 minutes made up one of the most intense workouts... ever.) And that's not as far as the human body can go. It's nowhere near the distance that our body can function. How did we become accustomed to that? We had 40 minute recesses as children- does that have anything to do with it? I'm not sure, but his point hit home for me. And coincides with my idea of standards. In general (but not as a rule), American actors have little understanding of stamina, and don't take into account how far their bodies can take them.
Many rely on their voices, on their attitudes, on their presence, on their emotional responses- which are all valid tools.
But when you put a play on the stage, you're not putting characters on it. You're not even putting the information about the characters on it; character analysis only goes so far. You're putting people on the stage. So physicality is your most important tool. Background research and given circumstances are part of that physicality. How you relate to your surroundings is part of who you are, so knowing your surroundings is essential.
Long story short, I like Movement class.
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