Abstract

The ancient Chinese theatre system was described in Xian Qing Ou Ji by Li Yu (1611-1680), and can be translated as ‘Speaking honestly, if an actor wants to perform a role, it means that the actor speaks instead of the inside thought, so the actor must put their heart into the role to be real during the performance. Actors need to be in the scene personally and there should be true feeling in it.’ The actor should convey their emotions to the audience and must put their whole heart into the character’s background to show their imagination on the stage; this is also an important theory by Stanislavski. From ancient to contemporary theatre theory, and from Chinese theatre to the European theatre, both imagination and physical techniques are crucial to performance. Kunqu opera’s performance convention and formula also may improve actors’ performance techniques. This research integrated Chinese theatre and Europe theatre practice for further expansion and development. Actors’ skills relate to their imagination and physical movement. This research has enriched existing universal performance training methods, and the significance proves the Kunqu opera training be beneficial to contemporary actor’s physical.

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