Robert Cohen G.O.T.E Sheet
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Throughout the last two centuries, many revolutionary impacts have been made on theatre. Individuals such as Rudolph Laban, Konstantin Stanislavski, Samuel Becket have dedicated there lives to creating and mastering unique approaches to the art of acting. Of these theatre gurus, one of the most significant had been Robert Cohen. Robert Cohen’s studies of theatrical performance were very influential on theatre and are in fact the foundation of many theatre studies today.
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[edit] Biography
Robert Cohen was born in 1938 in Washington DC. Though very little is known about his childhood, Cohen had a passion for performing arts at a very young age. His theatrical education began as an undergraduate student at Darmouth College and UC Berkley. He earned his doctorate in fine arts in 1965 at the Yale School of Drama. Soon after receiving his Doctorate, Cohen decided to join the charter faculty of the new Irvine campus at the University of California. There he served as the founding departmental chair of drama for twenty-five years. He then served as Bren Fellow, Claire Trevor Professor. Cohen is not only praised as a brilliant professor, but a director, author, and theorist as well. Cohen’s methods and approach to stage acting is the most widely used to date. He uses a system he refers to as the G.O.T.E Sheet. Without Cohen’s contributions, not only as a creative instructor, director, and playwright, but also as a theatre theorist and creator of an entirely new approach to portrayal of a character, the theatre would not be what it is today. Cohen now resides in Laguna beach, California with his wife Lorna and their children, Michael and Whitney. In 2005 he reclaimed his position as chair of drama at the University of California.
[edit] Directing career
Cohen has directed over seventy stage productions during his time at Irvine. These productions include classics like [[King Lear]], [[MacBeth]], and [[Twelfth Night]], as well as his own unique translations such as Tibi’s Law, The Misanthrope, and Pedro Gynt. He also directed experimental works, opera, and a diverse variety of musical theatre productions from [[My Fair Lady]], and [[Oklahoma]] to More complex works of Sondheim such as [[Sweeny Todd]]. Cohen even introduced pieces of new age theatre to UC Irvine’s drama department. However his directing credits are not limited to the University of California. Cohen is a professional director as well. He’s directed at the Utah and Colorado Shakespeare festivals, the Summer Repertory Theatre in Santa Rosa, the Image Theatre in Boston, Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, the focused Program in Medieval Drama, and even the Stages Theatre Center in Hollywood. He is also in high demand for a cornucopia of productions at Many Universities. Cohen has directed SubUrbia, and [[As You Like It]] at the University of Technology in Australia, [[Antigone]] and The Skin of Her Teeth at Connecticut College, [[The Tempest]] Calhoun College, and over 15 plays at Yale University. He is one of the most sought after stage directors of our time.
[edit] Writing career
As a writer, Cohen published the leading theatre text. These text books are used in colleges, universities, and conservatories all around the world. His Text explains and demonstrates Cohen’s revolutionary system of theatre analysis called the G.O.T.E Sheet, as well as a series of theatre exercises ranging from beginner to advanced thespians. Cohen has also written many other influential pieces of literature including but not limited to the following: a study of French playwright Jean Giraudoux, a collection of theatre essays, an introduction to theatre, over two dozen journal articles relating to theatre, and over two hundred play reviews. Many of his reviews can be located in the Plays International published in London. He is also a published playwright with many original works as well as translations of classics.
[edit] G.O.T.E Sheet
Cohen’s methods and approach to stage acting is the most widely used to date. Cohen's G.O.T.E Sheet consists of four elements of acting, each represented by a letter in the acronym “GOTE.”
[edit] Goal
“G” represents the goal, or objective of the character. Cohen describes this as the characters principal quest, which the actor assumes. Everything done on stage must be perceivable to the audience as the character’s pursuit to achieve his goal. The goal is also commonly referred to as the victory, want, intention, or purpose. The goal should be very precise rather than vague. For example, a good goal for the widely known character of Juliet, from [[The Tragedy of Romeo]] and Juliet would be “to marry Romeo” as opposed to “I want to find happiness.”
[edit] Other
“O” stands for other. This represents any and all other characters with whom, from whom, or for whom the Goal is being pursued. There are no exceptions to this. All performances include an “other”, even those that appear to have only one character. Take Hamlet's famous To be or not to be speech. In this speech, revenge is the goal that Hamlet is seeking. He seeks it from his uncle and for his father. There are at least two others involved in Hamlet’s goal. More often than not, the other is also the chief obstacle standing between the character and their victory. Without an obstacle there is no conflict, and without conflict there is no plot.
[edit] Tactics
“T” represents the tactics which the character uses to achieve his or her goal. This is the central element for it is where the acting lies. Everything the actor does on stage should be a tactic in pursuit of the goal. You will rarely find an interesting plot containing only one tactic. Actors use many diverse tactics to achieve the same goal. When one tactic fails, they try another than another until the goal is achieved. Consider a time when you were young and you wanted something from your parents. You didn’t simply give up after hearing “no” once. You begged, then cried, then threw a fit, and when none of those worked you kissed up, or even held your breath; trying as many tactics as possible to get your goal. The same holds true in acting. Tactics offer variety in performances. If a scene has become mundane and routine, try a new tactic to add excitement and keep your "others" on their toes.
[edit] Expectation
The final letter of the acronym stands for “Expectation.” We all have petty goals we wish for, but the excitement in theatre is the character’s certainty that he WILL achieve his goal. This adds energy and enthusiasm to the implementation of tactics in pursuit of one’s goal, and even more suspense if the goal is not achieved successfully. The goal being sought should not just be a desire, but the prime, consuming goal of the character’s life.
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Original plays
- The Prince (2004)
- Mobius Strip (2000)
[edit] Play translations
- Tibi's Law
- The Misanthrope
- Pedro's Gynt
- The Bourgeois Gentleman
- The Plaie Called Corpus Christi: The Beginnings
- Clizia
[edit] Opera translations
- Carmen
- The Magic Flute
[edit] Articles
Cohen has published scholarly articles in the following:
- Theatre Journal
- Theatre Topics
- Theatre Forum
- Theatre Survey
- Contemporary Literary Criticism
- Modern Drama
- Theater der Zeit
- Essays in Theatre
- On Stage Studies
- The Drama Review
- Contemporary Literature
- Slavic and East European Performance
- Experiment and Innovation
- Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism
[edit] Books
- Acting Professionally: Raw Facts about Careers in Acting
- Acting One
- Advanced Acting
- Acting Power
- Acting in Shakespeare
- Theatre
- More Power to You
- Dramatic Anthologies
- Creative Play Direction
- Giraudoux: Three Faces of Destiny
