Translation for the stage: between culture, text and actor training

The first part of this thesis, therefore, examines key elements of the process of textual translation as semiotic negotiations between the original text and the target language/culture. Thus, elements such as performability, speakability, rhythm, paralinguistics and kinesthetics all become important features for the translator-director and actors to consider.

The next stage of this analysis comprises the psychophysical effort on the part of actors when it comes to embodying character, so that physical imagination and phenomenology are examined as new elements that re-direct the discussion towards the work of actors in the rehearsal room. It is here that the exploration of key principles of the actor training method of Michael Chekhov are tested in the context of preparing the Chilean play Diciembre for stage production.