Janys Hayes

The Knowing Body: Yat Malmgren's Acting Technique Janys Hayes

Little has been written of Yat Malmgren's acting technique, despite its international influence in mainstream western actor training. Yat Malmgren (1916 - 2002) was a colleague of Rudolf Laban's and in 1954 received Laban's final papers on his theory of 'Movement Psychology'. Yat Malmgren devoted the latter half of his life interpreting and expanding Rudolf Laban's movement theories into a precise and practical method for actors in their development of realistic characters for stage and screen performance. The Drama Centre London became the hub for Yat Malmgren's technique of 'Character Analysis'. In this doctoral work, Dr Janys Hayes analyses Yat Malmgren's contribution to a wider field of knowledge of embodiment, expression and agency for actors. She places Yat Malmgren's acting technique as a systematic, contemporary and revelatory means for the exploration of performed action.