2009 Volume 48 Pages 81-99
This paper tries to analyze Johann Jakob Engel's (1741-1802) theory of acting and his position in the process of the modernization of drama and theatre.
In the late 18th century, a notion of ‘natural’ acting based on realities in prose dramas was gradually getting people's recognition in place of the neoclassical idea of acting relying on French verse dramas. In his book Ideen zu einer Mimik (1785-86), he sought to establish his theory of acting by examining the fundamental problems on the nature of drama itself.
Therefore he applied to it the physiognomical method, which was in fashion of the age. He sought to prove that one's inner emotional states could be reflected in his external expressions. The crucial point of his theory, however, was on Lessing's ideas of the theatre as an art form of time-space structure.
Thus, by reconciling the physiognomical method with Lessing's ideas, he claimed the continuity of acting, which should be created through gradual changes in intermediate gestures revealing inner emotional states.