Acting the metaphor: the Laban–Malmgren system of movement psychology and character analysis

The article discusses certain features of The Laban-Malmgren System of Movement Psychology and Character Analysis, an influential actor training methodology which has helped to shape the thinking and work of some of the most expressive actors of our time, including Anthony Hopkins, Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy. The System is an original synthesis of Rudolf Laban’s late-career ideas on movement, Jungian typology and Stanislavskian physical action, brought together by the dancer and acting teacher Yat Malmgren (1916-2002). The System continues to be taught in conservatoires and University drama departments across the world.

The distinguishing feature of the System is the direct link it posits between physical (Motion Factors - Laban) and psychological (Mental Factors - Jung) concepts, from which it develops a classification of character and action into ‘Inner and Action Attitudes. The article outlines the principal pedagogical approach of the System, the ‘scenario’, modelled on the work of the American solo performer Ruth Draper; it also illustrates the application of the System in professional practice. The article considers the System from the perspective of Metaphorical Concept Theory (Lakoff and Johnson). Finally, the article describes the outcomes of the training in a transformation-oriented acting mode defined as ‘attenuated Expressionism’.