George Mason University's Center for the Arts

Myths, Archetypes, Campbell and Jung: An Actor’s Tools in Creating the Arc of Character

Edward Gero
Associate Professor, Theater

The processes and approaches to “becoming a character” for performance are myriad and can be even mysterious.  Actor and professor, Edward Gero, explores an approach to interpreting and creating character inspired by Jungian archetypes and mythical storytelling patterns identified by Joseph Campbell in his seminal work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”  Tracing his process in his performances in King Lear and portraying The Bastard in Shakespeare’s King John, as well as his current preparations for the title role of Sweeney Todd, professor Gero will discuss his personal approach to mining, identifying and incorporating mythical and archetypal patterns from the text that speak to audiences in both conscious and unconscious ways.