Genevieve Stebbins’ *Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression* (1886) — The Public Domain Review

Every possible element of a gesture or expression was deconstructed and fit into this section, with specific exercises for the “Fingers, Hand, Forearm, Whole Arm, Head, Torso, Foot, Lower Leg, Whole Leg, Whole Body, Eyelids, Lower Jaw….” Stebbins has provided helpful diagrams, such as one showing the “simple upper eyelid and eyebrow combinations.” On the next page she clarified that since both the forehead and eyelid have nine possibilities each, there are in fact eighty-one possible combinations (she gave eighteen). The Delsarte system presented here, Nancy Lee Chalfa Ruyter has shownwas full of Stebbins’ own innovations. She had developed the ‘energetic’ techniques that went along with the relaxation techniques, and created a whole series of exercises that are still used in many acting classes today.