1st Edition

From Acting to Performance Essays in Modernism and Postmodernism

By Philip Auslander Copyright 1997
    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    From Acting to Performance collects for the first time major essays by performance theorist and critic Philip Auslander. Together these essays provide a survey of the changes in acting and performance during the crucial transition from the ecstatic theatre of the 1960s to the ironic postmodernism of the 1980s.
    Auslander examines performance genres ranging from theatre and dance to performance art and stand-up comedy. In doing so he discusses an impressive line-up of practitioners including Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, Willem Dafoe, the Wooster Group, Augusto Boal, Kate Bornstein, and Orlan.
    From Acting to Performance is a must for all students and scholars interested in contemporary theatre and performance.

    1. Introduction Part I: From Acting to Performance 2. Holy Theatre and Catharsis 3. Just Be Your Self: Logocentrism and Difference in Performance Theory 4. Task and Vision: Willem Dafoe in LSD Part II: Postmodernism and Performance 5. Presence and Theatricality in the Discourse of Theatre and the Visual Arts 6. Toward a Concept of the Political in Postmodern Theatre 7. Embodiment: The Politics of Postmodern Dance Part III: Postmodern Body Politics 8. Vito Acconci and the Politics of the Body in Postmodern Performance 9. Boal, Blau, Brecht: The Body 10. Brought to You By Fem-Rage: Stand-up Comedy and the Politics of Gender 11. The Surgical Self: Body Alteration and Identity Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

    Biography

    Philip Auslander