Performance Style And Gesture In Western Theatre

Author : Nicholas Dromgoole
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 459 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2016-03-02
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781783192304

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Performance, Style and Gesture in Western Theatre by Nicholas Dromgoole Pdf

Until the beginning of the 20th Century, when naturalism began to assert its powerful influence on western theatre, acting was a very different business indeed. Rather than attempting to reproduce realistic behaviour, actors conveyed their characters' feelings and intentions by using a vocabulary of minutely prescribed and highly stylised movements and gestures, each with it's own meaning and significance. In this wide-ranging, illustrated survey, Nicholas Dromgoole traces the origins and evolution of this lost 'language of gesture' from ancient Greece to the contemporary stage, and asks what it would actually have been like to watch the great plays - and the great actors - of western theatre in their own day.

Author : Christopher Olsen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2015-08-27
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781317486657

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Acting Comedy by Christopher Olsen Pdf

Despite being roundly cited as much harder to perform than its dramatic counterpart, comic acting is traditionally seen as a performance genre that can’t be taught. At best it is often described as a skill that can only be learned "on the job" through years of practice, or given to a performer through natural talent. Acting Comedy is an effort to examine this idea more rigorously by looking at different aspects of the comic actor’s craft. Each chapter is written by an expert in a particular form—from actors and directors to teachers and standup comedians. Topics covered include: how performers work with audiences how comic texts can be enhanced through word and musical rhythm analysis how physical movements can generate comic moments and build character. This book is an invaluable resource for any performer focusing on the minute details of comic acting, even down to exactly how one delivers a joke on stage. Christopher Olsen’s unique collection of comic voices will prove essential reading for students and professionals alike.

Author : Vladimir Mirodan
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2018-11-12
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781317527947

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The Actor and the Character by Vladimir Mirodan Pdf

Transformative acting remains the aspiration of many an emerging actor, and constitutes the achievement of some of the most acclaimed performances of our age: Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter – the list is extensive, and we all have our favourites. But what are the physical and psychological processes which enable actors to create characters so different from themselves? To understand this unique phenomenon, Vladimir Mirodan provides both a historical overview of the evolution of notions of 'character' in Western theatre and a stunning contemporary analysis of the theoretical implications of transformative acting. The Actor and the Character: Surveys the main debates surrounding the concept of dramatic character and – contrary to recent trends – explains why transformative actors conceive their characters as ‘independent’ of their own personalities. Describes some important techniques used by actors to construct their characters by physical means: work on objects, neutral and character masks, Laban movement analysis, Viewpoints, etc. Examines the psychology behind transformative acting from the perspectives of both psychoanalysis and scientific psychology and, based on recent developments in psychology, asks whether transformation is not just acting folklore but may actually entail temporary changes to the brain structures of the actors. The Actor and the Character speaks not only to academics and students studying actor training and acting theory, but contributes to current lively academic debates around character. This is a compelling and original exploration of the limits of acting theory and practice, psychology, and creative work, in which Mirodan boldly re-examines some of the fundamental assumptions of actor training and some basic tenets of theatre practice to ask: What happens when one of us ‘becomes somebody else’?

Author : Deborah C. Payne
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 303 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2024-05-31
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9781009398213

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The Business of English Restoration Theatre, 1660–1700 by Deborah C. Payne Pdf

Deborah C. Payne explores how the duopoly of 1660 impacted company practices, stagecraft, the box office, and actors and writers.

Author : Isabel Jaen,Julien Jacques Simon
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2016-04-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190256562

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Cognitive Approaches to Early Modern Spanish Literature by Isabel Jaen,Julien Jacques Simon Pdf

Cognitive Approaches to Early Modern Spanish Literature is the first anthology exploring human cognition and literature in the context of early modern Spanish culture. It includes the leading voices in the field, along with the main themes and directions that this important area of study has been producing. The book begins with an overview of the cognitive literary studies research that has been taking place within early modern Spanish studies over the last fifteen years. Next, it traces the creation of self in the context of the novel, focusing on Cervantes's Don Quixote in relation to the notions of embodiment and autopoiesis as well as the faculties of memory and imagination as understood in early modernity. It continues to explore the concept of embodiment, showing its relevance to delve into the mechanics of the interaction between actors and audience both in the jongleuresque and the comedia traditions. It then centers on cognitive theories of perception, the psychology of immersion in fictional worlds, and early modern and modern-day notions of intentionality to discuss the role of perceiving and understanding others in performance, Don Quixote, and courtly conduct manuals. The last section focuses on the affective dimension of audience-performer interactions in the theatrical space of the Spanish corrales and how emotion and empathy can inform new approaches to presenting Las Casas's work in the literature classroom. The volume closes with an afterword offering strategies to design a course on mind and literature in early modernity.

Author : Glen McGillivray
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2023-02-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9783031228995

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Actors, Audiences, and Emotions in the Eighteenth Century by Glen McGillivray Pdf

This book offers an innovative account of how audiences and actors emotionally interacted in the English theatre during the middle decades of the eighteenth century, a period bookended by two of its stars: David Garrick and Sarah Siddons. Drawing upon recent scholarship on the history of emotions, it uses practice theory to challenge the view that emotional interactions between actors and audiences were governed by empathy. It carefully works through how actors communicated emotions through their voices, faces and gestures, how audiences appraised these performances, and mobilised and regulated their own emotional responses. Crucially, this book reveals how theatre spaces mediated the emotional practices of audiences and actors alike. It examines how their public and frequently political interactions were enabled by these spaces.

Author : Jon Davison
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2013-03-27
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781137300751

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Clown by Jon Davison Pdf

This rich collection of readings offers a wide-ranging and authoritative survey of clown practices, history and theory, from the origins of the word clown through to contemporary clowning. Covering clowns in theatre, circus, cinema, TV, street and elsewhere, the author's stimulating narrative challenges assumptions and turns orthodoxy on its head.

Author : Giulia Torello-Hill,Andrew J. Turner
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2020-10-20
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9789004432406

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The Lyon Terence by Giulia Torello-Hill,Andrew J. Turner Pdf

An interdisciplinary approach to establish the significance of the first illustrated edition of the plays of Terence, its commentary and iconographic traditions and legacy in sixteenth-century Italy and France.

Author : Jan Nelis
Publisher : Academia Press
Page : 379 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Civilization, Classical
ISBN : 9789038218830

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Receptions of Antiquity by Jan Nelis Pdf

"This volume presents a series of papers which cover the general theme of the reception of antiquity, a topic which has in recent years become a discipline in itself, or what some might call a 'cross-discipline'. Indeed the Nachleben of the (culture of) classical antiquity, and of antiquity as a whole, manifests in a number of diverse domains, opening up the field of reception studies to scholars from disciplines other than Classics. This collection of papers illustrates this diversity, uniting as it does original research by scholars from a variety of disciplines: classicists, historians, theatre historians, architectural historians, psychologists, archaeologists, artists, and more, all of whom have treated some aspect of the so-called 'classical tradition' by means of their own individual approaches, leading to a volume rich and dense in themes and methodologies. 'Receptions of antiquity' has been written by friends of Freddy Decreus, in honour of his career, and in celebration of his thought."--

Author : Karina Jakubowicz,Robert Dickins
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 215 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2021-03-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781000359169

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Heresy and Borders in the Twentieth Century by Karina Jakubowicz,Robert Dickins Pdf

This book explores the shifting and negotiated boundaries of religion, spirituality, and secular thinking in Britain and North America during the twentieth century. It contributes to a growing scholarship that problematises secularization theory, arguing that religion and spirituality increasingly took diverse new forms and identities, rather than simply being replaced by a monolithic secularity. The volume examines the way that thinkers, writers, and artists manipulated and reimagined orthodox belief systems in their work, using the notion of heresy to delineate the borders of what was considered socially and ethically acceptable. It includes topics such as psychospiritual approaches in medicine, countercultures and religious experience, and the function of blasphemy within supposedly secular politics. The book argues that heresy and heretical identities established fluid borderlands. These borderlands not only blur simple demarcations of the religious and secular in the twentieth century, but also infer new forms of heterodoxy through an exchange of ideas. This collection of essays offers a nuanced take on a topic that pervades the study of religion. It will be of great use to scholars of Heresy Studies, Religious Studies and Comparative Religion, Social Anthropology, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Cultural Studies.

Author : Dene Barnett,Jeanette Massy-Westropp
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 516 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : Acting
ISBN : UOM:39015054072932

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The Art of Gesture by Dene Barnett,Jeanette Massy-Westropp Pdf

Author : Cynthia Baron,Sharon Marie Carnicke
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2010-02-11
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780472025411

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Reframing Screen Performance by Cynthia Baron,Sharon Marie Carnicke Pdf

"A significant contribution to the literature on screen performance studies, Reframing Screen Performance brings the study of film acting up to date. It should be of interest to those within cinema studies as well as general readers." ---Frank P. Tomasulo, Florida State University Reframing Screen Performance is a groundbreaking study of film acting that challenges the long held belief that great cinematic performances are created in the editing room. Surveying the changing attitudes and practices of film acting---from the silent films of Charlie Chaplin to the rise of Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio in the 1950s to the eclecticism found in contemporary cinema---this volume argues that screen acting is a vital component of film and that it can be understood in the same way as theatrical performance. This richly illustrated volume shows how and why the evocative details of actors' voices, gestures, expressions, and actions are as significant as filmic narrative and audiovisual design. The book features in-depth studies of performances by Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, and Julianne Moore (among others) alongside subtle analyses of directors like Robert Altman and Akira Kurosawa, Sally Potter and Orson Welles. The book bridges the disparate fields of cinema studies and theater studies as it persuasively demonstrates the how theater theory can be illuminate the screen actor's craft. Reframing Screen Performance brings the study of film acting into the twenty-first century and is an essential text for actors, directors, cinema studies scholars, and cinephiles eager to know more about the building blocks of memorable screen performance. Cynthia Baron is Associate Professor of Film Studies at Bowling Green State University and co-editor of More Than a Method: Trends and Traditions in Contemporary Film Performance. Sharon Carnicke is Professor of Theater and Slavic Studies and Associate Dean of Theater at the University of Southern California and author of Stanislavsky in Focus.

Author : Aneta Mancewicz,Alexa Alice Joubin
Publisher : Springer
Page : 271 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2018-08-08
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783319898513

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Local and Global Myths in Shakespearean Performance by Aneta Mancewicz,Alexa Alice Joubin Pdf

This collection of scholarly essays offers a new understanding of local and global myths that have been constructed around Shakespeare in theatre, cinema, and television from the nineteenth century to the present. Drawing on a definition of myth as a powerful ideological narrative, Local and Global Myths in Shakespearean Performance examines historical, political, and cultural conditions of Shakespearean performances in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The first part of this volume offers a theoretical introduction to Shakespeare as myth from a twenty-first century perspective. The second part critically evaluates myths of linguistic transcendence, authenticity, and universality within broader European, neo-liberal, and post-colonial contexts. The study of local identities and global icons in the third part uncovers dynamic relationships between regional, national, and transnational myths of Shakespeare. The fourth part revises persistent narratives concerning a political potential of Shakespeare’s plays in communist and post-communist countries. Finally, part five explores the influence of commercial and popular culture on Shakespeare myths. Michael Dobson’s Afterword concludes the volume by locating Shakespeare within classical mythology and contemporary concerns.

Author : Min Tian
Publisher : Springer
Page : 313 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2018-11-27
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9783319971780

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The Use of Asian Theatre for Modern Western Theatre by Min Tian Pdf

This book is a historical study of the use of Asian theatre for modern Western theatre as practiced by its founding fathers, including Aurélien Lugné-Poe, Adolphe Appia, Gordon Craig, W. B. Yeats, Jacques Copeau, Charles Dullin, Antonin Artaud, V. E. Meyerhold, Sergei Eisenstein, and Bertolt Brecht. It investigates the theories and practices of these leading figures in their transnational and cross-cultural relationship with Asian theatrical traditions and their interpretations and appropriations of the Asian traditions in their reactional struggles against the dominance of commercialism and naturalism. From the historical and aesthetic perspectives of traditional Asian theatres, it approaches this intercultural phenomenon as a (Euro)centred process of displacement of the aesthetically and culturally differentiated Asian theatrical traditions and of their historical differences and identities. Looking into the displaced and distorted mirror of Asian theatre, the founding fathers of modern Western theatre saw, in their imagination of the 'ghostly' Other, nothing but a (self-)reflection or, more precisely, a (self-)projection and emplacement, of their competing ideas and theories preconceived for the construction, and the future development, of modern Western theatre.

Author : Rachel Van M. Baumer,James R. Brandon
Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Sanskrit drama
ISBN : 8120807723

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Sanskrit Drama in Performance by Rachel Van M. Baumer,James R. Brandon Pdf

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