Theory for Theatre Studies: Bodies

Theatre shapes the body and perceptions of it, challenging audience assumptions about material evidence and the truth. It explores how theatre contributes to understanding the historical, contemporary, and burgeoning theories of the body and how theories of the body inform debates about labor conditions and spatial configurations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 07 October 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Theatre has a profound impact on the body and perceptions of it, shaping how we understand and interpret the physicality of performance. Through its exploration of diverse bodies on stage, theatre challenges audience assumptions about material evidence and the truth, challenging us to reconsider our understanding of what constitutes reality.

Theory for Theatre Studies: Bodies is a comprehensive volume that examines how theatre contributes to theories of the body in performance, race, queer, disability, trans, gender, and new media studies. It explores how theatre participates in and informs these theories, highlighting the ways in which the body is constructed, represented, and interpreted on stage.

In the 20th century, theories of the body have shifted from a materialist understanding to a social constructionist perspective. The body is no longer seen as a fixed entity, but rather as a product of language and culture. Theatre has struggled with representing ideas through live bodies, calling into question assumptions about the body's inherent nature.

The volume demonstrates how theatre contributes to understanding the historical, contemporary, and burgeoning theories of the body. It explores how these theories inform debates about labor conditions and spatial configurations, as well as how they shape our understanding of the body's relationship to power and politics.

One of the key ways in which theatre shapes the body is through its casting choices. Performers can use their bodies to challenge traditional notions of beauty, gender, and race, creating new representations of the body that challenge audience assumptions. For example, in the musical Hamilton, the casting of non-white actors in historically white roles challenges the notion of race as a fixed category and highlights the diversity of the human experience.

Theatre also allows performers to explore the physicality of the body in new and innovative ways. Through movement, gesture, and expression, performers can create powerful and evocative performances that challenge our perceptions of what is possible for the human body. For example, in the play The Balcony, a woman uses her body to communicate with her lover across a balcony, creating a powerful and intimate performance that explores the boundaries of physicality and communication.

In addition to its impact on the body, theatre also has the power to shape perceptions of the body offstage. By creating powerful and evocative performances that challenge our understanding of the body, theatre can influence how we perceive and interact with others in our daily lives. For example, the play Angels in America explores the experiences of HIV/AIDS patients and their families, challenging stereotypes and promoting empathy and understanding.

Theatre theorizes bodies in a variety of ways, including through the use of performance analysis, critical theory, and embodied practice. Performance analysis examines the physicality of performance, including the ways in which bodies are positioned, moved, and expressed. Critical theory explores the social and cultural implications of the body, including how it is constructed, represented, and interpreted. Embodied practice involves the use of the body as a tool for inquiry and exploration, allowing performers and audiences to experience the body in new and innovative ways.

In conclusion, theatre has a profound impact on the body and perceptions of it, shaping how we understand and interpret the physicality of performance. Through its exploration of diverse bodies on stage, theatre challenges audience assumptions about material evidence and the truth, creating a reflexive dynamic for consideration of bodies offstage as well. Theatre theorizes bodies in a variety of ways, including through performance analysis, critical theory, and embodied practice, allowing performers and audiences to experience the body in new and innovative ways.

Weight: 204g
Dimension: 130 x 196 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474246316