ABSTRACT

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.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part I From acting to performance

chapter 2|15 pages

“Holy theatre” and catharsis

chapter 4|8 pages

Task and vision

Willem Dafoe in LSD

part |2 pages

Part II Postmodernism and performance

chapter 7|14 pages

Embodiment

The politics of postmodern dance

part |2 pages

Part III Postmodern body politics

chapter 9|10 pages

Boal, Blau, Brecht

The body

chapter 10|18 pages

“Brought to you by Fem-Rage”

Stand-up comedy and the politics of gender

chapter 11|15 pages

The surgical self

Body alteration and identity