A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer [Paperback]

Eugenio Barba (Author), Nicola Savarese (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415053080 | ISBN-13: 978-0415053082 | Publication Date: July 24, 1991 | Edition: English-language ed

Containing over 650 photographs and diagrams, this lavishly illustrated and entirely original sourcebook on Western and non-Western theatre is an inspiring tribute to the secret art of the performer.

Revised and updated with fifty new photographs of the performers’ craft, bibliography and index, and three new chapters on:

• Eurasion Theatre
• Exercises
• Organicity.

The Dictionary focuses on the craft of an actor and aims to expand our knowledge of the possibilities of the scenic body, and of the spectator's response to the dynamics of performance.

It includes practical sections on balance, opposition and energy, and discusses such issues as, The Text and the Stage, The Dilated Body, and Energetic Language.

The visual essay of photographs, drawings and diagrams which runs parallel to the text is skilfully constructed to complement the textual argument and the whole Dictionary is vital reading for students of contemporary theatre theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The entries in the Dictionary are fascinating flashbulbs, shedding light on myriad ways of performing – breathing in noh, eye movement in kathakali, balance in Indian bharatanatyam ... For actors grounded in 20th-Century American realism, this plethora of body-based ... information could prove (literally) eye-opening. Particularly persuasive is Schechners essay on restoration of behavior. – American Theatre

About the Author

EUGENIO BARBA (1936) Italian born, emigrated to Norway in 1954 where he worked as a welder and seaman. From 1961 to 1964, he followed Jerzy Grotowski’s work in Poland, publishing the first book about him, In Search of a Lost Theatre (1965). In 1963, after spending 6 months in India, he published an essay on kathakali, a theatre form previously unknown in the West. In 1964 he founded Odin Teatret in Oslo, transferring it in 1966 to Holstebro (Denmark) as the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium. He has directed 32 productions which have been regularly presented in Europe, Asia, North and South America. In 1979 he founded ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology, an itinerant institution with actors, dancers, musicians and scholars interested in investigating the principles of scenic presence. He has written many books and articles, amongst which The Paper Canoe. A Guide to Theatre Anthropology (Routledge 1994), Theatre: Solitude, Craft, Revolt (Black Mountain Press 1999) and Land of Ashes and Diamonds. My Apprenticeship in Poland (Black Mountain Press 1999). He has received numerous international awards and honorary doctorates.

 

Nicola Savarese was born in Rome. Professor at the University Romatre (Rome), he teaches History of Theatre and Performance at Department of Performing Arts. His studies deal with the complex dynamic of the meetings between Asian theatres and Occidental theatre and the contemporary performers in different contex. He as travelled widely in Asia and particularly in Japan, where he lived for two years. On the relationship between Oriental and Occidental theatres he has published, among many other works, Teatro e spettacolo fra Oriente e Occidente (Theatre and Performance Beyond the Sea, Roma 1992, translated in Spanish), Parigi/Artaud/Bali (L’Aquila 1997), Training (Roma 2004). He is permanent member of ISTA (International School of Theatre Anthropology) since its foundation and he is editor of review Teatro e storia. He was guest scholar at Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles in 1999.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; English-language ed edition (July 24, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415053080
• ISBN-13: 978-0415053082
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic reading for performing artists, January 20, 2007

By 

Stela Menezes "starfish jones" (Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer (Paperback)

This is a great book for actors, dancers, choreographers, directors, teachers and all kinds of performing artists. Its texts reveal a way of perceiving the art of performers in scenic situations considering the physical qualities and possibilities of their bodies, but also of not so obviously visible paradigms such as energy, presence, balance, dilation and so on. Its photographs and illustrations are clearly demonstrative of the topics approached. After studying this book, I can watch performers in action (and in still pictures as well) with a totally new point of view, being able to analyse the subtleties that make their presence/images effective in their communication, artistry and vitality. I am also able to activate the theatre anthropology concepts in my own practice, reaching for new boundaries of self-perception and expressivity.

5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer (Paperback)

The book of Barba is an essential help for acting students, because it explains in easy ways difficult topics.