From Acting to Performance

This first collection of essays by performance theorist and critic Philip Auslander surveys the changes in acting and performance during the crucial transition from the ecstatic theatre of the 1960s to the ironic postmodernism of the 1980s.

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