The Actor's Body: Intercultural Theories and Practices (DRA3076)

30 credits

This module explores histories and practices of actor training and how these approaches relate to specific performance traditions, with a particular focus on the body of the performer.

 

The module asks and addresses the following questions through both theory and practice:

  • What is the ‘work’ of the actor?
  • How have culturally/historically specific understandings of the body of the actor, from both western and non-western contexts, informed this ‘work’?
  • How have different approaches to training informed the actor’s work?
  • What theoretical tools and keywords are most useful to help us understand this ‘work’?

How are training processes taught and ‘translated’ and what effect might this have on the ‘work’ of the performer?Incoming international students and Exeter students from other disciplines welcome, subject to availability. In addition to students of drama, performance or theatre studies, this module will engage the interest of students with a background in philosophy, anthropology, English, film and modern languages.