Acting the Essence The Performer's Work on the Self

Acting the Essence examines the theory, practice, and history of the art of the performer from the perspective of its inner nature as work on oneself, within, around, and beyond the pedagogy of the actor. Ref lecting primarily on the legacy of Jerzy Grotowski, this book is composed of a series of ref lections on the Stanislavskian lineage of practitioners and related authors, in an attempt to revive awareness of the original path traced by the Russian master and to refine certain ambiguities in contemporary training. In a new media age of image and sound, accompanied by a proliferation of new technologies and means to communicate, emphasised by the COVID-19 crisis, a classic question comes to be asked of us again: What is the essence and the principal objective of the work of the performer? Is performing art still necessary? While proposing a theoretical advancement of the discipline and an historical overview of the relevant practices, this book provides tools for a better understanding of the traditional function of the performer’s practice as work on the self, for its ecological renaissance through a conscient use of trance, attention, and altered states of consciousness. This book offers insight for students in drama, theatre, and performance courses studying acting and performance at university.

List of Figures Acknowledgements INTRODUCTION Acting with bad intentions PART ONE: STANISLAVSKI AND GROTOWSKI. THE PERFORMER’S WORK ON THE SELF IN EUROPEAN THEATRE Chapter One The Work on One’s Self in Stanislavski’s lineage Chapter Two Grotowski from Theatre to Ritual Arts PART TWO: THEATRE AND RITUAL. THE PERFORMER’S WORK ON THE SELF BEYOND THEATRE Chapter Three Performances and Altered States of Consciousness (ASC). An overview Chapter Four Trance, Possession and Acting PART THREE: PIRANDELLO AND WEIL. THE PERFORMER’S WORK ON THE SELF OUTSIDE THEATRE Chapter Five Pirandello’s Actor Chapter Six Simone Weil, Performance and Attention Photographs Notes Index

Giuliano Campo is a Performer, Director, and Lecturer in Drama at Ulster University.