Playing With Theory in Theatre Practice

Through a collection of original essays and case studies, this book introduces ideas and raises questions about building dynamic, theoretically minded production work. Artists and scholars grapple with the shifting value and function of theory in theatre, exploring the multi-faceted and complex relationship between theory and theatre practice.

MEGAN ALTRUZis Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA,where she teaches in the Drama and Theatre for Youth MFA program. As a theatre scholar, as well as a community-based teaching artist, her work focuses on Applied Theatre and Digital Media with/for young people, drama-based pedagogy, and the development of new work.

JULIA LISTENGARTENis Julia Listengarten is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Central Florida. Her research interests include avant-garde theory and performance, translation theory, and nationalism. Her translation of Christmas at the Ivanovs' premiered Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company and was included in Theater of the Avant-Garde, 1890-1950. She is the author of Russian Tragifarce: Its Cultural and Political Roots and co-editor of Theater of the Avant-Garde: 1950-2000. She has contributed to various books and theatre periodicals including Theatre Research International, Slavic and Eastern European Performance, and Scenography International.

M. VAN DUYN(Vandy)WOOD is a visual artist and theatrical designer from Central New York, USA. She is currently an Associate Professor of Design and the Coordinator of the MFA Design program for the University of Central Florida's Conservatory Theatre, USA.Vandy has been designing professionally for theatre and video since 1986 and specializes in the development of new works.

Introduction
PART I: CONTEXTUALIZING THEORY AND PRACTICE
Introduction to Part I
Approaching Theory: Scholar and Practitioner; M.Van de Water
The Function of Theory at the Present Time?; M.Fortier
'There is a World Elsewhere': The Endgame of Theory and Practice; M.Kobialka
PART II: INTERROGATING THEORY IN PRACTICE: PRODUCTIVE TENSIONS, QUESTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Introduction to Part II 
Lost in Translation: Moving Theory into Dramaturgy; L.Inez-Brown
The Question of Authenticity and Ethics in Children's Theatre and Art; S.Etheridge Woodson
Theatrical Nationalism and Subversive Affirmation; S.Wilmer
Moving Spectators Toward Progressive Politics by Combining Brechtian Theory with Cognitive Science; B.McConachie
Sensual Engagements: Understanding Theories of the Senses and their Potential Applications within Theatre Practice; S.DiBenedetto
Intermediate Bodies: Media Theory and Theatre; S.Bay-Cheng
Resisting Binaries: Theory and Acting; J.Lutterbie
Intuition in Practice: Emotion and Feeling in the Artistic Process; H.Feiner
PART III: CASE STUDIES: APPLYING THEORY WITHIN AND THROUGH THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
Introduction to Part III
Cyrano's Intercultural Voyages in India; D.McManus
Theoretical Terrain and Performance Practice: An Actor's Journey into the Uncharted Territory of Landscape Theatre; B.Hanemann
Under the Influence; A.Mello
(Re)presenting Silenced Voices: Negotiating Multiple Landscapes Through Body, Voice and Architecture; J.Listengarten and C.Niess
Voice and the Venus: Opening up Voice and Speech with Post-Colonial Theories; L.Dougherty
Theatre is Theory: A Case Study of Ghosting; H.Blau
Seven Instructions: A Dialogue; M.Rohd and S.Scrofano
Modulating Theory: Breaking New Ground in Musical Theatre Study; J.Bell
Index