Theatre, Performance and Cognition Languages, Bodies and Ecologies

Theatre, Performance and Cognition introduces readers to the key debates, areas of research, and applications of the cognitive sciences to the humanities, and to theatre and performance in particular. It features the most exciting work being done at the intersection of theatre and cognitive science, containing both selected scientific studies that have been influential in the field, each introduced and contextualised by the editors, together with related scholarship from the field of theatre and performance that demonstrates some of the applications of the cognitive sciences to actor training, the rehearsal room and the realm of performance more generally.

The three sections consider the principal areas of research and application in this interdisciplinary field, starting with a focus on language and meaning-making in which Shakespeare's work and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia are considered. In the second part which focuses on the body, chapters consider applications for actor and dance training, while the third part focuses on dynamic ecologies, of which the body is a part.

Rhonda Blair, Professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, USA, is the author of several important essays at the intersection of cognitive science and theatre and performance. She is a director, actor, co-chair of the Working Group in Cognitive Science and Performance for American Society for Theatre Research, and was the president of this organization from 2009-2012.
Amy Cook, Associate Professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, USA, is the author of Shakespearean Neuroplay: Reinvigorating the Study of Dramatic Texts and Performance through Cognitive Science, (2010) and essays in Theatre Journal, TDR, SubStance, and the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and several edited volumes. She has been the co-chair of the Working Group in Cognitive Science and Performance for American Society for Theatre Research since 2010.

Introduction – Amy Cook and Rhonda Blair
An Interview with John Emigh (Brown University, USA)
Part I: Cognitive Linguistics, Theatre, and Performance
1. The Science
2. Integrations and Applications:
A. “Material Objects and Language: Cognitive Underpinnings of On-stage Interactions” (Barbara Dancygier, The University of British Columbia, Canada)
B. "Doth not Brutus bootless kneel? Kneeling, cognition, and destructive plasticity in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar” (Laura Seymour, University of Cambridge, UK)
C. “Performance, Irony, and Viewpoint in Theatre” (Vera Tobin, Case Western Reserve University, USA)
3. A Response from Science: "The Performing Mind" (Mark Turner, Case Western Reserve University, USA)

Part II: Embodied Cognition: Bodies in Performance
1. The Science
2. Integrations and Applications:
A. “The Olympic Actor: Improving actor confidence through the cognitive sciences and sports psychology” (Neal Utterback, Juniata College, USA)
B. “Becoming Elsewhere: ArtsCross and the (re)location of performer cognition” (Edward Warburton, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA)
C. “Training, insight, and intuition in creative flow” (Chris Jackman, University of Toronto, Canada)
3. A Response from Science: Kate Stevens, University of Western Sydney, AU)

Part III: Situated Cognition and Dynamic Systems: Cognitive Ecologies
1. The Science
2. Integrations and Applications:
A. “Distributed Cognition, Mindful Bodies, and the Arts of Acting” (Evelyn Tribble, University of Otago, New Zealand)
B. “The Historical Body Map: Cultural Pressures on Embodied Cognition” (Sarah McCarroll, Georgia Southern University, USA)
C. “Another Way of Looking: Digital Technologies and How They Change the World” (Matthew Hayler, University of Birmingham, UK)
3. A Response from Science: "Mapping the prenoetic dynamics of performance" (Shaun Gallagher, University of Memphis, USA, and University of Wollongong, Australia)
Afterword
Index

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