Act as a Feminist: Towards a Critical Acting Pedagogy

Description

Act as a Feminist maps a female genealogy of UK actor training practices from 1970 to 2020 as an alternative to traditional male lineages. It re-orientates thinking about acting through its intersections with feminisms and positions it as a critical pedagogy, fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. The book draws attention to the pioneering contributions women have made to actor training, highlights the importance of recognising the political potential of acting, and problematises the inequities for a female majority inspired to work in an industry where they remain a minority. Part One opens up the epistemic scope, shaping a methodology to evaluate the critical potential of pedagogic practice. It argues that feminist approaches offer an alternative affirmative position for training, a via positiva and a way to re-make mimesis. In Part Two, the methodology is applied to the work of UK women practitioners through analysis of the pedagogic exchange in training grounds. Each chapter focuses on how the broad curriculum of acting intersects with gender as technique to produce a hidden curriculum, with case studies on Jane Boston and Nadine George (voice), Niamh Dowling and Vanessa Ewan (movement), Alison Hodge and Kristine Landon-Smith (acting), and Katie Mitchell and Emma Rice (directing). The book concludes with a feminist manifesto for change in acting. Written for students, actors, directors, teachers of acting, voice, and movement, and anyone with an interest in feminisms and critical pedagogies, Act as a Feminist offers new ways of thinking and approaches to practice. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Preface Notes Introduction Acting Where to learn? How to learn? What to learn? Pedagogy Anti-pedagogical prejudice Disembody, disempower, 'disembrain' Feminism Where are the women? 'Being' female Post-feminist equality? Overview of chapters Notes Part I: Shaping a Methodology 1. Feminist Underpinnings in Acting: Re-Making Mimesis Unlearning and the hidden curriculum of acting The female ontology of acting: The matter of doubling, vision and vulnerability The matter of doubling: Being like a girl The matter of vision: Seeing like a girl The matter of vulnerability: Feeling like a girl Re-making mimesis: New feminist materialisms and acting Notes 2. Feminist Interventions: Via Positiva and Critical Acting Pedagogy Acting and pedagogical frameworks Foundational pedagogies: Play and the 'via negativa' Feminist interventions: Power, affirmativity and the 'via positiva' Towards a Critical Acting Pedagogy: Difference, the critical position and feminist acting approaches Difference The critical position Feminist acting approaches Notes Part II: Considering Practice 3. Women and the Matter of Voice Jane Boston: Thinking through voice Becoming voice The second text Nadine George: The healing voice Touching feeling in voice Queering voice Notes 4. Women and the Matter of Movement Feminist ways and movement teaching Vanessa Ewan: The cultural body Foundational practices: Learning 'to see' through keys and codes 'Doing' gender: Gender as technique 'Doing' intimacy: Intimacy as technique Niamh Dowling: The ecological body Foundational practices: Towards a nomadic pedagogy Mattering language Notes 5. Women and the Matter of Acting Kristine Landon-Smith: Intra-cultural acting 'All these little parts of yourself' 'Doing' race Alison Hodge: The relational actor Foundational practices: Sensuality, touch and feeling Queering acting Notes 6. Women and the Matter of Directing Katie Mitchell: Schooling actors Feminist director pedagogue Re-making mimesis: Vital materialism Agential realism and cyborgs Emma Rice: A school for wise children Pedagogy for the collective imagination Vital materialism and the 'feminine masquerade' Bric-a-brac, thing-ness and agential realism Notes Conclusion Changing the culture: A feminist manifesto for acting A Feminist Manifesto for Acting Theoretical underpinnings: A Critical Acting Pedagogy Pedagogical practices: Implementing a Critical Acting Pedagogy Notes Index