Applied Theatre: Aesthetics

Description

Applied Theatre: Aesthetics re-examines how the idea of 'the aesthetic' is relevant to performance in social settings. The disinterestedness that traditional aesthetics claims as a key characteristic of art makes little sense when making performances with ordinary people, rooted in their lives and communities, and with personal and social change as its aim. Yet practitioners of applied arts know that their work is not reducible to social work, therapy or education. Reconciling the simultaneous autonomy and heteronomy of art is the problem of aesthetics in applied arts. Gareth White’s introductory essay reviews the field, and proposes an interdisciplinary approach that builds on new developments in evolutionary, cognitive and neuro-aesthetics alongside the politics of art. It addresses the complexities of art and the aesthetic as everyday behaviours and responses. The second part of the book is made up of essays from leading experts and new voices in the practice and theory of applied performance, reflecting on the key problematics of applying performance with non-performers. New and innovative practice is described and interrogated, and fresh thinking is introduced in response to perennial problems. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Figures Notes on Contributors Introduction Applied theatre, aesthetics and the aesthetic Terminological drift and clarity Beauty and engagement An applied theatre aesthetic? The chapters Part 1 Chapter 1 Aesthetics and the Aesthetic What do we mean when we talk about ‘Aesthetics’? Philosophical aesthetics Immanuel Kant and the emergence of aesthetics The critique of aesthetics and progressive alternatives Dewey’s pragmatist aesthetics The aesthetics of participation Interlude: Eye Queue Hear Chapter 2 Aesthetic Autonomy and Heteronomous Aesthetics Aesthetic autonomy Genius, participation and The Radical Aesthetic Dependent beauty Heteronomous aesthetics Berleant and The Aesthetic Field Shusterman: Updating pragmatism Johnson and aesthetic understanding Conclusion Part 2 Chapter 3 Dancing With Difference: Moving Towards a New Aesthetics Beauty reflected, recollected and reconceived Moving beyond moving: StevensonThompson Fevered Sleep and ‘Social Works’: On Ageing and Men and Girls Dance Conclusion Chapter 4 Revolutionary Beauty out of Homophobic Hate: A Reflection on the Performance I Stand Corrected Applied politricks Applied lackaesthetics Beauty and the senses Beauty and the sacred Beautiful women, ugly feelings Thinking beauty Beautifully black Beautiful moves Looking forward Chapter 5 Competing International Players and their Aesthetic Imperatives: The Future of Internationalized Applied Theatre Practice? Introduction Aesthetics Ethnoscape – a way of looking Refugees International interveners European artists Tourists Conclusion Chapter 6 Aesthetic Play: Between Performance and Justice Introduction Gacaca as a performative Performing justice and reconciliation – Art’s sublimation (2005) Gacaca as ikinimicu (2010) Conclusion Chapter 7 The Political Imagination and Contemporary Theatre for Youth Introduction Political aesthetics Rough Theatre today Responding to young people’s lives Imagination, popular culture, Rough Theatre Acquiescence: The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge Popular culture as cultural pedagogy Chapter 8 The Aesthetics of Becoming; Applied Theatre and the Quest for Cultural Certitude Introduction Aesthetic decisions in applied theatre settings ‘Baby Bird’ drama: An example of genre shifts Quadripartite thinking/quadripartite response Aesthetic variables within the art form of drama Conclusion Epilogue Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Interlude Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Epilogue References Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Epilogue Index