Led by Michael Meeuwis (English/Warwick)

 

INTRODUCTION

How normal is passion to the production of theatre, and who do we expect to bear its costs: physical, as well as financial? These readings examine how various sorts of “passion” inform how theatrical arts are made and subsidized. Joseph Roach surveys the history of passion as a history of the actor’s body; Brecht calls for the return of a kind of “passion” similar to that involve in sports spectatorship to theatre-making and theatregoing. As an introduction, though, Charles Isherwood reminds us that the costs of theatrical passion often fall most heavily on theatrical performers—at least, in austerity-era arts regimes.

 

POINTS OF DEPARTURE:

• Charles Isherwood, ‘Stage Acting: It’s Nice Work if you can Afford it’, in: The New York Times (15 January 2006)
• Arts Council England, ‘Great Art and Culture for Everyone’ (2013), pp. 33-45
• Brecht on Theatre, ed./trans. John Willett (London, 1964), 6-9: 'Emphasis on Sport'

 

FURTHER READINGS:

• Joseph R. Roach, The Player's Passion: Studies in the Science of Acting (University of Michigan Press, 1993), Preface and Chs 5-6
• Brecht on Theatre, ed./trans. John Willett (London, 1964), 180-205: 'A Short Organum for the Theatre'
• Arts Council England, ‘Great Art and Culture for Everyone’ (2013) [remainder of the document]