Authors:
Winner of the 2020 Rob Jordan Prize
Takes a uniquely critical stance towards traditional authority figures (Aristotle and Stanislavsky) in relation to the teaching and practice of Greek tragedy
Addresses contemporary theatre/acting students and theatre-makers, focuses on their priorities and needs, and asks how past practices can inspire innovative new approaches
Combines theatre history and contemporary theory with practical prompts for studio and rehearsal-room exercises
Buy it now
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.
Table of contents (8 chapters)
-
Front Matter
-
Back Matter
About this book
Reviews
“Thought-provoking and comprehensive, the book draws on a staggering array of source material, distilling and weaving the knowledge together in a way that is both logical and approachable. ... This volume would be useful for teachers who want their students to forge more intuitive, body-centered relationships with Greek tragedy, directors and vocal coaches interested in sparking their own ingenuity as they stage these plays, and resourceful actors who want to incorporate somatic techniques into character development.” (Karen Kopryanski, Voice and Speech Review, September 10, 2020)
“This book is an invaluable tool for theatre-makers, whether beginner or expert, working to stage Ancient Greek Drama for the contemporary stage. It provides, not only, a valuable contextualisation of these foundational scripts, one which vitally challenges received notions of what it is to act in them, but it also offers varied and accessible exercises that encourage the performer/director to find ways of playfully embodying each script by embracing (rather than eliding) Ancient Greek Drama’s distinctive features. It is an engaging and informative offer that demands we (the artists) seek out a specific living and breathing dynamic for the texts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The rich range of examples from translations and live performances serve to remind us that in bringing the texts to life we are also addressing our own times and our own contexts, and that the act of staging is an act of translation itself.” (Thomas Wilson, Module/Year Coordinator BA (Hons) European Theatre Arts, Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, UK)
“Greek Tragedy and the Contemporary Actor offers a rich account of current trends and practices in the staging of Greek drama. Further to this, however, it provocatively charts how contemporary practice can stultify tragedy in modern performance, whether through reading tragedy via Aristotle and by focusing on a Stanislavskian-inspired psychological reading of ancient character, or by removing the playfulness inherent in tragedy and the acknowledged co-presence of actor and audience in favour of a more formalised performance style with a firmly rendered fourth wall. Instead, Zachary Dunbar and Stephe Harrop demonstrate how storytelling, translation theory, music, and the multimodal focus of modern actor training all offer alternative tools for insightful and imaginative performances ancient drama. Filled with practical exercises, insightful observations, and informative overviews, the volume is vital reading for all engaged in the staging of Greek drama today.” (Emma K Cole, Lecturer in Liberal Arts & Classics, University of Bristol, UK)
“A book like this has been long overdue for some time; Zachary Dunbar and Stephe Harrop are just the right people to have written it. In a sequence of lucid, thoughtful, nuanced discussions, the authors outline the main principles and practices of ancient Greek tragic stagecraft and offer a rich storehouse of actor-training exercises specifically geared towards this genre. More than that, however, Greek Tragedy and the Contemporary Actor sets out deliberately to provoke. And provoke it certainly does, asking, among other hard questions: Have we overplayed psychological realism? How does Stanislavski fit in? Do we even need Aristotle's Poetics? If not character, then what? How does tragedy engage our sense of music, rhythm, sound, breath? I congratulate Dunbar and Harrop for asking (and answering) these questions so cogently in this important book, which is to be recommended, unreservedly, to anyone interested in how to deal with Greek tragedy in the twenty-first century.” (Simon Perris, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and author of The Gentle, Jealous God: Reading Euripides' Bacchae in English)
Authors and Affiliations
-
Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Zachary Dunbar
-
Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, UK
Stephe Harrop
About the authors
Stephe Harrop is Senior Lecturer in Drama (Shakespeare and the Classics) at Liverpool Hope University, UK. Her research focuses on responses to ancient Greek tragedy and epic, the traditional arts in modern theatre-making, and contemporary storytelling practices. She is an associate of the APGRD (University of Oxford), and also works as a performance storyteller.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Greek Tragedy and the Contemporary Actor
Authors: Zachary Dunbar, Stephe Harrop
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95471-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-95470-7Published: 20 November 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-40387-4Published: 11 February 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-95471-4Published: 11 November 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 237
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: Performing Arts, Classical Studies, Theatre History