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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.>
About the author
Gareth White lectures in applied theatre and community performance at Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, UK. He is also a director, performer and facilitator, with a particular interest in processes and theories of participation and collaborative processes.Michael Balfour is Head of School and Professor of Theatre and Performance at University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Michael’s research explores applied theatre and performance work in a range of social contexts. Michael has authored or edited 8 books, and over 50 book chapters and academic journal articles. His most recent publications include Performing Arts in Prisons: Creative Perspectives (2019), and Applied Theatre: Understanding Change (2018) with Kelly Freebody, Michael Anderson and Michael Finneran. He is the series editor of the Methuen Drama applied theatre book series, that brings together leading international scholars to engage with and advance key themes in the field of applied theatre.Sheila Preston is Head of Performing Arts at the University of East London, UK. Previously she was a senior lecturer in Applied Theatre at the Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. She co-edited with Tim Prentki The Applied Theatre Reader (Routledge, 2009).
