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This book explores the concept and vocabulary of postdramatic theatre from a pedagogical perspective. It identifies some of the major anxieties and paradoxes generated by teaching postdramatic theatre through practice, with reference to the aesthetic, cultural and institutional pressures that shape teaching practices. It also presents a series of case studies that identify the pedagogical fault lines that expose the power-relations inherent in teaching (with a focus on the higher education sector as opposed to actor training institutions). It uses auto-ethnography, performance analysis and critical theory to assist university teachers involved in directing theatre productions to deepen their understanding of the concept of postdramatic theatre.
List of contents
Pedagogy, Politics and the Personal.- 1. John Laws/Sade: Postmodern or Postdramatic?.- 2. From Drama to Theatre to Performance Studies.- 3. Ganesh Versus the Third Reich as Pedagogical Parable.- 4. Attempts On Her Life: A Postdramatic Learning Play?.- 5. Teaching History and (Gender) Politics: The Hamletmachine and The Princess Plays.- 6. Devising Postdramatic Theatre in the Academy.- 7. An Enemy of Postdramatic Theatre? Or What I think about when I think about teaching Postdramatic Theatre.
About the author
Glenn D'Cruz teaches Drama and Cultural Studies at Deakin University, Australia. He is the author of
Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis and the editor of
Class Act: Melbourne Workers Theatre 1987-2007. He is also the co-editor of
Contemporary Publics: Shifting Boundaries in New Media, Technology and Culture (Palgrave, 2016).
Summary
This book explores the concept and vocabulary of postdramatic theatre from a pedagogical perspective. It identifies some of the major anxieties and paradoxes generated by teaching postdramatic theatre through practice, with reference to the aesthetic, cultural and institutional pressures that shape teaching practices. It also presents a series of case studies that identify the pedagogical fault lines that expose the power-relations inherent in teaching (with a focus on the higher education sector as opposed to actor training institutions). It uses auto-ethnography, performance analysis and critical theory to assist university teachers involved in directing theatre productions to deepen their understanding of the concept of postdramatic theatre.
Additional text
“Anyone engaged in the teaching or making of postdramatic work will find a great deal to chew on here. While I did wrestle with the disconnect between theory and practice, the musing on teaching, particularly teaching complex material through practice, was engaging and ultimately a powerful contribution to the ongoing conversation about the postdramatic.” (Dean Wilcox, Theatre Topics, Vol. 30 (3), November, 2020)
“These engaging texts are a rich learning ground for postdramatic theatre teachers.” (Prue Wales, Theatre Research International, Vol. 45 (1), 2020)
“Glenn D’Cruz’s book engages with Hans-Thies Lehmann’s concept of postdramatic theatre, or one of the ‘most widely used (and abused) terms in the fields of theatre, drama and performance studies in recent times’, to cite the author. … D’Cruz’s book makes a significant contribution to debate concerning the propensity of postdramatic theatre to ‘reinforce the hegemony of a narrow, Eurocentric account of modern drama’.” (Australasian Drama Studies, Vol. 73, October, 2019)
Report
"Anyone engaged in the teaching or making of postdramatic work will find a great deal to chew on here. While I did wrestle with the disconnect between theory and practice, the musing on teaching, particularly teaching complex material through practice, was engaging and ultimately a powerful contribution to the ongoing conversation about the postdramatic." (Dean Wilcox, Theatre Topics, Vol. 30 (3), November, 2020)
"These engaging texts are a rich learning ground for postdramatic theatre teachers." (Prue Wales, Theatre Research International, Vol. 45 (1), 2020)
"Glenn D'Cruz's book engages with Hans-Thies Lehmann's concept of postdramatic theatre, or one of the 'most widely used (and abused) terms in the fields of theatre, drama and performance studies in recent times', to cite the author. ... D'Cruz's book makes a significant contribution to debate concerning the propensity of postdramatic theatre to 'reinforce the hegemony of a narrow, Eurocentric account of modern drama'." (Australasian Drama Studies, Vol. 73, October, 2019)
