Theatricality as Medium

Samuel Weber

Summary

Ever since Aristotle's Poetics, both the theory and the practice of theater have been governed by the assumption that it is a form of representation dominated by what Aristotle calls the "mythos," or the "plot." This conception of theater has subordinated characteristics related to the theatrical medium, such as the process and place of staging, to the demands of a unified narrative. This readable, thought-provoking, and multidisciplinary study explores theatrical writings that question this aesthetical-generic conception and seek instead to work with the medium of theatricality itself. Beginning with Plato, Samuel Weber tracks the uneasy relationships among theater, ethics, and philosophy through Aristotle, the major Greek tragedians, Shakespeare, Kierkegaard, Kafka, Freud, Benjamin, Artaud, and many others who develop alternatives to dominant narrative-aesthetic assumptions about the theatrical medium. His readings also interrogate the relation of theatricality to the introduction of electronic media. The result is to show that, far from breaking with the characteristics of live staged performance, the new media intensify ambivalences about place and identity already at work in theater since the Greeks. Praise for Samuel Weber: “What kind of questioning is primarily after something other than an answer that can be measured . . . in cognitive terms? Those interested in the links between modern philosophy nd media culture will be impressed by the unusual intellectual clarity and depth with which Weber formulates the . . . questions that constiture the true challenge to cultural studies today. . . . one of our most important cultural critics and thinkers”—MLN

Available since: 08/25/2009.

Other books that might interest you

The Constant Wife

W. Somerset Maugham

There’s something Constance Middleton’s friends are dying to tell her:  her husband is having an affair – with her best friend!  Despite their hints, Constance remains ever cool, and seemingly oblivious.  Or is she?  In this biting comedy of manners, marriages and mistresses, Constance – a not-so-desperate housewife - has some ideas of her own about extra-marital activity that surprise everyone in the end!An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:Kate Burton as Constance MiddletonRosalind Ayres as Barbara FawcettMark Capri as Bentley and Mortimer DurhamStephen Collins as Bernard KersalJohn De Lancie as John Middleton, F.R.C.S.Jen Dede as Marie-Louise DurhamChristina Pickles as Mrs. CulverKirsten Potter as Martha CulverDirected by Jeanie Hackett. Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

Show book

Poetry of Night The - Volume 1 -...

D.H. Lawrence, Robert Louis...

Night.  The day has gone. Departed.  And the dark embrace, the inky shadows of night descend. For many a time to unwind and slumber. For some a nagging doubt that all is not well.  That some primeval and primordial happening may yet go bump in the night. 
But for our poets the night is a time of wonder and imagination as well as many other emotions and feelings.  Among our ranks of gloried talents are Keats, Coleridge, William Morris, DH Lawrence, Whitman, Longfellow and many more besides.  Their descriptions capture what they see and feel as perhaps only a poet can. 
Among our ranks of gloried talents are Thomas Hood, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Clare, Herman Melville and many more besides.  Their descriptions capture what they see and feel as perhaps only a poet can. 
This volume comes to you from Portable Poetry, a specialized imprint from Deadtree Publishing.  Our range is large and growing and covers single poets, themes, and many compilations.

Show book

Farewell -- But Whenever --

Thomas Moore

Librivox volunteers bring you seven readings of Farewell! – But Whenever – by Thomas Moore.  This is the fortnightly poetry project for October 12, 2014.

Show book

When We Were Very Young -...

A.A. Milne

"When We Were Very Young" is a book of poetry for children by the legendary British author A.A. Milne and marks the first appearance of the "silly old bear" who would soon become a worldwide sensation: Winnie-the-Pooh.   In these poems, the narrator - a young boy named Christopher Robin (after Milne's own son) - navigates the world of adolescence, imagining kings and queens, questing knights, talking bears, imaginary friends and explores the curiosity and wonder of the grown-up world seen through the eyes of a child.   "When We Were Very Young" - the first book of the Winnie-the-Pooh series - was an immediate hit when it was first published in 1924 and spawned the next three Pooh books: Winnie-the-Pooh, Now We Are Six and The House at Pooh Corner. It is presented here in its original and unabridged format.

Show book

Home

Anne Brontë

LibriVox volunteers bring you 18 recordings of Home by Anne Bronte. This was the weekly poetry project for January 11th, 2009.

Show book

Old-Fashioned Girl An (version 2)

Louisa May Alcott

Country-girl Polly Milton visits her fashionable cousins in the city, who make fun of her old-fashioned values. Will Polly adapt to city life?A coming-of-age novel by Louisa May Alcott, published in 1870. (Summary by Gesine)

Show book