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This thesis focuses on the staging of anxiety in modern American theatre. Specifically, I explore theatrical representations of anxiety around three events that shifted people's perception: 9/11, the recession of 2008, and the 2016 presidential election. I am interested in how playwrights explore recent surges of anxiety in society and why. The plays I engage with focus on individuals whose voices are lost in public discourse as the economic gap between classes grows. By looking at the plays through the affect theory of Sara Ahmed and the lectures on anxiety by Jacques Lacan, I explore how these plays offer audiences ways to understand and communicate the complex layers of anxiety. The introduction examines how anxiety moved from its status as a medical diagnosis to becoming a part of current culture. The second chapter is focused on The Humans by Stephen Karam, a play that deals with the layering of multiple anxieties, including post-traumatic stress disorder due to the events of September 11, 2001. The third chapter's focus is Sweat by Lynne Nottage, which explores how economic anxiety of the people left behind in a city that loses its industry can lead to 'othering' of individuals and how the status of 'other' circulates through society. The fourth chapter deals with Richard Nelson's play, Women of a Certain Age, which takes place on the evening of the 2016 presidential election. I examine how a family can find comfort together when they are suspended between realities of the past and future by being together in the present. Like the canary in the coalmine, playwrights have been staging plays that deal with the anxiety of people who feel lost because their country has changed due to moments of social upheaval. By listening to how playwrights communicate anxiety to audiences, it is possible the work they are doing lends itself to the larger conversation that is growing around anxiety today.
The first new translation of Kierkegaard's masterwork in a generation brings to vivid life this essential work of modern philosophy. Brilliantly synthesizing human insights with Christian dogma, Soren Kierkegaard presented, in 1844, The Concept of Anxiety as a landmark "psychological deliberation," suggesting that our only hope in overcoming anxiety was not through "powder and pills" but by embracing it with open arms. While Kierkegaard's Danish prose is surprisingly rich, previous translations—the most recent in 1980—have marginalized the work with alternately florid or slavishly wooden language. With a vibrancy never seen before in English, Alastair Hannay, the world's foremost Kierkegaard scholar, has finally re-created its natural rhythm, eager that this overlooked classic will be revivified as the seminal work of existentialism and moral psychology that it is. From The Concept of Anxiety: "And no Grand Inquisitor has such frightful torments in readiness as has anxiety, and no secret agent knows as cunningly how to attack the suspect in his weakest moment, or to make so seductive the trap in which he will be snared; and no discerning judge understands how to examine, yes, exanimate the accused as does anxiety, which never lets him go, not in diversion, not in noise, not at work, not by day, not by night."
We are living in times when populism, war and climate change are all sources of anxiety caused by overlapping crises. Anxiety is a phenomenon that is not just reflected everywhere around us but is also increasingly manifesting itself in contemporary drama: particularly in the last five to ten years many new British dramas and theatre productions have given a stage to anxiety. Given this central role of anxiety, the aim of this study is to outline the interplay of theatre and anxiety on both a thematic and aesthetic level. It argues that a strand of contemporary theatre that combines topics of social, ecological, technological and pandemic importance with investigations into the philosophical and aesthetic implications of anxiety has come to prominence in recent years: the theatre of anxiety. This is traced across exemplary readings of a number of contemporary British plays by playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Zinnie Harris, Alistair McDowall and others. They show that contemporary drama and performance both aesthetically and thematically reflect and comment on global crises and catastrophes through the lens of anxiety as a feeling that 'colours' the perception of and reaction to these social and political conditions.
This book offers a compelling examination of performed adaptations of Stevenson's masterpiece, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Rose investigates how a single text, adapted many times in the past century, can serve to elucidate certain shifts in cultural attitudes. Providing an analysis of the relation between culture and performance, the author argues that Stevenson's adapters have infused the original story with concerns about issues of race, class, gender, and economics.
Scientific Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Theater Studies, Dance, grade: H1, University of Melbourne, course: Architecture, Space, and Theatre, language: English, abstract: The frontal set-up of the proscenium arch now marks a central point of debate regarding the nature of representation within the theatre. The proscenium’s frontal architectural form seems to have little room for discussion as it detaches the spectator from the performance through the employment of the fourth wall. This lack of discussion has repeatedly been blamed for the reestablishment of traditional bourgeois values and hegemonic sign-systems within the theatre. (Heuvel 1992) Hence, the 20th century was more than happy to embrace the multitude of theatrical innovations as new staging concepts stirred away from the ‘antiquity’ of the proscenium arch, moving into a new and exciting artistic terrain that involved theatre in the round, environmental theatre, etc. (Heuvel 1992) These innovations celebrated the theatre as an interactive experience between the actors and the audience, liberating the stage from the ‘dull’ frontal viewing that the proscenium arch had seemed to chain itself to. Representation within these emerging theatre styles evolved into a state of ‘experiencing the image’ rather than merely ‘viewing it’ and the audience was now able to play an active role, allowing them to interact/question the sign systems on stage. Oddly enough, the proscenium still seems to be the most common form of staging within our Western theatre culture. Realistic, Epic, and the Post-modern Theatre of Images mark three of the most historically significant genre’s within the theatrical movement, yet, these three styles predominantly employ the proscenium arch as a theatre space. Their regressive use of this staging has at times been considered reactionary, leading to anxieties about a backlash within the theatrical movement. While for some, the use of the proscenium may signify an artistic backlash, I would argue that the proscenium has undergone a crucial range of adaptations; signifying the constant evolution of representation within the theatre. Through a discussion regarding the development of the proscenium arch within the genre’s of Realistic, Epic, and post-modern theatre, we can see how this staging has been able to manipulate its frontal frame as it, often successfully, responds to our constantly changing environment.
Over the past two decades, there has been a major increase in research into the effects of the arts on health and well-being, alongside developments in practice and policy activities in different countries across the WHO European Region and further afield. This report synthesizes the global evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being, with a specific focus on the WHO European Region. Results from over 3000 studies identified a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness across the lifespan. The reviewed evidence included study designs such as uncontrolled pilot studies, case studies, small-scale cross-sectional surveys, nationally representative longitudinal cohort studies, community-wide ethnographies and randomized controlled trials from diverse disciplines. The beneficial impact of the arts could be furthered through acknowledging and acting on the growing evidence base; promoting arts engagement at the individual, local and national levels; and supporting cross-sectoral collaboration.
Stage fright is one of the human psyche's deepest fears. Over half of British adults name public speaking as their greatest fear, even greater than heights and snakes. Laurence Olivier learned to adapt to it, as have actors Salma Hayek and Hugh Grant. Musicians such as Paul McCartney and Adele have battled it and learned to cope. Playing Scared is Sara Solovitch's journey into the myriad causes of stage fright and the equally diverse ways we can overcome it. As a young child, Sara studied piano and fell in love with music. As a teen, she played Bach and Mozart at her hometown's annual music festival, but was overwhelmed by stage fright, which led her to give up aspirations of becoming a professional pianist. In her late fifties, Sara gave herself a one-year deadline to tame performance anxiety and play before an audience. She resumed music lessons, while exploring meditation, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, biofeedback and beta blockers, among many other remedies. She practiced performing in airports, hospitals and retirement homes. Finally, the day before her sixtieth birthday, she gave a formal recital for an audience of fifty. Using her own journey as inspiration, Sara has written a thoughtful and insightful cultural history of performance anxiety and a tribute to pursuing personal growth at any age.