Performance and Community
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Performance and Community by Caoimhe Mcavinchey
Performance practice in community settings is an established part of the cultural landscape. However, this practice is frequently viewed as functional: an intervention that seeks to solve, educate or heal. Performance and Community presents an alternative vision, focussing, instead, on the aesthetic and political ambitions of artists, organisations and cultural producers committed to this area. Through case studies, this edited collection gives unprecedented access to some of the leading organisations in the field, examining their creative processes and placing them in their historical context. In parallel, a series of interviews with individual artists explores their approaches and how they are re-shaped by the communities that they encounter. Case studies include: the Grassmarket Project, the Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company, London Bubble, Magic Me and the partnership between the artist, Mark Storor and producer, Anna Ledgard; while interviews in this collection include: Mojisola Adebayo, Bobby Baker, Sue Emmas, Tony Fegan, Paul Heritage, Rosemary Lee and Lois Weaver. An invaluable resource for students of applied, social, community and contemporary theatre practices, Performance and Community provides vivid evidence of the complex negotiations between artist and community that lie at the heart of this delicate work.
The editor, Caoimhe McAvinchey, has assembled an eclectic collection of case studies offering a range of perspectives on intersections between performance and communities[...] As a compendium of thought-provoking documents about significant practices, some of which are sparsely documented elsewhere, this is a very valuable resource particularly for undergraduate courses in applied drama and community arts. -- Simon Parry * Studies in Theatre and Performance *
Performance and Community: Commentary and Case Studies is a welcome addition to scholarship on performance in community settings (elsewhere referred to by the related terms, applied theatre and community-based theatre). Offering a close look at the social, political, and aesthetic dimensions of contemporary British performance practice, editor Caoimhe McAvinchey notes that the book 'brings together artists, companies and creative producers whose work provokes a reconsideration of the relationship between ideas of performance and ideas of community' (1). -- Claire Syler, University of Pittsburgh * Modern Drama *
Performance and Community does achieve McAvinchey's aim 'to examine and be more demanding of the possibilities for community' by offering a political and provocative smorgasbord of different practices and approaches which demonstrates what is possible in the field of community and performance. This is an excellent book for students, practitioners, and researchers alike and it is a delight to read. -- Katharine E. Low * New Theatre Quarterly *
McAvinchey does deliver on her promise to provide an alternative way of making meaning of applied performance. Taken together, the snapshots of performance offered here illustrate the range of aesthetic (and not just useful) contributions that these practitioners make. By doing so, she offers inspiration to all who create performance with, for, and about their communities-no matter where they are. -- Jane Barnette, University of Kansas, USA * Theatre Topics *
Performance and Community: Commentary and Case Studies is a welcome addition to scholarship on performance in community settings (elsewhere referred to by the related terms, applied theatre and community-based theatre). Offering a close look at the social, political, and aesthetic dimensions of contemporary British performance practice, editor Caoimhe McAvinchey notes that the book 'brings together artists, companies and creative producers whose work provokes a reconsideration of the relationship between ideas of performance and ideas of community' (1). -- Claire Syler, University of Pittsburgh * Modern Drama *
Performance and Community does achieve McAvinchey's aim 'to examine and be more demanding of the possibilities for community' by offering a political and provocative smorgasbord of different practices and approaches which demonstrates what is possible in the field of community and performance. This is an excellent book for students, practitioners, and researchers alike and it is a delight to read. -- Katharine E. Low * New Theatre Quarterly *
McAvinchey does deliver on her promise to provide an alternative way of making meaning of applied performance. Taken together, the snapshots of performance offered here illustrate the range of aesthetic (and not just useful) contributions that these practitioners make. By doing so, she offers inspiration to all who create performance with, for, and about their communities-no matter where they are. -- Jane Barnette, University of Kansas, USA * Theatre Topics *
Dr Caoimhe McAvinchey is Senior Lecturer in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London. Prior to this she established the MA Applied Drama: Theatre in Educational, Community and Social Contexts at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is author of Theatre & Prison (2011).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781408146422 |
| ISBN 10 | 1408146428 |
| Title | Performance and Community |
| Author | Caoimhe Mcavinchey |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2013-12-19 |
| Number of pages | 272 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |