Cultural Performance, 1st ed. 2017 Ethnographic Approaches to Performance Studies

This engaging text introduces the burgeoning and interdisciplinary field of cultural performance, offering ethnographic approaches to performance as well as looking at the aesthetics of experience and performance theory. Examining cultural performance from anthropological, geographical and corporeal standpoints, this book offers many examples of the ways in which performance art and entertainment utilize cultural methods to deepen and enrich the practice. Featuring case studies from a rich cross-section of academics, chapters explore performances from regions as far flung as Bhutan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA. With cultural performances as varied as Catholic rituals, Maori ceremonies, Monster Truck rallies, musicals, theatre and singing performances, this fascinating text compares performance as art and performance as cultural expression.

Introduction; Kevin Landis and Suzanne MacAulay, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- SECTION I: AESTHETICS AND EXPERIENCE.- 1. Performing Tradition; Kevin Landis, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: Trickster's Double-ness: Performance, Ideology and Anansesem Storytelling; David Afryie Donkor, Texas A&M University, USA.- 2. Experiencing Community; Suzanne MacAulay, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: Arenas of Sense - Monster Truck Rallies as Cultural Performance; Tomie Hahn, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA.- SECTION II: PLACE/SPACE.- 3. The Architecture of Performance Space; Kevin Landis, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: Architecting Queer Space: Charles Ludlam's Bluebeard in the West Village; Sean F. Edgecomb, College of Staten Island, CUNY, USA.- 4. The Topography of Performance; Suzanne MacAulay, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: Utah! America's Most Spectacular Outdoor Musical Drama; Callie Oppedisano, Independent Scholar, USA.- SECTION III: THE BODY.- 5. The Somatic Experience; Kevin Landis, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: The Singing Body as a Fieldwork Site; Sean Williams, Evergreen State College, USA.- 6. Bodies in Nature; Suzanne MacAulay, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.- Case Study: How to Build a Forest; Interviw with PearlDamour (theatre company) and Shawn Hall (visual artist).- Bibliography.

Suzanne MacAulay is Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.

Kevin Landis is Associate Professor of Theatre in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA.

• An accessible, student-oriented collection of ethnographic approaches to culture and performance
  
• Introductory sections highlight terms and themes with which students should become familiar
  
• Thematic structure provides a clear framework for studying the key themes, methodologies and recent developments in cultural performance studies
  
• Resource lists, questions and exercises at the end of each chapter encourage readers to bring their own cultural and performance backgrounds into rich discussions and projects
  
• Case studies from a broad range of contributors offer a variety of ethnographic approaches to culture and performance
  
• Broad surrounding contextualisation gives students in-depth understanding