Reconsidering Acting: a few improvised and provisory thoughts on acting today

This paper summarizes my thoughts during the presentation of the conference Acting reconsidered. The study of the actor in contemporary performances should be reevaluated in the light of the experiments of the last fifty years, particularly performance art, post-dramatic theatre, participative theatre and many political theatre. The new tasks and conceptions of the actor are introduced. Stanislavki’s notion of psychological realism is questioned. The suggestion of de-dramatizing, delocalizing, de-training the actor might help the actor to orient oneself in the world. This paper summarizes my thoughts during the presentation of the conference Acting reconsidered. The study of the actor in contemporary performances should be reevaluated in the light of the experiments of the last fifty years, particularly performance art, post-dramatic theatre, participative theatre and many political theatre. The new tasks and conceptions of the actor are introduced. Stanislavki’s notion of psychological realism is questioned. The suggestion of de-dramatizing, delocalizing, de-training the actor might help the actor to orient oneself in the world.This paper summarizes my thoughts during the presentation of the conference Acting reconsidered. The study of the actor in contemporary performances should be reevaluated in the light of the experiments of the last fifty years, particularly performance art, post-dramatic theatre, participative theatre and many political theatre. The new tasks and conceptions of the actor are introduced. Stanislavki’s notion of psychological realism is questioned. The suggestion of de-dramatizing, delocalizing, de-training the actor might help the actor to orient oneself in the world.