The theatrical body – in the tension between between discipline and play

Authors

  • Kristine Storsve Oslo Metropolitan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7577/information.4145

Abstract

In this article, I examine how selected basic exercises in drama and theater practice activate the theatrical body – in the tension between the disciplined and playful body. The study examines the student's experience and the drama teacher's own practice. The data is from the research project "Democratic and aesthetic space", which consists of videotapes of basic exercises, student interviews and a research journal from fieldwork with two groups of 7th grade students. The concept of embodied literacy (Frambaugh-Kritzer et al., 2015) is discussed and Foucault and Gadamer's theories are used in perspectives on the disciplined and the playful body. The study shows that activating the theatrical body involves training in presence, interaction, response and receptivity with the body as meaning-creating tools and communicative idiom. At the same time, some basic exercises can result in caricaturing of already stereotyped ideas about role categories. Further, the fictional framework of the basic exercises through the "theatrical gaze" gives students opportunities in the "playspace" to activate the theatrical body. Focusing on spontaneity and reducing blockages is important for strengthening students' practices of the self. I want to expand the discourse and place drama and theater practice into an expanded physical activity perspective.

Author Biography

Kristine Storsve, Oslo Metropolitan University

Kristine Storsve is associate professor at OsloMet, Faculty of Education and International Studies, Department of Early Childhood Education

Barn som holder hverandre i hendene med armene krysset

Published

2021-01-29 — Updated on 2021-01-29

How to Cite

Storsve, K. (2021). The theatrical body – in the tension between between discipline and play. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.7577/information.4145

Issue

Section

Articles, peer reviewed