Staging Consciousness: Theater and the Materialization of MindStaging Consciousness argues that theater is a living invalidation of the Western dualism of mind and body, activating human consciousness through its embodiment of thought in performance. While consciousness theory has begun to find ways to bridge dualist gaps, Staging Consciousness suggests that theater has anticipated these advances, given the ways in which the physical theater promotes nonphysical thought, connecting the two realms in unique and ingenious ways. William W. Demastes makes use of the writings of such varied theater practitioners as Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, Samuel Beckett, Tony Kushner, Sam Shepard, Spalding Gray, Peter Shaffer, and others, illuminating theater as proof that mind is an extension of body. The living stage incubates and materializes thought in a way that highlights the processes of daily existence outside the theater. This book offers a new way for theater practitioners to look at the unique value of the theater and an invitation for philosophers and scientists to search for new paradigms in theater, the oldest of art forms. William W. Demastes is Professor of English, Louisiana State University. His previous books include Theatre of Chaos: Beyond Absurdism, into Disorderly Order. |
From inside the book
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Page 126
... Kushner's theater serial mind func- tions compete with parallel brain operations to create a confusing pan- demonium of events not easily discursively deciphered . The confusion , I would suggest , is crucial and intentional . Consider ...
... Kushner's theater serial mind func- tions compete with parallel brain operations to create a confusing pan- demonium of events not easily discursively deciphered . The confusion , I would suggest , is crucial and intentional . Consider ...
Page 128
... Kushner . But Kushner actually takes matters a step further . Prior has , of course , literally rejected the metaphysical ( immortal ) in favor of physical ( mortal ) existence . But Kushner adds a twist to this point — what I see as ...
... Kushner . But Kushner actually takes matters a step further . Prior has , of course , literally rejected the metaphysical ( immortal ) in favor of physical ( mortal ) existence . But Kushner adds a twist to this point — what I see as ...
Page 129
... Kushner and Gray and Wilson are dream- ers hoping for transformations of human consciousness . But their dreams are clearly materially grounded , and they are therefore facing the right direction . Chapter 7 Multivalence and the Move ...
... Kushner and Gray and Wilson are dream- ers hoping for transformations of human consciousness . But their dreams are clearly materially grounded , and they are therefore facing the right direction . Chapter 7 Multivalence and the Move ...
Other editions - View all
Staging Consciousness: Theater and the Materialization of Mind William W. Demastes Limited preview - 2002 |
Staging Consciousness: Theater and the Materialization of Mind William W. Demastes No preview available - 2002 |
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References to this book
Cyberculture, Cyborgs and Science Fiction: Consciousness and the Posthuman William S. Haney No preview available - 2006 |