Performing Identity: Actor Training, Self-Commodification and Celebrity (1st ed. 2024)

By: Barry King

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Synopsis: This book examines how the persistent and deepening casualization and precarity of acting work, coupled with market pressures, has affected the ways in which actors are trained in the US and UK. It reviews the existing state of training, looking at various theories of what the actor does, debates about casting, and the impact of reality television and social media. In the increasing effort to find ways to overcome the precarious labour market for actors and other performers, the traditional emphasis on theatrical character has been replaced by the celebration of the persona – a public image of the performer as a personal brand. As a result, a physiocratic elite, that literally incorporates the collective labour of cultural workers into the star or celebrity body, has formed. This book explores how the star or celebrity’s appearance and comportment are positioned as the rule of nature, formed and abiding outside capitalism as a mode of production. This book will be of interest to those studying theatre studies and performance, contemporary stardom and celebrity and the impact of technology on the formation of identity.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9783031157981
Related ISBNs:: 9783031157974
Publisher:: Springer International Publishing
Date of Addition:: 01/16/24
Copyrighted By:: The Editor
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Entertainment, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Social Studies, Drama, Plays and Theater
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.