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The Methuen Drama Handbook of Performance and Social Action

The Staging Ground for Better Worlds

The Methuen Drama Handbook of Performance and Social Action cover

The Methuen Drama Handbook of Performance and Social Action

The Staging Ground for Better Worlds

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Pre-order. Available 18 Mar 2027
£126.00 RRP £140.00 Website price saving £14.00 (10%)

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Description

A vital resource for scholars and students in performance studies, applied theatre, and performance activism, this handbook showcases how drama can be a practical tool to address social inequalities and support political transformation.

Presenting a sweeping view of performance practice, innovation, and reformation from around the world, this interdisciplinary handbook explores how performance can illuminate injustice and serve as a catalyst for change. Comprised of 19 essays and featuring an international array of scholars and practitioners, the handbook examines how artists are engaging with communities to address a wide range of issues, including:

Marginalization and discrimination
Racism and ethnic violence
Immigration and citizenship
Environmental and ecological crisis
Prisons and criminal justice
Community care and mutual aid

Essays range from applied theatre case studies that address localized community issues, to broader strategies which highlight overlooked contributions from the Global Majority. They included studies of prison theatre in Brazil, the legacy of gay Chicano playwright Gregg Barrios, San Diego's Centro Cultural de la Raza and the power of space, the effectiveness of Indian Street Performance as public intervention, using theatre to tackle ageism and shame, and a participatory theatre project with LGBTIQ+ Zimbabwean youth. Together these diverse perspectives demonstrate how work in theatres, communities, and classrooms can address inequality, foster civic engagement, and contribute to social change.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Acknowledgments

Introduction by Andrew Martinez (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)

Part I: Documenting Overlooked Histories and Communities

1.1 Section Introduction by Andrew Martinez (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
1.2 How Sweet It Is: E. Patrick Johnson's Play Sweet Tea and Queer Black Communities in Performance by Ashley E. Lucas (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA)
1.3 Queering Movimientos: Gregg Barrios' New Historicist Queer Chicano Teatro de Concientización, circa 1976-2021 by Ben Olguín (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
1.4 An Invitation to the Song of the World Sung by Poets. Théâtres d'Outre-Mer en Avignon by Hanna Huber (University of Vienna, Austria)
1.5 Towards an Overview of Prison Theater in Brazil by Vicente Concilio (Santa Catarina State University, UDESC, Brazil)
1.6 Over the Rainbow: Reflections on the Challenges and Opportunities of Mounting a Queer, Female-centered Outdoor Production of The Wizard of Oz in Rural Appalachia during the Covid-19 Pandemic by Jordan Campbell (Creative Generation)

Part II: Theorizing a Better World

2.1 Section Introduction by Andrew Martinez (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
2.2 The Politics of Performing Water by Anna Street (Le Mans Université, France)
2.3 Still Rehearsing Revolution: Towards an Abolitionist Futurism and how American Cinema Authenticates Mass-Incarceration by Clint Terrell (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
2.4 Care-based Dramaturgy: Reflecting Terrorism Crisis through Performance Presentation, not Representation by Dominique La Victoria (Ateneo de Manila University and Meridian International Business Arts and Technology College, Philippines)
2.5 Performing Politics: An Analysis of the Adaption of Antigone to Aneeka by Varsha Ramachandran (University of Southern California, USA)
2.6 Adaptive Digital Media Experimentation in Calcutta during the COVID-19 Lockdown by Hazael Gomes (St. Xaviers College, Park Street-Kolkata, India)
2.7 Laughter as Social Action by Joseph Richards (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA)

Part III: Performing Activism Beyond the Stage

3.1 Section Introduction by Andrew Martinez
3.2 Street for Social Action: A Study on the Theatricality of Impromptu Performances by Eldhose A. Y. (Mar Athanasius College, India)
3.3 “I May be Old but I'm not Dead”: How Applied Theatre Can Tackle Ageism and Develop Shame Resilience Among Adults Aged 65+ by Georgia Bowers (University of Chichester and the University of Portsmouth, UK)
3.4 Concerted Action: Aesthetic Activism and Social Protest in the Theatre Uncut Project by José Ramón Prado-Pérez (Universitat Jaume I, Spain)
3.5 “We Are Not gGay!” Challenging Perceptions of 'a Homophobic Zimbabwe' through Popular Participatory Theatre with LGBTIQ+ Zimbabwean Youth by Miranda Young (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) and Princess Sibanda (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
3.6 How Online Forums Could Affect the Theatrical "Power" Structures by Jonathan Rolhf (Robert Morris University, Pennsylvania, USA)
3.7 Performance Activism or Conspiracy Theory? by Aletia Badenhorst (Rose Bruford College and The University of Chichester, UK)

Work Cited
Index

Product details

Explore Methuen Drama
Published 18 Mar 2027
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Pages 384
ISBN 9781350434608
Imprint Methuen Drama
Illustrations 18 bw illus
Dimensions 234 x 156 mm
Series Methuen Drama Handbooks
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Andrew Martínez

Andrew Martínez teaches humanities-based writing c…

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Environment: Staging