The clown and the king: undergraduate actor training and wellbeing

Article

McDonald, Janet, Alderdice, Scott and Cutcliffe, Katrina. 2019. "The clown and the king: undergraduate actor training and wellbeing." Theatre, Dance and Performance Training. 10 (1), pp. 68-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2018.1494036
Article Title

The clown and the king: undergraduate actor training and wellbeing

ERA Journal ID123604
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsMcDonald, Janet (Author), Alderdice, Scott (Author) and Cutcliffe, Katrina (Author)
Journal TitleTheatre, Dance and Performance Training
Journal Citation10 (1), pp. 68-84
Number of Pages17
Year2019
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN1944-3919
1944-3927
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2018.1494036
Web Address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19443927.2018.1494036
Abstract

This paper explores the use of clown-state as a strategy for increasing wellbeing within the rehearsal process of King Lear with final year (undergraduate) acting students. In this context, actors-in-training experience the body’s capacity for resilience through experimentation with the grotesque and ambivalence in order to create Shakespearean characters. It is posited that the navigation of these experiences constitutes ‘rehearsing for resilience’ to increase individual and group wellbeing.

Keywordswellbeing in actor-training, clown-state, critical dramaturgy, grotesque realism, Stanislavski
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020369999. Other creative arts and writing not elsewhere classified
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Creative Arts
University of Southern Queensland
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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