Overview
- Forms an original exploration of acting as a form of work
- Closely examines how the training of actors has been compromised by the pressures of the market
- Examines how the art of acting has been devalued by the rise of celebrity
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
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the precarious labour market for actors and other performers, the traditional emphasis on theatrical character has been replaced by the celebration of the persona – a public image of the performer as a personal brand.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.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Performing Identity
Book Subtitle: Actor Training, Self-Commodification and Celebrity
Authors: Barry King
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15798-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-15797-4Published: 20 March 2024
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-15800-1Due: 16 January 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-15798-1Published: 15 December 2023
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 280
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour
Topics: Performing Arts, Screen Performance, Performers and Practitioners, Popular Culture