The Gesture and the Body: Rethinking Some of the Basic Approaches to Acting in the Historical Avant-Garde

Authors

  • Petar Denchev Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37130/ncacva56

Keywords:

gesture, body, actor, modernity, theatrical avant-garde, media

Abstract

This paper examines some of the basic creative and receptive principles formulated by the historical theatrical avant-garde regarding gesturality and the physical behaviour of actors. It considers the relationship between the historical establishment of the directing profession and the development of interest in gesture, as well as the relationship between gesture and theatrical performance in today’s media reality. The aim, given the limited length of the article, is to outline the tendency to think of gesture and the body in ready-made formulae, distorted by the multimedia convergence that both theatre production and theatre pedagogy suffer from. A survey of theatrical practices of the past allows us to consider the purity of the actor’s performance as a function of theatrical direction and performance as a complete artistic fact.

Author Biography

  • Petar Denchev, Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Petar Denchev is Senior Assistant Professor, PhD at the Theatre Department at The Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He teaches stage directing at The National Arts Academy, Scenography Department and Basics of directing at The National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. He has staged more than 30 performances in the theatres in Bulgaria (staged authors such as Shakespeare, Molière, Edward Albee, Jordi Galceran). He worked at the theatres in Varna, Ruse, Sliven, Stara Zagora, The National Тheatre in Sofia, The Satirical Тheatre in Sofia, The Youth Тheatre in Sofia and some small theatre venues. Also some of his performances were shown at festivals in Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Kosovo and Montenegro. He is also a fiction writer with four published novels and one short story collection. His works were translated into English, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovenian, Farsi and German.

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Published

2024-12-18

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2024): Issues of Reception in Greek Theatre / AI and Interactive Technologies in Art Practices, Research, and Education / Film and Theatre Pedagogy

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Denchev, P. (2024). The Gesture and the Body: Rethinking Some of the Basic Approaches to Acting in the Historical Avant-Garde. CONCEPT, 29(2), 175-195. https://doi.org/10.37130/ncacva56