Abstract
This chapter will examine the concept of transformation as it is commonly applied in theatre. Beginning with a look at some of the ways in which the trickster or shape-shifter has exploited transformation in the cause of change, it will proceed to analyse the specifically theatrical modes of transformation, and the challenges associated with sustaining these beyond the moment of performance. Moving from anthropology and myth to performance, the chapter draws on examples from the Bible, Marlowe, Shakespeare and Brecht in its exploration of the multivalent operation of transformation. The chapter concludes by locating the contemporary facilitator of applied theatre on a line from her ancestor, the trickster or fool, and asking whether folly is a necessary precondition for transformation. This analysis will involve a consideration of the effect of character upon actor, alongside exploration of the relationship between disguise and identity. In the liminal space of performance anything goes. But does anything stay?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bakhtin, M. (1984). Rabelais and his world. Bloomington: Indiana UP.
Balfour, M. (2016). The Art of Facilitation: ‘Tain;‘t what you do (it’s the way that you do it). In S. Preston (Ed.), Applied Theatre: Facilitation. Pedagogies, Practices, Resilience. London: Bloomsbury.
Boal, A. (1979). Theatre of the oppressed. London: Pluto Press.
Boal, A. (2006). The aesthetics of the oppressed. London/New York: Routledge.
Brecht, B. (1980). Life of Galileo. London: Eyre Methuen.
Brecht, B. (1966). Parables for the theatre. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Brecht, B. (1994). Collected plays: Seven. London: Methuen.
Brecht, B. (1977). The measures taken and other Lehrstücke. London: Eyre Methuen.
Cohen, C. (2016). Ain’t you got a right to the tree of life.’: Facilitators’ Intentions Toward Community Integrity and Justice. In S. Preston (Ed.), Applied Theatre: Facilitation. Pedagogies, Practices, Resilience. London: Bloomsbury.
Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse. London: Penguin.
DICE. ( 2010). The DICE has been cast (www.dramanetwork.eu).
Fo, D. (1980). Accidental death of an anarchist. London: Pluto Press.
Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom. Lanham, MY: Roman & Littlefield.
Gill, S. (2009). Native Americans and their religions. In J. Neusner (Ed.), World religions in America. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
Graves, R. (1960). The greek myths: 1. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Hirschkop, K., & Shepherd, D. (Eds.). (1989). Bakhtin and Cultural Theory. Manchester/New York: Manchester UP.
Hyde, L. (1999). Trickster makes this world. New York: North Point Press.
Jones, E. (1977). The origins of Shakespeare. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Knowlson, J. (1996). Damned to fame. London: Bloomsbury.
Marlowe, C. (1995). Doctor Faustus and other plays. Oxford/New York: OUP.
Means, R. (1995). Where white men fear to tread. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.
Murray, P. (2016). Send in the Clowns. In S. Preston (Ed.), Applied Theatre: Facilitation. Pedagogies, Practices, Resilience. London: Bloomsbury.
Prentki, T. (2012). The fool in European theatre. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Radin, P. (1971). The trickster. New York: Schocken Books.
Schechter, J. (1985). Durov’s Pig. New York: Theatre Communications Group.
Shakespeare, W. (1997). King Lear. London: Cengage Learning.
Shakespeare, W. (2005). A midsummer Night’s dream. London: Penguin Books.
Shakespeare, W. (2011). The tempest. London: Bloomsbury.
Weimann, R. (1978). Shakespeare and the popular tradition in the theater. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Prentki, T. (2018). Bottom’s Dream Applied Theatre: Anything Goes but what Stays?. In: Freebody, K., Balfour, M., Finneran, M., Anderson, M. (eds) Applied Theatre: Understanding Change. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78178-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78178-5_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78177-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78178-5
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)