The Production of Luck: Learning to Act, in the discipline of Theatre Anthropology

Abstract

Theatre Anthropology, the work of Eugenio Barba, Odin Teatret, scholars and performers of the International School of Theatre Anthropology is unique in theatre history, enacting and theorising the relationship between theatrical action and thought. It has, predominantly, been received within discourses of theatre history, intercultural theatre, and performance analysis. This has been necessary for the constitution of the field. It is, however, also important the literature meet this field on its own terms, as an interdisciplinary model for action and thought. This thesis, The Production of Luck: Learning to Act, in the discipline of Theatre Anthropology, is an auto – ethnographic contribution to this field. Based on my experience as a young artist in workshops at Odin Teatret, it develops a theory of luck built on vitalist and ancient philosophies. Luck is understood as realising conscious or unconscious intentions, unintentionally. Defined discursively, in this thesis, as well as through actions, The Production of Luck is an evolution of my own scholarly and theatrical practice, overcoming projected knowledge, paradoxically, by working with the determinism of the body. Dynamic principles of Theatre Anthropology are at play in 'higher order' faculties such as speech, language and thought. Principles of the actor's work can be traced through disciplines such as neurology, psycho – therapy, politics and philosophy, articulating a 'pre – expressivity' which increases the capacity for action between cultures and disciplines. This thesis is a joyful account of my creative process, and the technical knowhow this research has offered in realising my own intentions, unintentionally. Articulating the value of Theatre Anthropology for my own context, it offers a new vision for theatre that goes beyond the bodies we know, and frames theatre as an evolutionary act of encountering the unknown.