The Monstrosity of Acting

 

The perplexity of the actor–her simultaneous being and not-being who she appears to be–still confounds us. The very paradox of the art of acting is one that we take for granted yet it remains far from obvious exactly how that paradox seems to operate. In this presentation it is my intention to place the idea of an otherworldly “spectre”, within a grotesque genealogy of acting that reveals a (perhaps) surprising assimilation of that which is play-acting with that which is monstrous. The spectral operation that reveals itself is thus the odd hybrid creature made up of the corporeality of the actor’s body fused with her imagination and observations of “real” life.

 

Conceived and written by Josephine Gray

Director Anmar Taha

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With support from The Swedish Arts Grants Committe and Gothenburg Arts and Cultural Affairs Committee

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2022