The Performance of Religion: Seeing the sacred in the theatre

by Cia Sautter

Overview

The performing arts are uniquely capable of translating a vision of an ideal or sacred reality into lived practice, allowing an audience to confront deeply held values and beliefs as they observe a performance. However, there is often a reluctance to approach distinctly religious topics from a performance studies perspective. This book addresses this issue by exploring how religious values are acted out and reflected on in classic Western theatre, with a particular emphasis on the plays put on during the Globe Theatre‘s yearlong season of 'Shakespeare and the Bible'.

Looking at plays such as Much Ado About Nothing, Dr. Faustus and Macbeth, each chapter includes ethnographic overviews of the performance of these plays as well as historical and theological perspectives on the issues they address. The author also utilizes scholarship from other academics, such as Paul Tillich and Martin Buber, in examining the relationship between art and culture. This helps readers of this book to look at religion in culture, and raise questions and explore ideas about how people appraise their religious values through an encounter with a performance.

The Performance of Religion: Seeing the sacred in the theatre treads new ground in bringing performance and religious studies scholarship into direct conversation with one another. As such, it is essential reading for any academic with an interest in theology, religion and ethics and their expression in culture through the performing arts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351999564
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/12/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	196
File size:	593 KB

About the Author

Cia Sautter obtained her PhD at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She is a professional performer and has taught religious and performance studies at the several US institutions and seminaries. She is also the author of The Miriam Tradition (2010) and numerous other chapters and articles.

Table of Contents

1 Prologue: Performing Religion

2 Performing Religion

3 Faustus and Being Good: Ethical Choices

4 All’s Well: Choice, Responsibility, and Dialogue

5 Ending in Dance: Ethics, Religion, and Staged Movement

6 Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

"As a work of critical reflection on “sacred values” in dialog with the author’s own teaching, dancing, and experience, this is a useful contribution to the growing interdisciplinary field of Religion, Spirituality, Theatre, and Performance, and Sautter’s writing is at its best when she draws from her background in performance and pedagogy."

- Claire Maria Chambers, Reading Religion

From the Publisher