Theatre and cognitive neuroscience

Cover page
Halftitle page
Series page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PREFACE
PART ONE Theatre as a Space of Relationships: A Neurocognitive Perspective
	Introduction: The Shared Space of Action
		A shared space of action
		Let’s talk about mirror neurons
		The revolution in theatre at the beginning of the twentieth century
		A gift, or a Trojan horse?
		Why is this of interest to the art of the performer?
	1 The ‘Mirror Mechanism’ and Motor Behaviour
	2 Body Presence and Extra-personal Space Perception
		Introduction
		Description of behavioural studies
	3 The Circus Actor: Towards a Cognitive Approach *
		Circus sciences and the arts: An ancient culture
		Towards a scientifi c approach specific to circus actors
		Prospects for a cognitive approach to the circus actor
PART TWO The Spectator’s Performative Experience and ‘Embodied Theatrology’
	Introduction: Towards an Embodied Theatrology?
		Introduction
		Embodied cognition: Three important aspects
		Embodied theatrology and theatre studies: The performer’s side
		Embodied theatrology and theatre studies: The spectator’s side
		The spectator’s performative experience
		Conclusions: What about the director?
	4 Body and Corporeity in the Theatre: From Semiotics to Neuroscience. A Small Multidisciplinary Glossary
		Introduction
		Body/flesh
		Corporeity
		Kinaesthesia
		Mimism/play/replay
		Rasic theatre
		A second brain
		Performative practices
		Embodied simulation
		Provisional conclusions
	5 Audiences’ Experience of Proximity and Co-presence in Live Dance Performance
		Introduction
		Defining presence, questioning presence
		Dataset
		Qualitative interviews
		Quantitative analyses
		Discussion
		Further references
	6 Theatre and Science: Reflections on Theatrical Efficacy in Antonin Artaud
		From the plague to mirror neurons: A hypothetical reading
		The magician, the surgeon, and neuroscience
		Catharsis and gratuitousness
PART THREE The Complexity of Theatre and Human Cognition
	Introduction: Complexity, Cognition, and the Actor’s Pedagogy
		Stanislavski, to begin with
		Epistemology: ‘How knowing is done’14
		Action at the core of cognition
		The complex fabric of knowing
		Pedagogy as the space for creative, conjoint action
		Knowing between and beyond levels of consciousness
		To conclude
	7 A Rope over an Abyss1
		Performer–beholder encounter – Distilled
		Bridge builders
		Unity of being
	8 The Actor’s Embodied Language: Preliminary Investigations of a Pilot Experiment
		Introduction
		Materials and methods
		Behavioural test
		Data analysis
		Discussion of the preliminary results
		Conclusion
	9 Perception and the Organization of Time in the Theatre
PART FOUR Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Applied Performance
	Introduction: Does Art Therapy Work as a Rehabilitative Tool?
		Conclusion
	10 Use of Theatrical Techniques and Elements as Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders
		Introduction
		A brief review of the cognitive models of ASD
		Elements of theatre and theoretical links to the cognitive models
		Theatre games
		Improvisation
		Collaborative co-creation
		The rehearsal process
		Performance
		Empirical and anecdotal evidence
		Theatre games and improvisation
		Collaborative co-creation
		Rehearsal process
		Performance
		Discussion
	11 Theatre as a Valuable Tool for Parkinson’s Disease Rehabilitation
		Introduction
		Parkinson’s disease
		The theatre experience
		Conclusions
	12 Theatre and Therapy: ‘Care’, ‘Cure’, or Illusion?
		The theatrical aspect of treatment
		Care and cure
		The poet, the actor and the doctor
		Katharsis and the effect of science
		To purge or to fill?
NOTES
INDEX