Holly Hughes

Una Chaudhuri

We all have an animal story—the pet we loved, the wild animal that captured our childhood imagination, the deer the neighbor hit while driving. While scientific breakthroughs in animal cognition, the effects of global climate change and dwindling animal habitats, and the exploding interdisciplinary field of animal studies have complicated things, such stories remain a part of how we tell the story of being human. Animal Acts collects eleven exciting, provocative, and moving stories by solo performers, accompanied by commentary that places the works in a broader context. Work by leading theater artists Holly Hughes, Rachel Rosenthal, Deke Weaver, Carmelita Tropicana, and others joins commentary by major scholars including Donna Haraway, Jane Desmond, Jill Dolan, and Nigel Rothfels. Una Chaudhuri’s introduction provides a vital foundation for understanding and appreciating the intersection of animal studies and performance. The anthology foregrounds questions of race, gender, sexuality, class, nation, and other issues central to the human project within the discourse of the “post human,” and will appeal to readers interested in solo performance, animal studies, gender studies, performance studies, and environmental studies.

Performing Species Today

Animal Acts

The first book-length study of the notion of place and its implications in modern drama

The Geography of Modern Drama

Staging Place

The Stage Lives of Animals examines what it might mean to make theatre beyond the human. In this stunning collection of essays, Una Chaudhuri engages with the alternative modes of thinking, feeling, and making art offered by animals and animality, bringing insights from theatre practice and theory to animal studies as well as exploring what animal studies can bring to the study of theatre and performance. As our planet lives through what scientists call "the sixth extinction," and we become ever more aware of our relationships to other species, Chaudhuri takes a highly original look at the "animal imagination" of well-known plays, performances and creative projects, including works by: Caryl Churchill Rachel Rosenthal Marina Zurkow Edward Albee Tennesee Williams Eugene Ionesco Covering over a decade of explorations, a wide range of writers, and many urgent topics, this volume demonstrates that an interspecies imagination deeply structures modern western drama.

Zooesis and Performance

The Stage Lives of Animals

Elinor Fuchs

Essays by leading theater scholars and theorists exploring the "turn to landscape" in modern and contemporary theater

Land/scape/theater

" Everyone has an animal story--the pet they loved or hated, the wild animal that captured their childhood imagination, the nasty dog at the end of the street, the deer your uncle shot or your neighbor hit while driving. Telling stories about animals is part of how we tell the story of being human, but recent scientific breakthroughs in animal cognition, the exploding interdisciplinary field of animal studies, and global climate change have all complicated these stories. Animal Acts collects some of the most exciting, provocative, and moving solo performances on animals, grounded by commentaries that help put these engaging works in a larger context. Animal Acts includes the work of leading theater artists Holly Hughes, Rachel Rosenthal, Deke Weaver, Carmelita Tropicana, and others, along with commentary by major scholars including Donna Haraway, Jane Desmond, Jill Dolan, and Nigel Rothfels. A masterful introduction by Una Chaudhuri provides readers a useful foundation for understanding and appreciating the intersection of animal studies and performance. The anthology makes an important contribution to several fields as it foregrounds questions of race, gender, sexuality, class, nation, and other issues central to the human project within the discourse of the "post human." The collection will be of interest to those interested in solo performance, animal studies, gender studies, performance studies, and environmental studies"--

Una Chaudhuri

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