Between Play and Prayer

The Variety of Theatricals in Spiritual Performance
Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-90-420-3170-8
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 27, 430 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 826 g

Reihe: Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

Between Play and Prayer launches Spiritual Performance as a term to cover all human performance which in some way refers to creating the presence of beings or entities from a realm that transgresses the sensorial. This notion covers a great variety of performative genres, ranging from funerary services, spiritualist performances of deceased souls, to spiritual readings. This broad and deep approach to a range of performances is answering a renewed craving for spirituality in contemporary culture. By way of performance theory and aesthetic theory, concepts of faith, belief, experience, play, prayer and theatricality, are set in motion when proposing the necessity of experiencing such performances on their own terms. In depth descriptions of a variety of performances in Norwegian and New Zealand local contexts show the necessity of experiencing and understanding an existential quality in Spiritual Performance. Faith, not credo, is at the heart of spiritual practice. The book represents a new, innovative and trans-disciplinary approach to spirituality in performance. The reading of this book is a must for scholars in the field of theatre- and performance studies, ritual and festival studies, for scholars of religion, and anyone interested in the understanding of spiritual practices.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft Theatersoziologie, Theaterpsychologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Künstlerische Stoffe, Motive, Themen Künstlerische Stoffe, Motive, Themen: Religiöse Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionssoziologie und -psychologie, Spiritualität, Mystik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Illustrations
Preface

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Varieties of Spiritual Performance and Notions of Truth
Chapter Three: Local Spiritual Performance on North Atlantic and South Pacific Shores
Chapter Four: Dead Man Performing? Interactive, Transpersonal and Group Dynamics in Spiritualist Performance
Chapter Five: Theatrical Reflections on Spiritual Performance

Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Anita Hammer is an Associate Professor of theatre studies at the The Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo, Norway.