Publication Date

April 2009

Advisor(s)

Tatinge Nascimento, Claudia

Major

Theater

Language

English (United States)

Abstract

Samuel Beckett did not write a theory of acting; nevertheless, his plays raise many longstanding questions and tensions regarding the actor's craft. This thesis examines the actor's creative process in Beckett's theatre. Drawing from the accounts of numerous actors, the author's own experience as a performer in Beckett's Happy Days, and performance studies theories, this thesis contends that the actor in Beckett's theatre must confront three specific dichotomies: inner life versus physical score, presentational versus representational modes of performance, and phenomenal body versus semiotic body. By positioning Beckett's theatre in dialogue with the writings of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Bertolt Brecht, this thesis refigures their theories in the context of Beckett's theatre.


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