Anthropology in performance: interview with Richard Schechner, by John C. Dawsey

Authors

  • John Cowart Dawsey Universidade de São Paulo
  • Richard Schechner New York University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2525-3123.gis.2018.142800

Keywords:

Schechner, Interview, Performance, Anthropology

Abstract

During the period of June 26 to July 7, 2012, the Research Center in Anthropology, Performance, and Drama (Napedra - Núcleo de Antropologia, Performance e Drama), located at the University of São Paulo (USP), promoted a two-week event which was called “Encounters with Richard Schechner”. This was one of a series of events sponsored by Napedra as part of its thematic project, “Anthropology of performance: drama, aesthetics and ritual” 1 The following interview with Richard Schechner (RS) occurred on July 6, 2012, at the Laboratory of Image and Sound in Anthropology (LISA), of USP. 

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Author Biographies

  • John Cowart Dawsey, Universidade de São Paulo

    John C. Dawsey, professor of Anthropology at the University of São Paulo (USP), Ph.D. in Anthropology and Master's in Theology (Emory University). At USP, he is the director and one of the founders of Napedra (Research Center of Anthropology, Performance and Drama), f. 2001. Among other books, he is the author of Why sugarcane cutters laugh: anthropology and theater diaries (2013). He is also a co-author and collaborating editor of Anthropology and performance: Napedra essays (2013), and of other collections. Research interests include anthropology of performance, anthropology of experience, and Benjaminian anthropology. Various concepts result from these studies: tension-thick description (descrição tensa), f(r)iction (with r between parentheses), corpoiesis, extraordinary or astounding daily life, margins of margins, etc.

  • Richard Schechner, New York University
    Richard Schechner – a “Jewish Hindu Buddhist atheist living in New York City”, as he says – is one of the main formulators of performance studies. In 1980, he played a leading role in the creation of the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. As a theater director, he founded The Performance Group (TPG) and East Coast Artists. He is also the founding editor of TDR: The Journal of Performance Studies and of the Enactment books series. Along with Victor Turner and other anthropologists, he inspired the “performative turn” in anthropology and other areas of knowledge. His production as author and theater director is vast. Approaching performance as an object of analysis which includes a broad spectrum of activity – such as art, music, dance, ritual, theater, play, festivity, politics, religion, revolutionary movements, and everyday life –, Schechner also sees performance as a methodological lens for study and research.  

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Published

2018-07-23

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2018)

Section

T.I.R. - Translations, Interviews and Reviews

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How to Cite

Dawsey, John Cowart, and Richard Schechner. 2018. “Anthropology in Performance: Interview With Richard Schechner, by John C. Dawsey”. GIS - Gesture, Image and Sound - Anthropology Journal 3 (1). https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2525-3123.gis.2018.142800.