Performance Activism

This is the first book length study of performance activism.While Performance Studies recognizes the universality of human performance in daily life, what is specifically under investigation here is performance as an activity intentionally entered into as a means of engaging social issues and conflicts, that is, as an ensemble activity by which we re-construct/transform social reality.Performance Activism: Precursors and ContemporaryPioneersprovides a global overview of the growing interface of performance with education, therapy, conflict resolution, civic engagement, community development and social justice activism.It combines an historical study of the processes by which, over the course of the 20thCentury, performance has been loosened from the institutional constraints of the theatre witha mosaic-like overviewof the diverse work/play of contemporary performance activists around the world. Performance Activismwill be of interest to theatreand cultural historians, performancepractitioners and researchers, psychologists and sociologists, educators and youth workers, community organizers and political activists.