RETHINKING ACTING IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE: THE PARADOX OF CONTEMPORARY ACTOR

Abstract

Contemporary theatre is characterised by a wide range of acting forms, which encourages a rethinking of traditional notions of acting and the exploration of new methods for evaluating an actor’s work. Traditionally, acting has been understood as the art of representing a fictional character on stage through movement, gesture, and intonation. Therefore, the questions posed in Denis Diderot’s Paradox of the Actor, which explore the actor – character relationship, have long been central to evaluating actors’ work.

However, contemporary theatre increasingly features productions in which the actor does not represent the other, performing instead without the pretence of being one of the fictional dramatis personae. Even when an actor does represent a dramatic character, certain roles can appear confusing and ambiguous when viewed through the lens of traditional concepts of acting. For instance, this occurs when an actor portrays a fragmented, unstable character lacking social and psychological characterisation, or when an actor integrates multiple fictional characters into a single role.

By engaging with contemporary acting theory and analysing two case studies from contemporary Lithuanian theatre, this article addresses the paradox faced by contemporary actors.