Discussion with Theatre Historian Erika Fischer-Lichte on Theatre, Sacrifice, and Ritual

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City presented a discussion with theatre historian Erika Fischer-Lichte on theatre, sacrifice, and ritual livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 31 March at 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York) / 22:30 GMT / 23:30 BST (London).

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The 2016 Daniel Gerould Memorial Lecture
Acclaimed theatre historian Erika Fischer-Lichte reflects on the role and meaning accorded to the theme of sacrifice in Western cultures as mirrored in particular fusions of theatre and ritual. Leaning on her recent publication Theatre, Sacrifice, Ritual, Fischer-Lichte presents a radical redefinition of ritual theatre through analysis of performances as diverse as Max Reinhardt’s new people’s theatre; the mass spectacles of revolutionary Russia, the German Social Democrats in the 1920s, the Nazi Thingspiele in the 1930s, American Zionist pageants, and the Olympic Games. Her innovative new look at early twentieth-century performative culture boldly examines the complexities of political theatre, propaganda, and manipulation of the masses, and offers a revolutionary approach to the study of theatre and performance history. Followed by a discussion with Marvin Carlson.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Erika Fischer-Lichte has been a professor of Theatre and Performance Studies at Freie Universität Berlin since 1996. She is currently director of the Institute of Advanced Studies on Interweaving Performance Cultures at Freie Universität Berlin. Current Research Fields: Interweaving Performance Cultures; Aesthetics of the Performative; Aesthetic Experience as Liminal Experience; Transformations of Ancient Greek Theatre.

Substantial publications in the fields of aesthetics, theory of literature, art and theatre, in particular on semiotics and performativity, theatre history and contemporary theatre (more than 30 books and 250 essays in scientific periodicals, handbooks etc.), among them The Semiotics of Theatre (1992, German 1983); History of European Drama and Theatre (2002, German 1990); Kurze Geschichte des deutschen Theaters (1993); The Show and the Gaze of Theatre (1997); Theatre, Sacrifice, Ritual. Exploring Forms of Political Theatre (2005); The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics (2008, German 2004); Theaterwissenschaft (2010); Performativität. Eine Einführung (2012); Dionysos Resurrected. Performances of Euripides’ The Bacchae in a Globalizing World (2014), The Politics of Interweaving Performance Cultures: Beyond Postcolonialism (ed. with T. Jost, S. Jain 2014).

Marvin Carlson is the Sidney E. Cohn Professor of Theatre, Comparative Literature, and Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His research and teaching interests include dramatic theory and Western European theatre history and dramatic literature, especially of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. He has been awarded the ATHE Career Achievement Award, the George Jean Nathan Prize, the Barnard Hewitt Award, the George Freedley Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has been a Walker-Ames Professor at the University of Washington, a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Indiana University, a Visiting Professor at the Freie Universitat of Berlin, and a Fellow of the American Theatre. In 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Athens. His best-known book, Theories of the Theatre (Cornell University Press, 1984), has been translated into seven languages. His 2001 book, The Haunted Stage won the Callaway Prize. His newest book is Four Arab Hamlet Plays (Martin E. Segal Center Publications 2015).

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.