https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/21547 2026-05-23T14:00:00Z 2026-05-23T14:00:00Z Camilleri, Frank https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146732 2026-05-22T13:50:02Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Aesthetic pacing : taking a cue from Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret Authors: Camilleri, Frank Abstract: In Performer Training for Actors and Athletes (2023), I propose via athletae, way of the athlete, as a modality of performing that is not based on a specific technique or method but on the qualitative intensity of psychophysical commitment. That is, on the nature of how performers inhabit their scenic roles in a way that combines a modus operandi with a modus vivendi. More specifically, this via athletae engagement is manifested in the dynamics of play as autotelic activity, i.e. in and of itself, for its own sake, collaborative competitiveness in its etymological sense of 'flying with' and as it overlaps with Georges Hebert's auto-emulation as a kind of self-competition to improve oneself, and pacing as an organizational and managing framework that occurs during performance. In my book, the concept of via athletae is presented within a historical contextualization prompted by Antonin Artaud's notion of an 'affective athleticism' for actors and Franco Ruffini's analysis of theatre and boxing, specifically what he calls azione in vita to mark the truth of scenic action: «In order for staged action to be true, i.e. fiction without lying, it must be azione in vita ('action in life'), i.e. real, and leaving aside any instance of realism. I argue that this corporeal truth to the material situating reality in aesthetic, athletic, and daily practices is manifested in the affordances that arise in the interactive specificities between bodies and world, which I term the «bodyworld» of performers. [excerpt]

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Camilleri, Frank https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146536 2026-05-19T05:31:52Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Auto-didacticism : the 3As of bodyworld and the case of invisible hours Authors: Camilleri, Frank Abstract: This chapter on performance pedagogy in the realities of the twenty-first century opens with a retrospective cue from a traditional instructional device: a proverb. The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs cites a twelfth-century source for the old adage that ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink’ (Speake 2015: 156). This proverb is re-read in the present chapter to highlight a foundational aspect of learning: that at the basis of knowledge acquisition lies self-learning. That is, irrespective of set-up, method, teacher, or institution, the final responsibility rests with the learner, with their capacity or ability, motivation or discipline, or any other factor that enables one’s own learning. For one can indeed lead a person to different founts of knowing but, at the end, it is the individual who actions and embodies that knowledge into learning. Accordingly, the selected pedagogical object for this chapter is auto-didacticism, which I exemplify via a temporal dimension denoted by ‘invisible hours’.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Camilleri, Frank https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146535 2026-05-19T05:26:17Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Evolving landscapes of performer training in the twenty-first century Authors: Camilleri, Frank Abstract: The article surveys emerging and evolving trends in twenty-first-century performer training. It updates earlier accounts that focused on ethical and ideological considerations, digital and technological innovations, and the role of non-human agency. Rather than technological, the main element that prompted the current review is an ideological drive that marks a return to the human as evidenced by the emphasis on inclusion, diversity, and equality vis-à-vis race, culture, gender, abilities, class, and other lived realities. One major effect of this development is the reconsideration of technique, specifically the objection to canonical often patriarchal and Eurocentric methods with attendant attitudes that were previously transmitted and received unquestioningly. The article begins with a big picture exposition about some of the key elements at stake, mainly related to the role and status of technique and 'non-negotiables' in training. The second part adopts a sharper focus as derived from an analysis of the topics in the research articles of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training from its inception in 2010 to 2025, which serve at once as an indicator and a propagator of shifts and trajectories in the discipline. The article suggests that the currently ongoing intensified institutionalisation of training needs to be managed with caution.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Camilleri, Frank https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142890 2026-01-20T16:42:08Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Stanislavsky from the outside : networking and re-working the self Authors: Camilleri, Frank Abstract: The paper presents an outsider’s perspective on aspects of Konstantin Stanislavsky’s approach, specifically with reference to the fundamental notion of the actor’s work on the self. Although not directly influenced by his practice, the author’s specialization in physical theatre was shaped in Stanislavsky’s shadow. Accordingly, the paper adopts the ripple effect metaphor to exemplify the impact of Stanislavsky beyond his immediate geographical, historical, and aesthetic circles of influence. Starting off with a personal anecdote by the author about a movement-based exercise, Stanislavsky’s work upon the self is identified as a key formative element that is then highlighted in the context of resonances between aesthetic and athletic processes, mainly by the proposal of a via athletae (way of the athlete). Described as a modality of performing that is not based on a specific technique or method but on the qualitative intensity of psychophysical commitment, via athletae is manifested through three main characteristics: play, collaborative competitiveness, and pacing. The interplay of aesthetic and athletic dynamics in via athletae serves to defamiliarize Stanislavsky’s work on the self, which is further problematized by the concept of bodyworld that emphasizes the interconnectedness of the performer with the material world. Viewing the self via the 3As of bodyworld (i.e. assemblages, affordances, and actants) leads to the re-reading of Stanislavsky’s maxim about self-work as a networking and a re-working of oneself in the context of epistemic actions and secondary tasks (both offering insights on scaffolded intentionality) as well as choking, stage fright, and active distraction.

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