Embodying Histories: "The Genius of the System": Cognitive ecologies, embodied practices, and early modern playing

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This presentation will examine early modern playing practices as elements of a cognitive ecosystem that underpins group creativity, including emergent company practices, especially apprenticeship; embodied skills of dance, gesture, and swordfighting; and the relationship of fictive and physical space.  I will include an example of an instance of Shakespeare's deliberate revision of a part for a young actor (Robin in Merry Wives of Windsor).  I conclude with some preliminary suggestions about the interplay of creativity and constraint through a brief consideration of an analogous system of group creativity: the Hollywood studio system in the 1930s and 1940s.

Embodying Histories is funded by the Baermann's Body project and hosted in collaboration with the University of York's Historical Practice Research Network and School of Arts and Creative Technologies, and the Performance and Embodiment cluster at the Orpheus Instituut Gent.

The seminars are free and open to anyone to attend. They will comprise a mixture of presentation and discussion.

About the speaker

Evelyn Tribble

Evelyn Tribble is a Professor of English and the Associate Dean for Humanities and Undergraduate Affairs, at UConn. Her research interests center around Shakespeare, performance, memory, and skill. She explores theatrical history through the lens of Distributed Cognition, asking how Shakespeare’s company met the astonishing cognitive demands of their profession, particularly the performance of up to six different plays a week.