Book, Actor as shaman, O: configurations of consciousness in the subject and[LS]

Starting from the action of consciousness in the actor's work, Gilberto Icle, in The Actor as Xamã, takes his analysis to the performer's practices in their relational form with others, that is, in the interaction with the other scene partners and with the audience . Therein lies the object and the state to be achieved by the representational process, in which not only the interpreting body comes into play, but also the bodily energies, giving rise to the scene an altered spatio-temporal consciousness of everyday life, in which the physical states and mental together work behaviors, gestures and memory amalgamated into a whole. Icle chooses the clown as the scenic entity that best reveals this search for an extra-daily dimension by the actor who, upon becoming aware of his ridiculous aspects, enhances and transforms them into scenic results of great intensity, leading the audience to laughter and commotion, in a parallel between the forces of ecstasy in the activity of shamanic ritualistic invocation and the action that builds a presence for artistic performance through a clownlike state on stage. Combining theoretical rigor with practice with students and testimonials from professionals, The Actor as Shaman becomes an important contribution for those interested in the rituals and alchemy of the stage. MHG and JG