Richard Schechner

Richard Schechner's Rasaboxes exercise is an exploration of the eight emotional states ("rasas") described and theorized in the Natyasastra, an ancient Indian manual of performance. The goal of Rasaboxes training is to develop the emotional, vocal, and movement abilities of performers-- to help the performer become what Artaud called an "athlete of the emotions." The Rasaboxes exercise has proven effective not only in actor and dancer training but also as a tool for psychotherapists.

Biography

Richard Schechner is University Professor and Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He is artistic director of East Coast Artists and editor of TDR: A Journal of Performance Studies. He is general editor of the Worlds of Performance book series published by Routledge. Schechner's own books include Environmental Theater, Between Theater and Anthropology, The End of Humanism, Performance Theory, Performative Circumstances, The Future of Ritual, and Performance Studies-An Introduction. His books have been translated into Chinese, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Hungarian, Dutch, and Serbo-Croatian.