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The Invisible Labor of Setting the Stage
- Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism
- The University of Kansas, Department of Theatre and Dance
- Volume 35, Number 2, Spring 2021
- pp. 131-134
- 10.1353/dtc.2021.0011
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract:
This essay highlights the tension between an ongoing desire for a singular act that generates radical transformation and the underlying sustained preparatory labor, often made invisible, that sets the stage for such actions. By looking at J. L. Austin’s example of christening a ship, the essay suggests that even in attending to context scholars too often ignore the labor that generates it.