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Theory & Psychology
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A Theatre Acting Perspective on the Dramaturgical Metaphor and the Postmodern Self

Richard Walsh-Bowers

Wilfrid Laurier University

Based on the premise that a psychology of theatre acting can teach psychologists about social acting, I evaluate Goffman’s influential dramaturgical metaphor and discuss what theatre acting reveals about conceptions of the self. Within Goffman’s model, differences between the quotidian and theatre worlds are accidental and daily life is like theatre actors’ life on stage. First, I assess how well this version of the drama-turgical metaphor accounts for both theatre acting and social interaction. The complexly layered, psychological aspects of theatre acting reveal the limitations of Goffman’s model. The second critical issue pertains to the implications of a psychology of theatre acting for conceptions of the self. The flexible, relational nature of theatre actors’ multiple ‘selves’ challenges psychologists’ literalist applications of dramaturgy to social actors as well as essentialist conceptions of a core self, while complementing postmodern notions of relational selves.

Key Words: dramaturgical metaphor • postmodern self • theatre acting

Theory & Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 5, 661-690 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0959354306067442
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