The Body of a Performer as a Form of Capital: Age, Gender and Aesthetics in Theatre Work

Abstract

The goal of this article is to analyse socio-cultural schemes embodied in the physical bodies of theatre actors and their effect on the actors’ professional development. Age, gender and beauty standards are three key variables in theatre work and their impact is noticeable all over the performers’ career spans. The basis for this research is a qualitative sample of 31 in-depth interviews with professional Spanish theatre performers. I will start by defining the dimensions of the dramatic body to focus afterwards on its physicality, image and aesthetics, as malleable forms of capital. Despite their expertise in their trade, performers are highly conditioned by their body image due to a continuous exposure to the expectations of the audience and their own. I will explore the potentiality of the performers’ marked bodies through the characters they are able to portray and the socio-cultural schemes inscribed in their bodies.