Critically Considering Embodied Cognition and Research in Theatre and Performance 1

This article offers a critically reflective discussion of and suggestions towards the role of embodied cognitive science within theatre and performance discourse. Through a critical analysis of literature that takes its lead from within the framework of embodied cognition, this article argues that theatre and performance discourse may need to re-examine how embodiment is conceptualized within practical and interdisciplinary accounts of cognition. By exploring specific foundations and driving premises of embodied and classic cognition respectively, this article suggests that if researchers are going to use scientific accounts of embodiment to better understand embodied cognition in theatre and performance, then they must, by their own estimations, accept that all research, and not just practice, is an embodied act.