Publications

2017
and James Stanley NSJH. A New Practical Guide to Rhetorical Gesture and Action. New York: 53rd State Press; 2017 pp. 104.Abstract
A New Practical Guide to Rhetorical Gesture and Action is based on Henry Siddons' 1807 illustrated guidebook for actors. In it, 35 illustrations by Jesse Hawley of contemporary actors re-interpreting gestures from Siddons' volume are accompanied by descriptive text by Normandy Sherwood rewritten in a poetic subversion of the original. My introductory essay explores the history of acting and actor training, placing the project in a larger historical context. 

Performers documented include Kate Valk, Juliana Francis, David Patrick Kelly, and Black Eyed Susan, actor-director Paul Lazar, writer-choreographer-performer Okwui Okpokwasili, storyteller Edgar Oliver, stars of the neo-burlesque Julie Atlas Muz and Matt Frazier, radical performance ensemble Radiohole, inventor-performer Joe Silovsky and his robot Stanley, playwright Sibyl Kempson, as well as members of Half Straddle, Hoi Polloi, Elevator Repair Service, New York City Players and many independent artists and performers.