The Knowing Body: The Artist as Storyteller in Contemporary Performance

Review Excerpts

"In the territory Steinman explores—risk, play, improvisation, the dual image of the performer and persona—her fine prose builds firmly, gracefully and movingly to what she considers the basic, too often unacknowledged function of the performer as storyteller: 'to remind us of our mortality.'"
—Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice

"...a visceral experience, a temporal to me that transcends the limits of a 'good read.' Most readers will come away from The Knowing Body with an enriched sense of their own movement through the world as well as a greater understanding of the work of many new artists."
—Morrie Warshawski, High Performance

“…a dazzling and deeply impressive study of the performing arts.”
—Jonathan Kirsch, The Los Angeles Times

“No other book combines theoretical discussions, the psychological dynamics behind the work, interviews with artists, and commentary that can serve as exercises for students. An extraordinarily valuable book.”
—Judith Hamara, Professor of Theater Arts and Dance, California State University, Los Angeles 

“Steinman discusses the ways performers have arrived at new performance modes through a re-integration of physical and mental capacities…I found The Knowing Body invigorating and provocative.”
—Marcia B. Siegel, Dance Research Journal