Action Theater: Divine play for the stage

This dissertation is the first scholarly treatment of Ruth Zaporah's Action Theater, a training for physical theater improvisation that has the potential to spark transformations in consciousness. Research methods include archival analysis, interviews, and subjective experience as a student of Action Theater. Pioneered by Ruth Zaporah over the past thirty-five years, this training is a unique and remarkable contribution to the field of performer training; especially to interdisciplinary performance and post-modern composition. The study establishes Action Theater within the contexts of physical theater, improvisation and awareness practice; characterizes the cultural context in which it was created (Berkeley, California in the 1970's and 1980's); details the historical development of Action Theater; defines key concepts and exercises in this training; and points to the transformative potential of this practice.