Stephen Di Benedetto is an Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Theory at the University of Miami, and is the Book Review Editor (North America) for Theatre Research International.

"A thought-provoking exploration... reminds us forcibly that, at a fundamental, biological level, we are sensing animals before we are rational beings. ...the science is fascinating, and the questions are good ones." --Neal Swettenham, Loughborough University, Modern Drama, 54:2"An important and timely contribution to the emerging field of cognitive studies and performance." --Theatre Research International, 36.2

• Preface: Why Contemporary Performance Can Provoke the Senses Acknowledgments 1: Our Sensing Bodies: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding Live Theatrical Experience 2: Scintillating Visions and Visual Perception: How Light, Movement and Stage Space Capture Our Attention and Stimulate Our Brains 3: Attendant to Touch: Cutaneous Stimulation and its Expressive Capabilities 4: Noses, Tongues and Other Surprising Possibilities: Harnessing Olfaction and Gustation in Performance 5: Aural Landscapes: Voices, Noises, Vibrations and Other Quivering Stimulators of Cochlear Perception 6: The Sentient Body: Guiding Somatic Responses Within Performative Structures Notes Bibliography Index

Stephen Di Benedetto is an Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Theory at the University of Miami, and is the Book Review Editor (North America) for Theatre Research International.

"A thought-provoking exploration... reminds us forcibly that, at a fundamental, biological level, we are sensing animals before we are rational beings. ...the science is fascinating, and the questions are good ones." --Neal Swettenham, Loughborough University, Modern Drama, 54:2"An important and timely contribution to the emerging field of cognitive studies and performance." --Theatre Research International, 36.2

• Preface: Why Contemporary Performance Can Provoke the Senses Acknowledgments 1: Our Sensing Bodies: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding Live Theatrical Experience 2: Scintillating Visions and Visual Perception: How Light, Movement and Stage Space Capture Our Attention and Stimulate Our Brains 3: Attendant to Touch: Cutaneous Stimulation and its Expressive Capabilities 4: Noses, Tongues and Other Surprising Possibilities: Harnessing Olfaction and Gustation in Performance 5: Aural Landscapes: Voices, Noises, Vibrations and Other Quivering Stimulators of Cochlear Perception 6: The Sentient Body: Guiding Somatic Responses Within Performative Structures Notes Bibliography Index