Acting otherwise: Phronesis, the erotic, and the ethics of acting under heteronomous conditions

What does it mean to act well when the conditions of one’s actions are shaped by institutions, conventions, and expectations that cannot simply be overcome? In Acting Otherwise, artist and researcher Anders Carlsson investigates acting as a practice of situated ethical judgement under conditions of institutional heteronomy. Rather than approaching acting primarily as a matter of technique, mastery, or individual artistic expression, the dissertation explores the capacity to navigate complex situations in which no established method or ethical protocol can determine in advance what should be done. Drawing on the Aristotelian concept of phronesis (practical wisdom) and Audre Lorde’s understanding of the erotic as a source of knowledge and aliveness, the research proposes a shift in how acting, artistic collaboration, and ethical responsibility might be understood. The dissertation unfolds through five essays grounded in artistic collaborations with the Helsinki-based ensemble 4 Floors of Whores, the performance group Glitcher, and director and researcher Johannes Maria Schmit. Four additional texts, described as refractions, explore the erotic as a dimension of artistic research, acting as pedagogy, the love letter as a research method, and reversed consent as a means of questioning established relations between researchers and participants. Through these investigations, Carlsson develops concepts and practices such as the actor-maker, phronetic acting, a grammar of minimal interference, and counter-perversion. Together, they suggest ways of working within and against institutional conditions without assuming that artistic freedom can ever be entirely separated from them. Situated at the intersection of contemporary performance, artistic research, critical theory, and ethics, Acting Otherwisecontributes to ongoing discussions about the possibilities of artistic agency, collaboration, and responsibility in an increasingly regulated cultural and educational landscape. The dissertation approaches artistic research as an instituent practice: one that not only takes place within institutions but also examines and potentially transforms the conditions through which artistic knowledge is produced. Anders Carlsson is a Swedish theatre artist, director, and artistic researcher. He has worked internationally with experimental and interdisciplinary performance and previously served as Professor of Acting at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Acting Otherwise is his doctoral dissertation in Performance Practices at the University of Gothenburg (2026).