The study of performers and actors has not always been a central and systematic concern of theatre studies. At various times, buildings, social organization, dramatic texts and then performance analysis have seemed to occupy more attention than what we would normally consider the defining element of theatre, the performer. There are many reasons for this periodic disregard. An important one is simply the question of definition. Are we speaking about the actor (the reciter of dramatic texts) or should we widen our purview to include other types of performer: the dancer, singer even circus clown or acrobat? Theatre studies has traditionally not opted for the wider definition, although the growth of performance studies in the past decade is beginning to change this exclusive interest in the ‘actor’. There are, of course, very good historical reasons for focusing on the actor. The European theatre tradition is characterized by a high degree of specialization within the performing arts. This is by no means the case in other theatrical cultures, where there may not even be different words for actor and dancer, for example.