Media-Archaeological Approaches to Theatre and Performance: An Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter maps the ground where media archaeology and theatre studies meet. As an age-old art form, theatre has always embraced “new” media. Literally “a place to observe”, the theatron has been a favoured platform for trying new technologies and scientific objects, including mirrors, electric light, the magic lantern, the theâtrophone, and, more recently, cameras, digital projection devices, and mobile media. Combining approaches and perspectives from both fields, Wynants develops a conceptual frame to unearth previously neglected examples of intermediality. She focuses on the vital relationship between researchers and artists, the particular concern with presence and performativity, and the pivotal role in this context of the archive as a source of discovery and creativity. She urges us to reread contemporary intermedial performance through the looking glass of media-archaeology in order to excavate alternative or forgotten theatre histories.