The Desiring Performer: Searching for Something Performable

Abstract

After completing a study about adapting novels for live performance, the author contemplated on how she desired to perform, and even though this was not the main enquiry of the research, several of the participating theatre artists in the study expressed similar desires. This article aims to illuminate the desires theatre artists have to perform by reflecting on the author's experiences and those of other theatre artists. During the qualitative study, Australian and American theatre artists who had written and produced adaptations of novels were interviewed, and several of them articulated their inspirations in regard to material adaptable for performance, and discussed their motivations. The deeper reflections of Moustakas' concepts in heuristic research are considered in relation to these desires by the author, and the other theatre artists, to create work. The article exemplifies the value of theatre artists taking time to reflect on their work and working practices. Theatre artists, whether employed by theatre companies or working independently, have a desire to create theatre and look for appropriate material. For actors and directors in their middle years and beyond it is often difficult to find good performance material, and for the author, the process of adapting a novel or other literature was a good solution to an immediate problem.