Theatre Practice Research Articles

A Review of Towards an Ecocritical Theatre: Playing the Anthropocene

The review critiques Mohebat Ahmadi’s Toward’s an Ecocritical Theatre: Playing the Anthropocene. Ahmadi’s book presents a compelling exploration of the intersection between theatre and the ecological challenges of the Anthropocene. Each chapter delves into the comprehensive analysis of key theatrical works and practices that explore the ways theatre can serve as a powerful medium for engaging and responding to the environmental crises of our time.

From schema to rhuthmos: the idiorrhythmic encounters of the bridge of winds

The Bridge of Winds is an international research group founded in 1989 by Odin Teatret actress Iben Nagel Rasmussen. For thirty-three years, a core group of artists from 12 countries has met together annually, carrying out in-depth research into the actor’s craft. During these encounters, highly detailed psychophysical training is recovered and developed by the group, which feeds into performances, concerts and barters. The aim of this critical article is to reflect on the role of agency in the Bridge of Wind’s practice, drawing on field research carried out by the author in December 2021. It is argued that Rasmussen and her partners in the Bridge of Winds have re-envisioned laboratory theatre practice, allowing for an idiorrhythmic culture of practice to emerge that balances schema (fixed, fully developed form) and rhuthmos, (improvised, changeable form). Whilst the members of the Bridge of Winds are rigorous and disciplined, having inherited a laboratory ethos and schematic leaning grounded in the practice of Odin Teatret, there is a tenacious trace in their work of an idiorrhythmity that also allows for subversion, transformation and revolt. The group’s training, in particular, accommodates the reality of the older actor’s body, just as it enables younger arrivals to excavate a sense of bios. Thus, the essay will chart out the contours of a particular nomadic laboratory practice that advocates both individual agency and collective solidarity, serving as a creative touchstone and wellspring for its members.

Forum theatre practice as lived activism

This article seeks to show that activism for racialised, black and migrant women stems from their embodied lived experiences and the need for creating practices and spaces for these to manifest, be validated and expand on. Forum Theatre practice that includes the racialised body, collective reflection and reparative action can address the neo-colonial and patriarchal encounters, and places of oppression within mainstream activism. This article was discussed, written, and based on the workshops and reflexive conversations regarding the racialised women's experiences of the hostile environment policies. It reflects on the necessity to address and combat these policies through empowering the mind, body and spirit of the women activists in North East of England, part of an AHRC funded knowledge transfer project of using arts based interventions for civic engagement.

Theater practice and interpersonal synchronization behaviors: a pilot study comparing actors and non-actors.

Recent studies in the field of theater studies no longer view theater as an object, but rather as a dynamic relationship between actors and spectators. In an embodied and situated perspective of cognition, imagination emerges as a product of this dynamic. This study aims to investigate whether acting practice enhances someone's abilities to set up an effective relationship with others and allows the individual to better manage not only the relationship itself, but also her/his own feelings and those of her/his partner. Eighty two healthy Italian adults, with no communication disorders, including 43 actors (Mage = 25.4; S.D. = 3.64) and 39 non-actors (Mage = 24.1 = S.D. = 4.17) completed a joint verbal production task named Random Sequence Generation (RSG) task. Initially, participants performed the task individually. Subsequently, in a second phase, they worked in pairs with another participant, taking turns to contribute to a shared sequence. Pairings were predetermined to ensure a balanced mix of actors and non-actors, and to prevent participants from having prior relationships. Following the task, subjects were queried about their sense of presence, and, their perception of entitativity with their partner. We observed a replication of previous studies, showing higher RSG scores and reduced repetition in the paired condition, indicative of coupling and synchronization behavior. Within pairs, the level of the sense of presence of both partners was positively correlated. Furthermore, an interaction effect between the sense of presence and acting experience on the perception of entitativity was observed. Specifically, actors described perceived entitativity with their partners when their sense of presence was heightened, whereas non-actors experienced a decrease in perceived entitativity with their partners under similar circumstances. We discuss the results and limitations of the study, suggesting the effect of artistic practice on the development of a sort of dual-task ability which enables actors to organize their sensations and actions while sustaining a meaningful connection with others. This research represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between theater studies and cognitive sciences, highlighting the value of a multidisciplinary approach to research.

Cultural and creative industries and theatre praxis in a digital epoch

Culture is closely related to civilization and all observable civilizations are derived from one form of culture to the other. The cultural and creative industries (CCIs) usually takes advantage of the vast cultural heritage of a given people as sources of inspiration for their artistic enterprise to thrive. At the heart of creativity in every pluralist society is culture. This is evident in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, among others, where the cultural market offer muse for artists. This paper examines the ways through which the creative industry can tap from the rich resources inherent in the cultural market. It uses the Concept of Cultural and Creative Industries as a theoretical anchor to argue that the CCIs are valuable assets capable of instituting development ethos which can move a state from nationhood to civilization. The study gets its data from the instrumentality of documentary observation a la desk review of books, journals and other bibliotheca. It concludes that the theatre possess the innate ability to make Nigeria relevant in terms of soft power diplomacy in world politics and development.

Artistic creativity, digital technologies and theatrical sustainability: Integrating new media in theatre practice

Arts and technology have continually been inter-related. Artistic expressions have been facilitated by technological innovations that enable artists either to adapt technologies meant for other purposes, or to invent them as a way to foster the creative process. The evolution of digital technologies in the knowledge era has had a huge impact on the theatre profession, in which digital transformation has influenced the ways theatrical contents are created, presented, distributed and circulated to audiences. This article examines technological advances of the digital era and their impact on the performing arts/the theatre. Relying on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study argues that new technologies and media enable the creation of new forms of arts that stimulate radical changes in the distribution channels of cultural and creative products (CCPs) based on their digitalisation and dematerialisation. The study finds that digitalisation provides creative artists with new tools and means of artistic expression. Indeed, digitalisation enhances and inspires not only the creation of new art forms but also the presentation of traditional arts by enabling multimedia experiences and interactivity. The paper recommends that, given the reality of globalisation and its concomitant emergence of virtual communities, theatrical performances must adopt new media tools in terms of content creation, exhibition and distribution, to remain functional.

Making theatre in digital spaces: The imperative of Ijov Mbakuv on social media platforms

The evolution of digital technology has affected traditional theatre practice in Tiv society just like it has done in many other African societies. Contemporary developments in theatre have marked differences from the theatre of the past due to massive revolution being witnessed in theatre practice. This is based on the changing phases of human development orchestrated by the advancement in digital and information technology around the globe. Notwithstanding is the hybridization of cultures which has brought about far reaching changing norms and forms in traditional performances of all kinds. The introduction of social media and its various platforms to society has transported traditional theatre from the local mode into a digital media which closes the barrier of distance and increases its visibility to a larger audience. Despite some limitations, the prospects are extensive. This paper considers the Tiv Ijov Mbakuv performance from its conduct in the local mode and its transmission to digital platforms on social media. The finding is that, Tiv Ijov Mbakuv performance in the digital media is not a counter-theatre but a theatre that has taken advantage of technological advancement and yet, maintaining the elements of its origin and opening the culture of a people for wider access and appreciation by varied audiences. Therefore, the paper notes that, theatre is part of society, the ever-changing nature of society also demands for changes in theatre forms so as to meet up with the yearnings and privileges of a new society. Ijov Mbakuv performance in the digital media is a response to new social demands.

Street theatre in Zimbabwe: a history of connection, disconnection, and reconnection

ABSTRACT The main thrust of this article is to trace and analyze the development of street theatre practice in contemporary Zimbabwe, paying particular attention to street theatre’s form and the context in which it has operated and operates. Concurrently, the paper examines how the political environment in Zimbabwe has been critical in shaping street theatre form and style. Scott’s theory of hidden transcripts is used to interrogate how street theatre navigates a censorious environment. Drawing on the post-linear and public and hidden transcript theories, the article historically interrogates street theatre as a performance form which adopts radical performance elements, allowing it to navigate an environment dominated by various censorial controls. Based on Scott (1990)’s assertion that the environment in which the subordinate find themselves shapes their public displays, this study argues that street theatre’s style of delivery is a result of the cultural and political background.

Performance and race: teaching Shakespeare to Saudi students using current events and popular culture

ABSTRACT This article considers the relevance of Shakespeare’s works to foreign students when taught in a non-native context, specifically, in Saudi Arabia. It argues that a student-centred approach could shed light on what is relevant to young people today, even if the texts themselves may seem anachronistic. Adopting a comparative approach that explores common factors between early modern England and contemporary Saudi Arabia, I examine the theatrical practices of both periods in relation to gender, religion, and race. I offer an historical overview of Saudi theatre, highlighting factors that played a role in delaying its development, such as women’s absence from the stage and the antitheatrical sentiments influenced by the reformist Sahwa movement. Aiming to make Shakespeare accessible through connections to current events and popular culture, I consider Saudi Arabia’s fast-changing socio-political landscape, including cultural reforms and recognition of women’s role in theatre. In particular, I focus on blackface, a theatrical trope that has traces in the early modern period and still persists in the western world. I have found that this approach has helped develop students’ ethical sensitivities to ethnic bias and religious intolerance, as well as directing them towards making appropriate choices as future playwrights, performers, and directors.

From Strings to Sensors: Movement Representation in AI Theatre

The assimilation of AI technology into theatre practices has inaugurated an expansive frontier of possibilities for both thespians and spectators. In terms of movement, this involves the use of avatars, which inhabit a customary screen milieu (encompassing three-dimensional in-world scenography) that necessitates simultaneous consideration of a tridimensional theatrical space and coexisting performers, within a moment of real-time inception and interconnectedness. This complex confluence raises questions pertaining to the ‘avatarisation’ of corporeal embodiments on the theatrical stage and the consequent emergence of novel performative methodologies. Within AI-enabled performances, the use of motion capture technology, commonly known as ‘mocap’, entails the recording of skeletal data from physical actors, referred to as ‘mocaptors’, who wear a geo-spatial system for motion capture. This is then translated into digital data that can subsequently be used to animate digital characters or avatars.

Transformational Voice Work: Using Theatre-Based Vocal Practice to Support Gender-Diverse Voices

As a voice coach and teacher, Jane MacFarlane guides actors to a greater understanding of how their voice works, to reveal a character that is rooted in truth and believability. The foundation of the work she does is based on Kristin Linklater’s Freeing the Natural Voice, which identifies habits and patterns of tension in the body that can limit the range of our voices and employs techniques to access the fullness and richness of the vocal qualities we are born possessing. A few years ago, MacFarlane was approached by a colleague who was transitioning and wanted to know if voice work could help her find a vocal quality that affirmed her gender. They began crafting a progression through the voice work that helped her find a voice that felt organic and true to who she really is. Through working with her on her journey, MacFarlane became associated with Skipping Stone, a transgender support organization in Calgary. Together, they began to offer online classes that were based on the work MacFarlane does with theatre practice and applied it to the needs of the transgender community. This article outlines the process of the eight-week progression for vocal feminization through Skipping Stone.

Reality theatre as a method for social science research: the Vietnamese diaspora in central europe

ABSTRACT This article examines the use of reality theatre and its seemingly distinct categories, ethnotheatre and documentary theatre, within the social sciences. Reality theatre employs qualitative methodology, data production, and factual information as a basis for the staging process and interlinks social science research with creative practice. This approach, I argue, results in performances that are not only entertaining but informative, educational, or function pedagogically as a stimulus for social change. I argue that the division of reality theatre into several categories can be omitted in favour of a broader approach, in order to analyse the sociocultural realities staged through performance. This is demonstrated through analysis of two theatre projects from Central Europe focused on the Vietnamese diaspora – Rimini Protokoll’s Vùng biên giới (Border Area) (2009), and the Czech part of the What’SAP project (a two-year project connecting Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary, and France in an exchange of knowledge creation and audience participation in intercultural dialogues) called Každý má v sobě dva vlky (Everyone Has Two Wolves Inside of Them) (2023). By examining and analysing how each project utilises reality theatre, I present them as important examples of the links between social science and contemporary theatre practice.

Dialogue between the Concept of the Object in the Theater of Tadeusz Kantor and the Theatrical Praxis of the Periférico de Objetos

Tadeusz Kantor was a Polish artist and theater director who directly influenced the conceptual understanding of theater, especially in Argentina following two visits to Buenos Aires with his troupe Cricot 2 in the 1980s. He exerted a particularly strong influence on the Periférico de Objetos [The Periphery of Objects], a troupe founded in Buenos Aires in 1989 by Daniel Veronese, Ana Alvarado and Emilio García Wehbi, labelled by critics as “the Argentine theatre of the image”. Despite radically different socio-cultural contexts, elements arising from Kantor’s theater practices (especially his idea of the “poor object” and his concept of “reality of the lowest rank”) acquired distinctly different meanings in Latin America from those coined by Kantor. A nuanced examination of the Periférico de Objetos indicates that Kantor’s concepts, which in their original context resisted politicization, played an important role in the creation of a socially and politically engaged theatre. His concepts, adapted to local realities by the Periférico de Objetos, were reflected in debates surrounding the recent Argentinian past, most notably, the post-dictatorship period.

Creating a Role for Light: A Lighting Design Teaching Method Based on Stanislavsky

ABSTRACT The creative role of stage lighting is increasingly appreciated in contemporary theatre practice. However, aesthetic sensibility seems harder to teach than technology. This essay focuses on lighting design students and a learning journey inspired by Konstantin Stanislavsky. According to Scott Palmer, “[Stanislavsky’s] use of light at the Moscow Art Theatre made a fundamental contribution to the evolution of his acting method.” The connection between Stanislavsky’s work with light and the methods used by pioneers in the field of lighting design including Adolphe Appia, Edward Gordon Craig, Stanley McCandless, and Jean Rosenthal is examined. Beyond purely practical considerations, such as visibility and smooth transitions between the scenes, this essay sheds light on how Stanislavsky’s method can be used to help young aspiring lighting designers conceive the dramaturgical role of light. A proposal for a teaching approach is presented, using Stanislavsky’s basic techniques as an example. From the analysis of the text and the given circumstances to the magic “if,” which takes the actor into the world of the play, Stanislavsky’s approach can easily be applied to the creative process of a contemporary lighting designer. The interpretation of Stanislavsky’s work from a lighting designer’s perspective also leads to useful conclusions about the art of collaboration in the performing arts.

Kami Kadto: Retelling Oral Narratives towards Sustaining Philippine Heritage

The practice of retelling oral narratives holds a vital role in shaping and strengthening families and communities across diverse cultures. These narratives, often transmitted across generations, serve as vital tools for passing down values, traditions, and shared history—thus, Philippine heritage. This research paper attempts to provide additional empirical evidence from qualitative inquiry and asks about the retelling process of oral narratives on norms and customs in building families and communities in the Philippines. After exploring the retelling process situated in the context of Calabanga, the researcher examined the possibility of transforming the literary piece from text to theater, adhering to theater-in-education principles. The script’s content was based on interviews with selected native senior citizens of the town, who shared the traditional practices and beliefs they followed before entering married life. The story “Kami Kadto” (literally meaning, us before) was written to focus on the traditional course of building a family. It was based on the true-to-life love story of a senior citizen, who revealed the “process” of her love story from courtship to marriage. It also highlighted other significant old beliefs and practices followed in the town. The current investigation not only adheres to the ideals of heritage preservation but also wishes to contribute and bring about novel ways of documenting and transforming oral narratives to suit the varying viewer’s palate for heritage appreciation and education. The need to revive old practices in order to preserve, protect and promote local heritage is encapsulated in the retelling and transformational processes from oral narratives, to written text as script for theater productions and potentially as movies that shall entice young generations of audiences. Overall, the retelling of the script and incorporation of original songs significantly contribute to preserving and celebrating Calabanga’s cultural heritage. This initiative offers opportunities and inspiration for sustained literary tradition, theater practice, and education, highlighting the rich history, culture, and values of the town and the Bikol region.

АКТЕР СИНТЕТИЧЕСКОГО ТИПА В МУЗЫКАЛЬНОМ ТЕАТРЕ XXI ВЕКА

This article discusses the methods of staging musical performances in the XXIst century and the creation of an artistic image embodied by the actor during the stage action. It emphasises the importance of the psycho-physical state of the artist in connection with the authentic life of the stage character, the significance of the plastic expressiveness of the actor in theatrical practice, referring to the works of great figures of Russian theatrical art — K. S. Stanislavsky, V. E. Meyerhold, М. A. Chekhov, A. Ya. Tairov, A. B. Droznin. The general synthetic nature of musical, vocal, plastic, choreographic and dramatic art, in which the public is currently interested, is revealed and analysed. The reasons for the active growth in the popularity of musical theatre and its specific genres in the XXIst century are explained. Productions of two Moscow educational theatres — the Institute of Modern Art and the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) — based on the fairy tale An Ordinary Miracle by E. L. Schwartz are described and compared. In order to prove the reliability of the author’s judgements and the relevance of the topic, an interview was conducted with the Russian actor, director of musical performances and musicals, vocalist, teacher of “Musical Education” at the Department of Theatre Arts of the Institute of Modern Art U. A. Chebotar. The interview is presented in Appendix no. 1.

A Museum Theatre Approach to Museum Communication in Durban, South Africa

This article explores how museum communication can be enhanced in museums in Durban, South Africa, using the Old Court House Museum (OCHM) in Durban, South Africa, as a point of departure for analysis and discussion. The aim is to close the gap between the humanities disciplines through disciplinary hybridisation while focusing on exploring the intersection of theatre arts and museums through applied theatre (AT) strategies to enhance museum communication. Grounded in Richard Schechner’s multidisciplinary approach to performance studies (PS), it incorporates the viewpoints of Dwight Conquergood on PS. The argument is that the humanities disciplines are historically and conceptually linked through cultural performance. The research employs qualitative methods, including historical-analytic analysis, key informant interviews (KIIs), and direct observation. The findings suggest the practice of the museum theatre (MT) concept in some parts of the South African cultural ecosystem, but with scant attention on Durban municipal museums.

Lever de rideau i akcja właściwa – „wyobrażone podróże” Kazimierza Brauna albo metateatralność

This article deals with the metatheatrical aspects in selected dramas by Kazimierz Braun – theatre practitioner and theorist. The point of departure for the analysis, as indicated by Patrice Pavis, is the basic ways in which metatheatricality reveals itself in a dramatic text: the unveiling of the second communication system (scene – spectator), usually hidden behind the text, the fabrication of theatrical situations, and the discursivisation of theatrical themes. The subject of the analysis is the interconnected dramas, Niewyznane zwierzenia [Unconfessed confidences] and Kwarantanna [Quarantine], in which the author creatively refers to the tradition of commedia dell’arte. The first of the plays, in the style of comedy by Pierre de Marivaux and described more precisely as a lever de rideau, is a reference to the old theatrical practice of preceding the main performance with another small stage form. The article discusses the piece as an overt play with convention, an ‘imaginary journey’ into the ephemeral world of improvised comedy, revealing the laws of theatre that govern it. The second play, set during the pandemic, becomes a pretext for questions about the future and the meaning of artistic creation. The analysis of both texts reveals a clash between the cultural image of conventional play and the theatricalisation of life in Marivaux’s time and the dystopian creation of a dehumanised reality, in which the multidimensional crisis can no longer be hidden under the mask of theatrical decoration and outward playfulness.

О НАИБОЛЕЕ РАННИХ ЖАНРОВЫХ ПРИЗНАКАХ КОМЕДИИ

The system of classical theatre genres is very well studied, but still, it needs more research so that scholars were able to solve some theoretical problems, to reach certain clarity in the interpretation of its primary philosophical reasons and to interpret specific problems of ancient theatre practice. In the article it is suggested to return to primary principles of the system of classical genres and restore questions which need more efforts from researchers. One of such questions concerns the fundamental reasons of the division of genres in two: tragedy and comedy. The author studies the ethical motivation of such division that was used in treatises by Plato and Aristotle. The essense of the ethical division in two is rather simple: people are divided in “spoydaioi” (decent, good) and “phayloi” (vicious, bad). Another division used by Aristotle is based on the idea of three kinds of people as three different objects for mimesis: people “same as us”, “better than us” and “worse than us”. These two divisions being applied to theatre cause a series of controversies and, at the same time, draw a perspective for future research to be taken to reach a new grade of clarity and distinctness in the understanding of ancient fundamental ideas. One of the problems to be newly studied too concerns the ancient roots for a so called “middle genre” which is to be found in most theories of drama since the Renaissance.

Theater arts as the subject of comparative aesthetics

In this paper we will show how the new theoretical thought about theater, since the beginning of the last century and the establishment of theatrology as the academic discipline and field of research, is being based on the comparative aesthetic perspective - on the distinction between different arts on the one hand and the identification of the transcultural foundation of theater arts on the other. Following the analyses of examples of contemporary theatre and the insights that emerge from them, we will demonstrate how the questions that rise out of theatrical practice and theory resonate with the issues addressed in the field aesthetics, not only the ones about artistic creation, art or its reception.