Performer's dramaturgy: Developing dramaturgical thinking through choreological practice

Author(s)

Scialom, Melina

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: THEATRE DANCE AND PERFORMANCE TRAINING; v. 13, n. 4, p. 14-pg., 2022-05-27.

Abstract

This paper discusses a training scheme to develop a first-person dramaturgical practice where the performer is the thinking agent of the work. To advance this argument, together with Bleeker (2003) and Behrndt (2010) I consider dramaturgy as an act of thinking, as well as a decision-making labour in performance-making. Using Rudolf Laban's Choreology and Preston-Dunlop and Sanchez-Colberg's (2010) choreological perspective as scaffolding for somatic awareness and movement training, added to McCormack's practice-theory (2014) to look at choreological practice in a creative context, I propose to unravel how movement-thinking can be a path for establishing the performer's dramaturgical agency within a somatic performance-making context. When recognising the performers' movement experience and creative reasoning as dramaturgical, I set the discussion within the field of somatic perspectives. Acknowledging that somatics is an emerging field of practice and research (Eddy 2017), the quest for a dramaturgy that comes from the mover's experience responds to Lehmann and Primavesi's (2009) invitation to develop contemporary dramaturgical forms and practices that reflect current artistic and academic enquiry. With this, I consider the performer's dramaturgy a somatic attitude on dance and theatre making where performers use their first-person perspective and affect to dramaturge their own work. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/17050-1 - Movement Dramaturgy: investigating the boundaries and stretching the limits of dance dramaturgy.
• Grantee: Melina Scialom
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor