Porous Dramaturgies: Togetherness and Community in the Structure of the Artwork.
Saturday May 18th at 2.00-3.00, University of Exeter. Meet at Thornlea, Alexander Building, Studio 2.
This event is an informal sharing of research from the Porous Dramaturgies network project, led by Cathy Turner (University of Exeter) Duska Radosavljevic (University of Kent), with Shadow Casters, (Zagreb) and Hanna Slattne (Tinderbox, Belfast).
Key words: site, immersion, interactivity, dramaturgy, theatre institutions, Shadow Casters, Wrights & Sites.
Together with network members who are theatre scholars, artists, producers or combinations of these, we have been debating and refining our sense of what the term ‘Porous Dramaturgy’ might mean. In March, we discussed the work of Shadow Casters and began to clarify the term. In May, we will be using Wrights & Sites (UK) as a case study and starting point for the discussion, particularly considering porosity in relation to site.
‘If the dramaturgy of a work is described as ‘porous’ this implies that it is structured so that it contains space for intervention, habitation or contribution by audience, passers-by or other aspects of the space itself.’ (Turner)
However, to say this only raises a whole lot of questions about what a ‘space’ is, what happens in it, what happens between it and the structure (dramaturgy), how the audience members relate to each other and what the political implications could be, including its relationship to the needs of producing theatres and other arts institutions.
We are inviting people to come along and have a short walk with one or two of the network members, who will fill you in about their experience and thoughts, followed by some tea/coffee if you like.
Children are welcome, though there’s not a lot of entertainment for them.
It would be helpful to know if you can come (for numbers): C.Turner@exeter.ac.uk<mailto:C.Turner@exeter.ac.uk>