Backpages

Backpages is an opportunity for the academy to engage with theatre and performance practice with immediacy and insight and for theatre workers and performance artists to engage critically and reflectively on their work and the work of their peers. Featuring short, topical articles and debates, polemics where necessary, it's a place of intellectual intervention and creative reflection. It's also where we hope to articulate, perhaps for the first time, the work of new and rising theatre artists in an academic forum.

Backpages is an opportunity for the academy to engage with theatre and performance practice with immediacy and insight and for theatre workers and performance artists to engage critically and reflectively on their work and the work of their peers. Featuring short, topical articles and debates, polemics where necessary, it’s a place of intellectual intervention and creative reflection. It’s also where we hope to articulate, perhaps for the first time, the work of new and rising theatre artists in an academic forum.

Backpages is an opportunity for the academy to engage with theatre and performance practice with immediacy and insight and for theatre workers and performance artists to engage critically and reflectively on their work and the work of their peers. Featuring short, topical articles and debates, polemics where necessary, it's a place of intellectual intervention and creative reflection. It's also where we hope to articulate, perhaps for the first time, the work of new and rising theatre artists in an academic forum.

Backpages is an opportunity for the academy to engage with theatre and performance practice with immediacy and insight and for theatre workers and performance artists to engage critically and reflectively on their work and the work of their peers. Featuring short, topical articles and debates, polemics where necessary, it’s a place of intellectual intervention and creative reflection. It’s also where we hope to articulate, perhaps for the first time, the work of new and rising theatre artists in an academic forum.

Backpages is an opportunity for the academy to engage with theatre and performance practice with immediacy and insight and for theatre workers and performance artists to engage critically and reflectively on their work and the work of their peers. Featuring short, topical articles and debates, polemics where necessary, it’s a place of intellectual intervention and creative reflection. It’s also where we hope to articulate, perhaps for the first time, the work of new and rising theatre artists in an academic forum. This issue of Backpages begins with a special section on the work of playwright Martin Crimp, complementing the theme of this overall Special Issue. Thanks to Vicky Angelaki and Dan Rebellato.Martin and Me Bringing In the Republic of Happiness to the Royal Court Stage Writing Music for In the Republic of Happiness Martin Crimp Has Arrived The Fiscal State of Our Theatre Nation: A Report from Ireland The Cracks Are Everywhere: Extended Life Performances in the Heat of the Financial Crash in Iceland In Memoriam: Adrian Howells In Memoriam: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Works, Pieces, and Objects Performed Paul Thom (bio) Introduction James Hamilton has written a book on the philosophy of theater that is admirable for its analytic clarity and for the wide knowledge of theatrical practice that it brings to bear on philosophical questions. The book’s main thesis is that theatrical performances are not presentations or executions or completions of texts, but the meaning of this thesis is not completely clear. Hamilton sometimes expresses the thesis specifically in relation to literary texts: what is of interest in this book is the fact that the history I have been tracing—including the history of these debates—has revealed theatrical performance to be a form of art in its own right, independent of literature. And it is the meaning and truth of that discovery that is the central, indeed the only, concern in this book.1 . . . Theatrical performance is a practice independent of literature.2 This is the thesis in its weak form. Sometimes, however, he voices it in a strong form, relating to a class of artworks wider than literary texts: “A performance is . . . never a performance of some other work.”3 Hamilton’s thesis, in either its weak or its strong form, might be understood as a claim about theatrical performance as such, or it might be understood as a generalization about individual theatrical performances. To take it the first way would be to take it intensionally, as a claim about the nature of theatrical performance—a statement about what the very notion of theatrical performance implies and what it excludes. To take it the second way would be to take it extensionally, as a claim about each and every theatrical performance. Thus, the weak thesis—the thesis relating to literary texts—might be understood (intensionally) as stating that theatrical performance as such is an art form that is independent of literary texts. Or it [End Page 67] might be understood (extensionally) as stating that no individual theatrical performance qua artwork depends on a literary text. Similarly, the strong thesis—the thesis relating to artworks in general—might be understood (intensionally) as stating that theatrical performance as such is an art form independent of all artworks that are not theatrical performances. Or it might be understood (extensionally) as stating that no individual theatrical performance qua artwork depends on any artwork that is not itself a theatrical performance. In this article I outline a framework within which I argue that Hamilton’s thesis in either its weak or its strong form should be accepted as an intensional claim about either moral or ontological independence, but it should be rejected as an extensional claim. Then I will discuss a line of reasoning Hamilton uses in support of his thesis, and I will argue that it is invalid. A Framework Spectators at a performance are often able to distinguish, at least to some extent, between the performance and what is performed. This must be the case if spectators are ever to be in a position to comment, for example, on whether a particular routine, which is part of what has been performed, is the same routine as was performed on another occasion—or to comment on how well or badly the routine is being executed. The concept of “what is performed” is therefore an important one for the philosophy of the performing arts. It appears that Hamilton is using this concept when he talks about “the performed object.”4 He doesn’t give us an analysis of what exactly a performed object is, but it appears to be more general than what Paul Woodruff means by a “theater piece.” Woodruff defines a theater piece as a kind of theatrical event that may be repeated.5 (I take it that the definition doesn’t imply that all theater pieces are capable, practically speaking, of being repeated—for that would be false—but merely means that the notion of a theatrical event leaves open the possibility of repetition.) A theater piece is, presumably, a performed object, but a performed object need not be a theater piece if theater is defined (following Woodruff) in terms of human action that is worth watching. Some performances—many musical...

Deconstruction has been used in theater practice and performance art since the 1960s -1970s as a strategy to guide viewers to observation of things and people in and around the performance practice, questioning meaning and its making. This paper proposes that deconstruction is relevant and of value to screendance practitioners for the way in which it supports the challenging of dominant narratives, and invites us to notice and question fixed truths, including our own. For the purpose of my argument I will focus on a film, The Host (2016) by Miranda Pennell, a film made from archive images, which are deconstructed by the filmmaker as part of her narrative making. Among the numerous studies and contributions Derrida has made within philosophical debate, I will focus solely on his theory of deconstruction of text and meaning to contextualize the deconstructive approach adopted by Miranda Pennell in her film The Host (2016). Pennell’s approach includes her research into the narrative of the film. This inclusion gives the film a performative attribute, which I argue to be a point for considering the film a work of screendance. The combination of the archive material and Pennell’s approach to it, allows her to shift between various possible truths that cohabit within a broad spectrum of time and space. In the words of Trinh T. Minh-ha in “The Totalizing Quest of Meaning” from Theorizing Documentary edited by Michael Renov: To compose is not always synonymous with ordering to persuade, and to give the filmed document another sense, another meaning, itis not necessarily to distort it. If life’s paradoxes and complexities are not to be suppressed, the question of degrees and nuances isincessantly crucial. Pennell’s deconstructive approach favors the consideration of such “degrees and nuances” when presenting her narrative, constructing meaning that is complex in its subtleties and implications by pairing opposite concepts and looking at their relation and their relation to herself and others. In The Host (2016) this pairing is consistent throughout the film, openly inviting viewers to question what is being shown. Through a close analysis of The Host, contextualized both with reference to Derrida and to the wider field of screendance, I conclude that a deconstructive approach offers filmmakers and screendance practitioners interested in reinterpreting archive materials through film editing the opportunity to expand choreography to another discipline. As a screendance practitioner, I find that this opens up a world of narrative possibilities, and this is reason enough to shine more light on works that do so.

Object. The article is devoted to the analysis of the integration of performative practices into the system of professional training of choreographers in the context of the transformation of Ukrainian art education and its adaptation to international standards. The essence of performative art, its historical origins, and key characteristics that distinguish it from traditional choreography are clarified.Methods & methodology. The methodological framework is based on the analysis of scholarly sources in the theory of choreography and performative art, comparative analysis of educational practices, structural-functional analysis of methodological approaches, as well as content analysis of curricula. An interdisciplinary approach (choreography – theatre practices – cultural studies) is applied, along with the principles of practice-oriented learning and creative interdisciplinary interaction.Scientific novelty. For the first time, methodological tools for integrating performative practices into choreographers’ training have been systematized, and their potential for shaping complex artistic thinking has been identified. The complementarity of performative art and traditional choreography is substantiated, and key challenges that hinder their implementation in the educational process are highlighted.Results. Effective forms and methods of teaching are outlined: performance-based classes, workshops, creative laboratories, individual and group experimental tasks. Typical obstacles to integration are identified – insufficient teacher training, lack of clear assessment criteria, inertia of educational program content, and low student motivation for experimental activity. It is demonstrated that the application of performative approaches activates students’ creative potential, develops analytical thinking, and fosters the ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment.Conclusions. It is concluded that the integration of performative practices into the professional training of choreographers enhances the innovative potential of art education and contributes to the modernization of the educational environment. The results of the study have both theoretical and practical significance and can be used to update the content of educational programs, develop new methodological modules, and implement innovative forms of professional training for future choreographers.

Becker, Florian N., Paola S. Hernandez, and Brenda Werth, eds. 2013. Imagining Human Rights in Twenty-First Century Theatre: Global Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. $85.00 hc. 326 pp.Imagining Human Rights in Twenty-First Century Theater might seem prematurely retrospective as we start second decade of this century, but timing is fitting for scholarship that works in interventionist spirit of its subjects. The links that this essay collection makes between theater and are well framed in its introduction. Here editors propose a broader connection of to culture and to imagination, arguing that human rights- both as a field of interrelated and often competing philosophical conceptions and as a network of actually existing social and legal practices and institutions- depend at every turn on acts of imagination(3). They then develop this assertion through a more specific discussion of role of theatrical imagination and of humanist ethics in formation of a critical public sphere.The book's foreword promises that it will illuminat[e] relation of theater practice and this still-emerging modality of rights, in which to participatory citizenship adhere to personas rather than national territories (xii). Illumination is an apt term not only for essays in Imagining Human Rights, but also with respect to theatrical practices that they analyze, for these essays take up often-obscured subjects and mechanisms of violations and make them visible to their audiences. The image of illumination in foreword anticipates editors' emphasis on Enlightenment roots of as a phrase and concept. Their introduction traces invention of concept of to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European Enlightenment concepts of individual identity and communal values. The editors locate point of contact between theater and in Enlightenment's philosophies of individual and of communal responsibility and in its concurrent notions of theatrical imagination and identification. They argue that what makes theater and performance distinct from other imaginative forms is that the representations [that theatrical performances] produce arise through shared acts of imagination about actually present bodies (4). Embodiment and representation of pain and trauma form a core preoccupation of book, many of essays concern themselves with demonstrating potential and limits of that 'liveness' and of dimensionality of theater in its impact on audiences.Imagining Human Rights poses several crucial questions at outset: How should or do we define and frame rights? How might be linked to or distinguished from other issues of social and political justice? And what can or should we expect theater or performance to do for rights? In posing and responding to these questions, book implicitly answers Sophia McLennen's call for a public critical dialogue about how comparative imagination plays an essential role not only in considerations of political power and representational practices but also in very ways that we understand agency, democracy, civic responsibility, and rights (17). Her editorial introduction to a 2007 issue of Comparative Literature and Culture on relationships between humanities and activism stressed urgent need to bridge divide between humanities scholarship and policy and practice. McLennen's work goes unmentioned in Imagining Human Rights, which is a pity, as this anthology would benefit greatly from building more explicitly on her investigations of relationships between aesthetics, ethics, and (particularly in her work on Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman).Yet there is much to celebrate in this eclectic and deeply informative collection. …

Purpose– The purpose of this article is to offer a new perspective on library instruction by examining its relationship with various aspects of theatrical performance.Design/methodology/approach– The author uses personal observations as inspiration to examine what has been written in scholarly literature about various theatrical practices in instruction, applying the conversation to the library instruction context. Additionally, research from business and professional literature is also incorporated into the discussion. This literature review focuses on three general areas. First, a review on how to use tools and perspectives from the theater to help librarians prepare their lessons; second, an examination of the librarian as performer; and third, a discussion on how theater might help librarians deal with repetition and burnout.Findings– The literature on this subject has been extensive and includes an all-encompassing range of practical suggestions, research findings and theoretical analyses.Research limitations/implications– This article looks at this subject through the lens of scholarly literature. Empirical research on this topic is still needed.Practical implications– The author presents a number of theatrical practices librarians might consider incorporating into their instruction sessions.Originality/value– Much has been written about the connection between teaching and theatrical performance, but seldom from a librarian’s point of view. This article is of value to librarians looking to develop a memorable one-shot instruction session and those looking to examine the connection between teaching and performance.

Editorial

Reviewed by: The Provocation of the Senses in Contemporary Theatre Deirdre O’Leary The Provocation of the Senses in Contemporary Theatre. By Stephen Di Benedetto. New York: Routledge, 2010. Cloth $110.00. xii, 238 pages. In the final chapter of his book, The Provocation of the Senses in Contemporary Theatre, author Stephen Di Benedetto admits that he has “little desire to sit through yet another national tour of Death of a Salesman” (167). Yet he concedes that he learned what good theatre was by attending such shows. Di Benedetto’s experience is not unique. As theatre scholars, we initially developed our critical apparatuses largely through years of study and attendance at “traditional” theatrical performances. While this does not make us unable to critically engage with performances that fall outside the conventional parameters and definitions of theatre, might there be ways that we can enhance and enrich our understanding of these events? For Di Benedetto, the answer lies in cognitive science and phenomenology. The Provocation of the Senses has as its central conceit that cognitive neuroscience can provide a new framework for better understanding theatrical expression. Di Benedetto maintains that being aware of how our senses are engaged in performance enriches our ability to interpret the form and function of the theatrical event. Additionally, theatre and performance artists can better understand how to use the sentient bodies of audience members, referred to as attendants throughout the book, to create more conscious involvement in the theatrical present. The book is divided into six chapters with an introduction, four chapters addressing the five senses (smell and taste are included in one chapter), and a conclusion that looks to future trends in performance and considers the implications of sentient performances. “Our Sensing Bodies,” the first chapter, is primarily concerned with explaining how the brain and body receive stimuli, and introduces the compelling argument that mimesis can stimulate the brain to remodel its neural pathways. Each of the “sense” chapters begins with a general, though detailed, summary of how each sense functions in relation to cognitive science and physiology, followed by descriptions of performances that engage each sense. “Scintillating Visions and Visual Perception,” the second chapter, examines the role of light and movement in attendant awareness. Di Benedetto asks how theatre artists and practitioners have consciously employed light to keep audiences stimulated and interested in what is happening on stage. Robert Wilson’s work is discussed in detail, with particular emphasis on his use of color as an expressive element. Di Benedetto concedes that while we will never see how the mixing of photons produces specific colors, to be more aware of how light affects our perception allows us to be more conscious interpreters of a theatrical event. Quite simply, we become more aware of the act of seeing. The third chapter, “Attendant to Touch,” considers performances where touch is directly employed to disrupt attendant awareness of the spatial distinctions [End Page 232] between performer and audience. Examples are drawn from Dionysus in 69, Karen Finley’s Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman, and the work of Ulay and Marina Abramović, among others. However, the most vivid description is given to an amusement park Star Trek simulation experience. As touch is described as the most social of the senses, Di Benedetto argues that theatre performances that specifically challenge the attendant’s understanding of touch create new ways of learning about the world without risk. “Noses, Tongues, and Other Surprising Possibilities” looks at the ways in which smell and taste are used in order to connect the participant’s memory of lived experiences to the present theatrical moment. Di Benedetto is careful to note that efforts to incorporate smell into performance are hardly exclusive to contemporary theatre, and gives extensive descriptive space to the experiments of the Symbolists. His contemporary examples, however, are largely confined to film and television, with multiple examples of Scratch-and-Sniff and Smell-O-Vision projects in aroma technology. In “Aural Landscapes,” Di Benedetto focuses on the ways in which sound is used in performance, beyond the obvious use of language in theatre. He documents “how sound triggers visceral sensations, which in turn evoke mood in the context of performance” (125...

Silent film accompaniment owes much to the musical practices of nineteenth-century theater. Yet if we are to fully acknowledge these debts, we must first embrace theater music as a complex entity in its own right. Analyzing the eclectic sixty-year career of legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) is one way to approach these connections between theater and film. Bernhardt employed a great deal of music in her theatrical performances, and by the early twentieth century embraced the new medium of film as well, appearing in a number of motion pictures. Drawing on scores, newspaper accounts, production materials, and advertisements, I examine how music for Bernhardt stage dramas such as Théodora, Cléopâtre, Phèdre, and La belle au bois dormant compares and contrasts with accompaniments for her silent films such as Camille, Queen Elizabeth, Jeanne Doré, and Les mères françaises. Through this case study, I hope to provide a more nuanced perspective of the historical lineage between nineteenth-century stage music and early cinema practice.

The O'Neill: The Transformation of Modern American Theater

Conflicts may be triggered by various factors. When not managed can lead to conflict escalation. This paper interrogates the theatrical performances of Christ Chosen Vessels (CCV), a Christian Drama Ministry. Scholars have established theatrical performances remain a tool for change. However, there is limited literature on the role of theatrical performances in peace and conflict studies. This paper analyses the conflict triggers in the theatrical performances of CCV. This study is guided by social identity theory by Henri Tajfel. It adopted qualitative research and case study design. Primary sources of data include KII (2); IDI (2); police reports; and video CDs (3) of selected performances of CCV. Secondary sources include books, journals and theses. Descriptive methods were used to analyze data. Findings showed religious codes, language, characterization, and costume served as conflict triggers. It was concluded that theatrical performances can trigger conflicts. This paper recommends theatrical artists must consider the sensitivity of others in the process of creativity in respect of diversity for peaceful coexistence.