Overview

This book argues that dramaturgy makes things visible and does so in two distinct and interrelating ways: creative processes and formal elements of performance are rendered visible and readable; and performance dramaturgy becomes an expanded practice in which performance is a locus for creating wide-ranging events and activities. This exploration defines dramaturgy as a perceptibly transforming agency in the construction, presentation and reception of contemporary performance; and it shows how contemporary performance has an intrinsic dramaturgical aspect whose proliferation of dramaturgical practices has led to a far-reaching reinvention of what contemporary theatre is. In doing so, this book deals with a careful selection of performance practices, including theatrical adaptations, new media dramaturgy, contemporary dance, installation-performance, postdramatic theatre, visionary works by auteurs, and revivals of well-known stage shows. This study will be of great interest to students and scholars in theater studies, performance studies, cultural studies, curating, and dance scholarship.

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9780367757571

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Reviews

‘’This book is not only essential and important but also poetic and enlightening. It takes the reader on a gently, stimulating, and challenging walk: Starting with Marianne van Kerkhoven, passing Hans-Thies Lehmann and finding its way through academic thinking, artistic practices towards a notion of new dramaturgy that exposes itself as structural thinking in and beyond contemporary performances. The modesty, experience, humanity, and criticality of the writer meet in this work in a most rare way – and makes the reading a wise guide in this endless dialogue called dramaturgy. It is an honor to have such generous companions in the field.’’ Imanuel Schipper, Senior Lecturer for Contemporary Performance & Dramaturgy, Uniarts Helskini and longtime Dramaturg for Rimini Protokoll. ‘’This expansive and engaging book offers readers an opportunity to think deeply about the importance of new dramaturgy for Performance Studies. Drawing on and expanding Marianne van Kerhoven’s ideas, Eckersall invites the reader to consider, via his engagement with a series of key artists and works, the intertwined relationships between dramaturgy, art, and society. In the process he makes a bold claim for the value of dramaturgical thinking in understanding how performance can both appreciate and intervene in the status quo to inspire new forms of practice and thought.’’ Helena Grehan, Professor, Murdoch University, Australia ‘’This book is a timely invitation to attend with care and criticality to the deep demands of performance making in a precarious contemporary moment. Drawing from his extensive scholarship and practice, Eckersall explicates and interrogates varied ways in which dramaturgical thinking and doing generate exacting possibilities, exploring why and how dramaturgs provide provocation and support, often invisibly, to make visible the complex crux of art.’’ Charlene Rajendran, Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Co-Director of the Asian Dramaturgs' Network.

Author Information

Peter Eckersall is a professor in performance studies at the Graduate Centre, City University of New York. His research interests include Japanese performance, and dramaturgy and contemporary performance. Recent publications include Okada Toshiki and Japanese Theatre (coedited, 2021), Curating Dramaturgies (coedited, Routledge 2021), and New Media Dramaturgy: Performance, Media, and New-Materialism (coauthored, 2017). He is cofounder and dramaturg of the Melbourne-based performance group Not Yet It’s Difficult.

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