Kris Plummer Thesis

Contemporary Dramaturgy in Theatre For Young People: The Conceptual Shape of Displacement and Installation Kris Bronwyn Plummer Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Diploma of Education (Secondary) Master of Education (Creative Arts) Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Performance Studies August 2009 Submitted in full requirement for the award of IF49 Doctor of Philosophy Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank the following people whose support has enabled me to complete this study. Principal Supervisor and mentor: Dr Brad Haseman TJ Eckleberg and staff at Shopfront Theatre, Sydney Kristo Šagor and staff at Schnawwl Theatre, Mannheim Henning Fangauf and staff at KJTZ, Frankfurt-am-Main Associate Supervisor: Dr Sandra Gattenhof CI Research: Jenny Mayes, Ellen Thompson, Leanne Blazely, Tahlia Rose. Special thanks to: Jan Plummer, Sharon Edgley, Ron Dalgleish, Benjamin Knapton. 2 Prologue: The Drop of Water Why, then, do I work in a way which may bring me distress, cause me unease or wound me or my companions? In order to create a work that lives and stands alone, that belongs to me, in which I recognize myself, yet which does not need my presence to go on existing in the senses, the memory, and the actions of others. In order to give the spectators something to remember even after they have forgotten it. Because I long for the bare and essential action: the drop of water that makes the jar run over. Eugenio Barba ‘The Deep Order Called Turbulence: The Three Faces of Dramaturgy.’ The Drama Review , 44 (4): 56-66. 3 Table of Contents Keywords ....................................................................................................8 Abstract.......................................................................................................9 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................10 Glossary of Terms.....................................................................................11 Statement of Original Authorship.............................................................12 Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................13 1. Orientation ...........................................................................................................13 2. Background and Rationale...................................................................................15 3. Scoping the Inquiry..............................................................................................16 4. Research Questions..............................................................................................17 5. Structure of the Thesis .........................................................................................17 6. Significance of the Study.....................................................................................19 Chapter Two: Literature Review ..............................................................20 A. Contemporary Theatre For Young People...........................................20 1. Introduction: Theatre for and Theatre by Young People .....................................20 2. Australian Theatre for Young People ..................................................................22 a. Terrain and Traditions................................................................................................. 22 b. The Transition to Contemporary Performance ........................................................... 24 c. The Transition to Contemporary Arts Centres............................................................ 26 3. German Kinder - und Jugendtheater....................................................................28 a. Terrain and Traditions................................................................................................. 28 b. An Opening of the Repertory...................................................................................... 31 c. The Development of ‘Junges Theater’ and Collaborative Process ............................. 32 d. An Opening of the Ensemble...................................................................................... 35 e. The Development of Interdisciplinarity...................................................................... 36 f. Development of Multimedia Innovation ..................................................................... 38 4. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................39 B. Dramaturgy...........................................................................................42 1. What is Dramaturgy? ...........................................................................................42 a. What of the drama -turgy?........................................................................................... 42 b. Where are the Drama–turg -ies?.................................................................................. 44 2. Who is the Dramaturg? ........................................................................................51 a. The Historical Legacy................................................................................................. 51 b. Current Practice: Intercultural Perspectives................................................................ 52 3. Dramaturgies : An Australian, Practice-Led Appraisal .......................................53 a. The Dramaturg as Facilitator: Four Interpretive Spheres ........................................... 55 b. The Dramaturg as Articulator, Curator and Questioner.............................................. 57 c. The Dramaturg as Advocate and Interventionist ........................................................ 58 d. The Dramaturg as Midwife between Practice and Theory ......................................... 59 4. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................59 C. Contemporary Performance: a Postdramatic Terrain ..........................61 1. Reaching Towards a New Milennium .................................................................61 4 a. The Real and the Represented..................................................................................... 61 b. The Performance as Text............................................................................................ 62 c. The Dramaturgy of Process......................................................................................... 62 d. The Valorization of the Theatrical.............................................................................. 63 2. Postdramatic Theatre ...........................................................................................64 a. Post–the-dramatic ....................................................................................................... 64 b. Articulating the Theatre/Performance Aesthetics....................................................... 65 3. Deconstructing the Dramatic: Postdramatic Gestures .........................................66 a. Hypernaturalism: When Signs overtake Characters ................................................... 67 b. Irruption of the Real: Unplugging the Artifice ........................................................... 70 c. The A-Thetic: A Refusal to Resolve........................................................................... 71 4. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................73 5. Addressing the Gap in the Literature...................................................................75 Chapter Three: Research Methodology, Design and Implementation .....76 1. Introduction: Statement on Qualitative Research ................................................76 2. Interpretive Paradigm: Constructivism................................................................77 3. Methodology........................................................................................................78 2. Research Strategies ..............................................................................................79 a. Grounded Theory........................................................................................................ 79 b. The Reflective Practitioner ......................................................................................... 81 c. Case Studies................................................................................................................ 81 5. Ethical Considerations .........................................................................................82 6. Research Design...................................................................................................84 a. Data Collection in the Field: Case Study One ............................................................ 85 b. Data Collection in the Field: Case Study Two............................................................ 87 c. Data Analysis.............................................................................................................. 90 8. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................92 Chapter Four: The Research Lens - Practitioner Case Studies.................93 1. Introduction..........................................................................................................93 2. TJ Eckleberg (Australia)......................................................................................93

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