The DRAWN ABSENCE: An Embodied Spectatorial Encounter with the Post- dramatic Scenographic Drawing Susan Field (Sue Field) A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Art & Design Faculty of Art & Design September 2018 1 Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Inclusion of Publications Statement Originality/ Copyright/ Authenticity Statement Acknowledgments I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to both my extraordinary supervisors Associate Professor, Dr Vaughan Dai Rees, Associate Dean International/Engagement in the Faculty of Art & Design and Dr Michael Garbutt Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Art & Design. A very, very special thanks to my father Dr Geoffrey Field, my mother Janice Field and my daughter Lucy because without their unrelenting support this amazing journey would never have happened. In the spirit of a theatre-going spectator, this was a long and challenging quest in pursuit of adventure and discovery, of wonder and astonishment. 2 Abstract My scenographic design and art practice are inextricably linked: one informs the other. Both are supported by drawing as a process and as an artefact. My practice- based research was undertaken to investigate unexplored intersections between the scenographic drawing, post-dramatic theatre, and expanded drawing as an art practice. My primary aim was to create a hybrid genre which manifests a mobile spectatorial experience through an embodied sensory encounter with an absent presence. This is presented as an expanded drawn work, underpinned by scenographic tropes and associated with the immersive, spectator-centric space of post-dramatic theatre. In other-words, the spectatorial presence is prioritised over narrative meaning, plot structure, and the presence or absence of the ‘actor’. The ghostly presence inherent within the expanded drawn space provokes a ‘heightened awareness for one’s own presence’.1 The spectator’s encounter with this absent presence within the expanded drawn space becomes a form of post-dramatic theatre. My research investigates the nature of this experience and the ways in which it can be enriched through creative engagement, thereby developing and deepening my practice, and providing insights into the spectatorial presence and gaze.2 In this context, my thesis is driven by a single question which is of growing significance for the contemporary practice and understanding of the fields of scenography, post-dramatic theatre, and expanded drawing: How can a drawing, underpinned by post-dramatic scenographic strategies, produce a spectatorial encounter with an absent presence? 1 (Lehmann 2006) 122 2 (Field 2016) 11 3 The scholarly interrogation of my drawn works, underpinned by the research question, enhances and contextualises both my scenographic and my art practice. This research employs a reflective model which I have identified as the transformative spiral of research. The model produces a means to frame and drive experimentation and testing, adopting cycles of making and reflecting so that a spiral of knowledge and understanding is constantly evolving. The research methods, primarily freehand drawing, performative writing, the monologue, and the scenographic scale model, propel the research through multiple iterative processes in the creative production. Therefore, what results from this research is not a definitive answer, but rather a proposal presenting possibilities for future scholarly endeavour. It is this outcome that presents a new starting point to rethink the expanded drawn space. Keywords Scenographic drawing, post-dramatic theatre, expanded drawing, spectatorship, absent presence, thinking drawing, scenographic model. 4 Table of contents The DRAWN ABSENCE: An Embodied Spectatorial Encounter with the Post- dramatic Scenographic Drawing ...................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 3 Table of contents ................................................................................................................... 5 List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER ONE: Drawn to the Stage .............................................................................. 33 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 34 1.2 Scenography ............................................................................................................... 35 1.3 Scenographic drawing ................................................................................................. 36 1.4 The thinking drawing .................................................................................................. 41 1.5 The scenographic thinking drawing ............................................................................ 44 1.6 The Peacham Drawing ................................................................................................ 45 1.7 The Curse of the House of Atreus ................................................................................ 46 1.8 The Oresteia ................................................................................................................ 51 1.9 The scenographic autonomous drawing ..................................................................... 55 1.10 An emergent field: expanded drawing ..................................................................... 57 1.11 TRACEY: Drawing and Visualisation Research ........................................................... 59 1.12 Key practitioner in the field of expanded drawing ................................................... 62 1.13 The field of post-dramatic theatre ............................................................................ 64 1.14 Defining post-dramatic theatre ................................................................................ 66 1.15 Anti-theatricality ....................................................................................................... 68 1.16 Theatricality .............................................................................................................. 70 1.17 Drawn beyond the fourth wall .................................................................................. 71 1.18 Albertian one-point perspective ............................................................................... 71 1.19 De la poésie dramatique ........................................................................................... 74 1.20 The multiplication of frames ..................................................................................... 75 1.21 Punchdrunk ............................................................................................................... 75 1.22 All Of Me ................................................................................................................... 79 1.23 The ideal spectator in the post-dramatic space ........................................................ 83 1.24 Research Question .................................................................................................... 83 1.25 Thesis outline ............................................................................................................ 84 1.26 Drawing conclusions ................................................................................................. 87 CHAPTER TWO: Creating a Scene .................................................................................. 88 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 89 2.2 Transformative spiral of research ............................................................................... 89 2.3 Practice-based research as a reflective practice ......................................................... 90 2.4 Cognitive surprise ....................................................................................................... 91 2.5 The Double-loop of Learning ...................................................................................... 94 2.6 The double helix ......................................................................................................... 94 2.7 Paradoxical level-crossing feedback loop ................................................................... 95 5 2.8 Helical concept ............................................................................................................ 96 2.9 Research methods ...................................................................................................... 97 2.10 A taxonomy of post-dramatic scenographic strategies ............................................ 98 2.11 The sketch journal .................................................................................................... 99 2.12 The journal’s thinking drawing as the source of cognitive surprise ........................ 102 2.13 The ‘mind’s eye’ ...................................................................................................... 106 2.14 Performative Writing .............................................................................................