"Diagramming” [Dance] Dramaturgy: Framing Dramaturgical Thinking Through Châtelet’s Concept Of Virtuality

Abstract

This research engages in a dialogue between discourses of contemporary dramaturgy and the concept of virtuality as introduced by mathematician philosopher Gilles Châtelet. Several threads of thought in contemporary dramaturgy indicate an increasing focus on the motion-like qualities of process-based dramaturgical practices and move away from text-based or concept-based approaches. They argue for the re-evaluation of existing analytical tools that can introduce new mode of thinking that is required to engage with its increasing complexity and the new methods of making performances. The role that concepts of motion and movement occupy in dramaturgical discourses create the need to write about the practice of dramaturgy in a way that acknowledges the specificities and the creative potential of movement. This research argues that a conceptual analysis of Gilles Châtelet’s virtuality and the mode of thinking it implies introduces the basis for a proposed theoretical framework which can address some aspects of the motion-like qualities of contemporary dramaturgical practice. More specifically, Châtelet’s work, brings forward a mode of knowledge production that emphasizes the value of embodied action that has the potential to activate thinking processes that are employed in order to theorize phenomena in motion through the practice of diagrammatic writing.

This research explores the complexity of defining dramaturgy and the role of the dramaturg in the creative process. To further address these issues, it focuses on the subfield of dance dramaturgy which provides valuable insights due to dance’s special attention towards movement and its role in the history of dramaturgy. It analyses the relationship between the different ways in which language and movement are used in the creative process, which consequently brings into question the theory-practice binary that has dominated the practice since its conception. This thesis proposes a shift from the theory-practice binary, towards an understanding of dramaturgical practice that operates between potentiality and processes of actualization, using virtuality as the theoretical backdrop. Ultimately, it is argued that in order to address the complexities of contemporary dramaturgy, it is constructive to move away from working towards defining what dramaturgy is and instead focus on the mode of thinking that emerges in dramaturgical practices, the embodied qualities of the practice and how they can be manifested through the role of the dramaturg.