Thinking Through Matter Together - On interdisciplinary collaborations in theatre that propose ways of becoming-with between humans and robots

Abstract

A growing interest for the meaning-making abilities of material technologies have been implemented in a theatre praxis where a technological performer can take place in the spotlight. The performative and new materialistic turn in dramaturgy both rethink the role of the human in relation to the non- human. The idea of thinking as a material practice is a useful lens when zooming in on the insights processes might offer on becoming-with. This thesis positions itself in the context of new materialism, and specifically the work of Karen Barad around intra-action and Donna Haraway on becoming-with. It seeks to understand how collaborators in a theatrical process work with robots in order to rethink new ways of becoming-with. The thesis is built around two case studies, the making of Happiness (2019) by Dries Verhoeven and Uncanny Valley (2018) by Rimini Protokoll. An exploration of new materialist concepts, operationalized by involving the concept of collaboration, leads up to the topics that form the outlines of six semi-structured interviews. In these interviews, diverse collaborators that worked on the two performances with robots are surveyed on their experience and perspective on becoming-with and collaboration. The conversations are analyzed with the use of a dramaturgical lens. This dramaturgical lens, drawn from the work of dramaturgs Konstantina Georgelou, Efrosini Protopapa, and Danae Theodoridou, offers three key principles that signal a working force in a process. The analysis lays bare what themes and perspectives are shared amongst the collaborators, when the key principles allow them to engage in a conversation on becoming-with and collaboration.