Connecting the Disconnected: New Media Dramaturgy and Migrant Identities in Virtual Migrant Theatre

Abstract

This thesis explores the connection between New Media Dramaturgy and migrant identities in virtual migrant theatre through Bloodlines (2022). Bloodlines is an interdisciplinary virtual artistic exploration of the Chinese identity by six artists across the Sinosphere. The creative group searches for the promise of "Chineseness" as an individual, cultural, and international identity connecting different parts of the world. Bloodlines is initiated by Cinthia Chen (Taiwan- American) and Sim Yan Ying (Singapore), along with four other Chinese from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and the US. This thesis maps the two major types of dramaturgies, New Media Dramaturgy and Dramaturgy of Migration, in attempt to establish a dramaturgical understanding of virtual migrant theatre. This thesis employs a theoretical framework that mentions the key authors across two fields, including Peter Eckersall, Steve Dixon, Yana Meerzon, Judith Rudakoff and Emma Cox. A dramaturgical analysis is conducted, following the relational approach proposed by Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink and Sigrid Merx. By employing the New Media Dramaturgy as a major composition strategy to foreground the migrant identities in virtual migrant theatre, I intend to develop a dramaturgical framework that contributes towards the understanding of the virtual migrant theatre. This is formed by connecting the relationships between virtual theatre and migrant identities-related issues and spectators. For my central case study, Bloodlines (2022), I conduct background research with contextual analysis regarding the performers’ in relations to the specific term “Chineseness”. This work contributes to the field of performance studies by drawing connections between virtual theatre, “Chineseness” and spectatorship, as a dramaturgical idea of virtual migrant theatre. This research thus aims to contribute towards the contemporary art field by suggesting another possible way of connecting the disconnected and communicating beyond the boundaries in order to give voice to the silenced.