“The study of theatre
history and historiography is something of an adventure, not so much a survey
of what was, as an investigation of what might have been. It is about questions not answers and it
should continually allow new approaches and new possibilities.”
--Jim Davis, Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, p. 97.
This fall, my article “Reflections on the 2012 Institute on
Roman Comedy and Performance:
Revising the Procedures of the National Endowment for the
Humanities through Theatre Production as Research and Pedagogy “ will be
published in the journal Theatre/Practice. In this piece, I discuss the work of the
institute through a performance as research lens.
Although the institute was not officially classified as
“performance as research” or “PAR,” I
argue in my writing that the categorization fits. Throughout the program, we participants combined traditional methods of
research such as close reading of primary texts with exercises in live
performance that brought a physicalized, “human” element to the work. Drawing on my own experiences, accounts from
fellow participants, and the PAR scholarship of Baz Kershaw, Robin Nelson, Ian
Watson and others, I discuss the ways in which embodied engagement with
Classical texts suggests potential insights into ancient practices and offers
guideposts to how these plays may be performed today.
While I admit to previously tending to view PAR with some
skepticism, my work with the Roman comedy program has changed my outlook
considerably. I believe that an approach
to history afforded by PAR can be quite fruitful, whether in the classroom, on
the stage, or in a hybrid space that combines both. As evidence, I conclude my article by
reflecting upon my work developing an ecofeminist script adaptation of Pericles:
Prince of Tyre at Simpson College near Des Moines, IA. As the director, I utilized the performance-as-research skillset that I developed
at the NEH performance institute in order to stage this late Shakespearean play
with undergraduate students.
Sara Hill as
Gower, the narrator/the goddess Diana in Pericles
at Simpson College; March 2015. Photo by Luke Behaunek.
11/4/15 update: the PDF of this now-published article can be downloaded here:
http://www.theatrepractice.us/current.html
11/4/15 update: the PDF of this now-published article can be downloaded here:
http://www.theatrepractice.us/current.html
