y separately published work icon Australasian Drama Studies periodical issue   peer reviewed assertion
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... no. 82 1 April 2023 of Australasian Drama Studies est. 1982 Australasian Drama Studies
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A colleague recently confessed in a seminar that they had begun as a researcher in order to garner the resources to embark on a creative work that they had long wanted to tackle, and then ‘fallen in love with research’. This narrative echoes my own, and that of many fine scholars in our discipline. We begin by wanting to make something and  emerge  with  a  fascination  for  how  things  are  made,  why  they  are made, where they sit in the context of contemporary practice and theory, where they are located culturally and geographically, and how they propel forward the quantum of knowledge in our discipline. The articles in this general issue are testament to the range of  forms  and  approaches  to  performance  currently  live  in  our  region,  and to the range of perspectives that can illuminate the expanding field of performance scholarship. As well, we have tested a change of format  in  which  we  publish  articles  of   conventional  length,  several  shorter articles and bracket the issue with two ‘provocations’, offered as departure points for future discussion.' (Yoni Prior , Editorial introduction)

Notes

  • Contents indexed selectively.

Contents

* Contents derived from the 2023 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Provocation #1 Why I Make Theatre : For Now - a Theatre of the Every Day, Raimondo Cortese , single work criticism
'Within the everyday, performance arises as a constant struggle of asserting the self within the social domain that places constraints on individual expression. Every person and environment imposes a particular brand of civilising influence, requires specific performative protocols or conventions that are measured during everyday interaction. As with an actor on stage, the performer within the everyday endures the fear of being unmasked, of hidden agendas and desires being revealed. Everyday interactions must appear natural and unrehearsed. An individual in the everyday is usually expected to keep most of their thoughts private; they are required to take responsibility for their impulses. Signs of vulnerability should be kept at bay. The everyday environment, as with conventional theatre, is governed by learned rules and protocols that ensure anarchic impulses are contained within clear parameters. Yet the field of the everyday is filled with exceptions. On continuous display is the over-riding desire of people to connect with each other in profound ways, an instinctive and all-pervading spirit that 'jolts the audience' and nullifies social restrictions that stymie genuine contact.' 

(Publication abstract)

(p. 5-12)
'Brave Space' : Investigating Consent and Boundaries as a Framework for Culturally Safe Collaborative Arts Practice, Sarah Austin , Isabella Vadiveloo , single work criticism

'The term 'cultural safety' has been a part of discourse and pedagogy in health and healthcare for close to thirty years, and in the last five years there is evidence of the term's being used in a range of paradigms, including allied health, education and design, engineering and workplace relations. In each of these contexts, cultural safety is understood as an empowering and transformative process for interrogating the architecture of systems that have been structured by white supremacist, cis-hetero, patriarchal and ableist paradigms. The work and practice of cultural safety requires those within the systems to scrutinise how they are complicit in upholding power structures and causing harm to those excluded or oppressed. Cultural safety is therefore, in part, a strategy to dismantle existing structures and support the provision of environments that are spiritually, socially and emotionally, as well as physically, safe for people, 'where there is no assault or challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are or what they need'.' (Publication abstract)

(p. 48 - 76)
A Play Wright in Exile : Mammad Aidani, Russell Fewster , single work criticism
'Mammad Aidani's books, such as Narrative and Violence: Ways of Suffering Amongst Iranian Men in Diaspora, and plays, such as In the Mirror [La Mama 2021] and I Said This to the Bird [IPCS 2022 and La Mama 2023], explore what it is to be displaced in the modern world. For Aidani, the experience is one of 'catastrophe' and he argues that there is a compelling need for greater national and international recognition of the challenges of exile. Nonetheless, his works seek to find the humanity within exile, and explore what hope emerges when the need for human fellowship is realised.' 

(Publication abstract)

(p. 201-228)
Provocation #2 Brisbane Festival's Hyperlocal Hope : The Dramaturgical Feat of Live and In-person Programming during COVID-19, Hannah-Leigh Mason , single work criticism
'Cancellations and online pivots predominated the festival industry at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, some festivals just scraped through with their 2020 programmes; Sydney Festival and Adelaide Festival ran during January and early March, respectively. Many other festivals, however, faced significant institutional changes. While online pivots became the norm, some festivals shifted from an international to a local approach. Darwin Festival reimagined its scale and scope to offer a hyperlocal programme in August 2020. Brisbane Festival then followed suit in September 2020. Given that health directives in the Northern Territory and Queensland were not as restrictive as those of other states at this time,1 the Festivals had the capacity for delivering in-person programmes. Darwin Festival, however, incorporated online elements to become more of a hybrid event. In this article, I focus on Brisbane Festival, as it programmed a fully in-person event. Such programming raises questions about the efficacy of a hyperlocal approach. How does the rapid shift to hyperlocal programming impact a previously international festival? More specifically, how does it affect the Festival's organisational aims? As hyperlocal festivals are strictly community focused, they tend to support artists and arts workers within a restricted geographical reach, such as a single neighbourhood, suburb or city. Per the definition provided by Emily T. Metzgar et al., 'hyperlocal' connotes the production of community-oriented and original content that promotes civic engagement.2 While the term originated in journalism, hyperlocal programming has since proliferated in the festival industry. In the wake of the pandemic, this programming has, according to Stephanie Convery, reflected 'a renewed consciousness of physical proximity, of boundaries'.3 Essentially, hyperlocal programming highlights the intimate relationship between a festival and its host place. For Brisbane Festival 2020, prioritising hyperlocal ideals arguably strengthened its relationship with the Brisbane community. In this provocation, however, I propose that while the Festival's hyperlocal programming was successful in managing COVID-19 restrictions to facilitate in-person connection, it prompted a major dramaturgical shift that deviated from the Festival's mission of participating in global conversations - that is, engaging international artists to bring global stories to Brisbane.' 

(Publication abstract)

(p. 229-236)
[Review] Staging a Revolution : When Betty Rocked the Pram, Verity Laughton , single work review
— Review of Staging a Revolution : When Betty Rocked the Pram Kath Kenny , 2022 multi chapter work criticism ;
(p. 260-266)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Last amended 1 Aug 2023 11:08:39
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