ABSTRACT
New dramaturgy is a development upon the rich history of dramaturgical practice established within the theatre. Rather than breaking with tradition it experiments with the tradition’s fundamental principles in contexts outside of theatre. Marianne van Kerkhoven describes new dramaturgy as the practice of looking at the “internal structure of a production,” while Elinor Fuchs sees it as examining “the organic structures of the performance.” 1 The taking up of dramaturgical practice in the production of non-text based performance and art events has motivated theatre artists to understand the cohesion of their work in light of these fundamental principles and sensibilities. New dramaturgy is a movement away from prioritizing the play text towards the democratic inclusion of the visual, physical, spatial, sonic, and virtual. Resistance to linear, plot-driven narratives with neat character arcs is historically found in the deconstructive and reconstructive strategies of performance makers labeled as postdramatic and throughout twentieth-century avant-garde theatre. 2 With the help of new technologies, interactions between the visual, physical, spatial, sonic, and virtual in performance have taken on further structural complexity for the maker and audience. These events induce a range of hybrid experiences for the audience member that involves the body’s entire sensorium. 3 Dealing with a rich layering of non-textual elements, the question of how to approach performance-making that is hybrid in nature becomes paramount.
