ABSTRACT
Within the array of contemporary dramaturgies, developmental dramaturgy for physical and experimental theatre has been the most elusive subject of examination. As hybrid genres push the boundaries of rehearsal and performance, attracting collective devising and limitless possibilities of multidisciplinary art forms, the target and scope of dramaturgy often dissolve into the process of theatre-making and conceptualization, among other production needs. Such “borderless” dramaturgy, discussed in this chapter, involved the author’s dramaturgical work for the experimental performance of Ecocentric by Overground Physical Theatre Company, which premiered at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center June 21–22, 2012. The production experience outlined the challenges and opportunities of constructing a complex and multisensory performance that drew on the genre of dance theatre (Tanztheater): a postmodern fusion of dance, speaking, singing, props, set, and costume, developed by Pina Bausch at Wuppertal Dance Company in the 1970s. Rooted in the aesthetics of German Expressionism, Rudolf Steiner’s eurythmics, and modern ballet, Tanztheater was also inspired by the 1960s American avant-garde theatre. With its non-hierarchical composition that blends dramatic text, choreography, and art, dance theatre sets specific dramaturgical goals in aiding the dialog among text, stage, and audiences. The main developmental aspects of dramaturgy include a rather subtle orchestration of performative signs, instead of the establishment of a firm dramatic composition, and transpositions of poetic and “sacred” meanings in the text and stage imagery, instead of their validation through storytelling or within a larger historical-theoretical discourse. In the polyphonic structure of Ecocentric, that “subtle dramaturgy” engaged a deeper investigation as well as limitless interpretations of the subjects of nature and ecology.
