| Title | 2. Dramaturgical Analysis |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | A Relational Approach |
| Contributor | Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink(author) |
| Sigrid Merx(author) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0469.02 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0469/chapters/10.11647/obp.0469.02 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Liesbeth Groot Nibbelin; Sigrid Merx; |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2025-10-24 |
| Long abstract | In this contribution, the authors present a relational approach to dramaturgical analysis. Dramaturgical analysis is a particular form of performance analysis, used to examine performances from a dramaturgical perspective, with the aim to highlight and analyse dramaturgical strategies at work in performances, installations, artworks, and other events. This methodology of dramaturgical analysis has been developed in the context of research and teaching at the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University, and in response to nearby dramaturgical practices in contemporary theatre and dance. In their approach to dramaturgical analysis, the authors distinguish three planes of dramaturgy, namely: principles of composition, modes of addressing the spectator and ways in which a performance relates to wider social and artistic contexts, while also emphasising the inherent relationality of these aspects. In combining these elements, dramaturgical analysis launches another triad of terms, which supports further inquiry into aspects of spectatorship, situatedness, and how a performance event may deliver a certain ‘statement’. This contribution advocates for an understanding of dramaturgy as an extremely useful perspective for analysing not only artistic processes but also societal or even behavioural processes; the proposed approach also supports the analysis of, for instance, the dramaturgy of urban spaces, classrooms, climate conferences, or presidential elections. |
| Page range | pp. 43–66 |
| Print length | 24 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink is an Assistant Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies at the Media and Culture Studies Department of Utrecht University. She was the programme coordinator of the Master’s programme in Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy (2014-2024) and teaches in various BA and MA programmes. Her research interests include the intersection of dramaturgy and scenography, performance philosophy, ecology and new materialism. She is the author of Nomadic Theatre: Mobilizing Theory and Practice on the European Stage (Bloomsbury 2019) and has contributed to (among others) The Routledge Companion to Contemporary European Theatre and Performance (2023), Rancière and Performance (Rowman & Littlefield 2021) and Thinking Through Theatre and Performance (Bloomsbury 2019) and Intermedial Performance and Politics in the Public Sphere (Routledge 2018). She currently works on a book on simulation, speculation and futurity in contemporary European dramaturgy (with Sigrid Merx). She is a co-founder of Platform-Scenography and incidentally works as an artistic coach and dramaturgy adviser.
Sigrid Merx is an Associate Professor in Theatre and Performance Studies and currently the Director of Education at the department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University. Her research interests include contemporary dramaturgy, socially engaged performance and performance in public space. Her current research focuses on creative research methods. Sigrid is co-lead of the research group [urban interfaces] and the Creative Humanities Academy. She is co-editor of a special issue on Urban Interfaces: Media, Art, and Performance in Public Space (Leonardo Almanac, 2019) and on Creative Urban Methods (Mediapolis, 2023). She currently works on a book on simulation, speculation and futurity in contemporary dramaturgy, which addresses the re-use and re-valuation of fiction and imagination in contemporary European theatre and performance (with Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink).