Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Theatre and Performance
Advisor
Jean Graham-Jones
Committee Members
Peter Eckersall
Christa Salamandra
Subject Categories
Anthropology | Arts and Humanities | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Justice | Theatre and Performance Studies
Keywords
documentary theatre, rehearsal studies, war, devised theatre, practice as research
Abstract
Beautiful Resistance: Nonfiction Theatre Rehearsal Processes, Politics, and Prefiguration in War examines nonfiction theatre rehearsals and devising processes in and about conflict and war. I use the term “nonfiction” to refer to the vast body of collaborative theatre, facilitation, movement, puppet, and performance practices, knowledges, and techniques included under the capacious umbrella of “theatre of the real.” I propose that nonfiction theatre rehearsals are sites of prefiguration, possessing the potential to create a space where systemically oppressed communities can build alternative futures in the present. While there are multiple frameworks for understanding prefigurative politics, within this dissertation, I employ the definition from sociologist Carl Boggs, who understands prefiguration as “the deliberate experimental implementation of desired future social relations and practices in the here-and-now.” This dissertation aims to contribute knowledge that strengthens rehearsal processes in scholarship and practice. In chapter one, I look at the three separate case studies located in Palestine, Lebanon, and the United States to ask how youth theatres in regions of active war draw upon rehearsals to imagine alternatives to current events and the impact the theatrical process has on participants beyond the respective project. In chapter two, I look at a theatrical collaboration between Native American and Palestinian artists to ask how and what shared languages around settler colonialism, occupation, and empire created in the rehearsal room can be applied to life outside of the theater. Finally, in chapter three, I ask how theatrical rehearsal processes can be used to assist communities in understanding the connections between state violence, white supremacy, and colonialism and a rehearsal’s strengths and limitations for organizing artists to mobilize against systems of oppression. Ultimately, this dissertation considers the potential of the rehearsal room as a tool in prefigurative world-building.
Recommended Citation
Marinaccio, Ash, "Beautiful Resistance: Nonfiction Theatre Rehearsal Processes, Politics, and Prefiguration in War" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5810
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Included in
Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Theatre and Performance Studies Commons