Skool Projects.doc

I never know how much to write about what's going on academically (know your audience, they say) but this post will give you something of an idea of the type of work I'm up to here at Warwick. I figure posts of this nature balance the 'this is where I traveled' or 'this is where we had a few pints' type of entries. Now that the first five weeks of lectures and seminars are over, we are beginning to focus on the final group presentations which will happen in five weeks time. This past Friday we were to present two abstracts to our class relating to two of the three modalities we've been working in this term: scholarship, curation, and creative practice. Here are my two abstracts which I treated more or less like project proposals - I focused in on creative practice and curation (I did enough scholarship at UofT)

i) CREATIVE PRACTICE
Staging Symbiosis: “The Archive and the Repertoire” in Studio

Finding inspiration from the research of Diana Taylor, this study seeks to examine the relationship between the archive and the repertoire using a research as practice model.

While the group may have a working knowledge of the outlined terms, this study seeks to transplant the concepts from the page and “put them on their feet” and “into dialogue” in a studio setting.  Diana Taylor states:

The relationship between the archive and the repertoire, 

as I see it, is certainly not sequential…nor is it true versus false, 

mediated versus unmediated, primordial versus modern. Nor is 

it binary…We need not polarize the relationship between these

different kinds of knowledge to acknowledge they have often

proved antagonistic in the struggle for cultural survival or 

supremacy.

Taylor indicates how one should avoid characterizing the links between the archive and the repertoire – the exchange is fraught with complexity. The space of negotiation ‘in between’ the archive and the repertoire seems to defy definition. How might we visualize this relationship between the archive and the repertoire? How does an item move from the repertoire into the archive and is the process a violent one? How has the continued privileging of the archive threatened the repertoire?

I propose looking at the relationship symbiotically – defined as the cohabitation of two dissimilar organisms. In psychiatry, this is characterized as “a relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.” How might a concept like symbiosis enhance our understanding of the relationship between the archive and the repertoire? Experimentations, responses, and an “in studio” working out of this concept – ideally using a variety of forms of expression such as movement, sound, light, images, bodies in space, multimedia explorations, video, etc. – would seek to address the initial questions. The final phase is the dissemination of research through practice (not necessarily a show but maybe a workshop, an interaction with an audience, or an experiment)

Symbiosis is just an example of how a group might address the topic of staging the relationship between the archive and the repertoire. The methodology for this study would ideally follow the four phases mentioned above: research questions to be addressed, theorizing responses, experimentation, and dissemination.
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ii) CURATION

Curating for the “Imagined Community”: Examining the Curatorial Practices of ‘National Theatres’ in Relation to the Thematic of Reception

This study seeks to explore the curating, archiving, and programming practices of “National” theatres.

Schiller states, “A standing theatre would be a material advantage to a nation. It would have a great influence on the national temper and mind by helping the nation to agree in opinions and inclinations.” Schiller proposes harnessing the collective nature of the theatre for political purposes – namely, unity and solidarity, the creation of a collective identity, and nation building. His characterization highlights the problematic concept of a ‘National” theatre and raises a host of questions concerning its formation and execution: How does a “National” theatre position itself and its goals in relation to the citizens it claims to represent? How does it present concepts of history, memory, and identity in relation to the nation? How does a publically funded theatre negotiate its relationship with the state and avoid censorship? And most importantly, is a “National” theatre a “material advantage to a nation” as Schiller claims?

Interacting with the above becomes possible when the theoretical questions are put into practice through an examination of the curatioral, archival, and programming practices of “National” theatres. I propose to approach this examination with focus on the thematic of reception. How is performance from a “National” theatre received as an expression of collective identity and history? And how does the theatre program its material in relation to Benedict Anderson's "imagined communities"?

The methodology for this study is threefold. First, the members of the group will research the “National” theatre of their homeland (if one is present) and draw conclusions about their programming, curating, and archiving methodologies. After sharing their findings with the group, members will work together in deconstructing the concept of a “National” theatre and its complexities. The third and most important phase is the dissemination of their findings - a presentation of the concepts surrounding the curation and programming of “National” theatres (ideally using a research in practice model) that has been informed by their research and discussion.
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In the end, the instructors had to negotiate the proposals of all thirteen students into the forming of three groups each with its own modality. My proposal fit most with the other students who presented proposals relating to curation. We now have the task of merging aspects of our projects together and creating some type of performance or presentation relating to curation - the ideas thus far are to curate an exhibit for an imagined season of work at a well know theatre, deconstruct the idea of the 'National theatre' and its curatorial practices, create an exhibit for a performance that never happens yet publicize as if it will, or imagine a fictionalized utopian society and the creation of its art - where does the idea of curating and programming art for a Nation come from?

Doc's Prescription of the Day: Collaboration is essential to the success of future projects. If you have any thoughts about curation, programming, and archiving of theatre in relation the concept of the 'Nation' please feel free to make suggestions.