Dramaturgy of Robots and Machines

It is undeniable that digital technologies transformed contemporary artistic practice and cultural production. Particularly in the field of the performing arts, technology changed the relationship with the public narrative processes, creating an avenue to investigate contemporary dramaturgical practices. This paper investigates the dramaturgical transformations as a result of the increasing use of robotics in performance with the support of theories of Marianne Van Kerkhoven (2009a; 2009b) Katalin Trencsényi, Bernadette Cochrane (Trencsényi & Cochrane 2014) and Peter Eckersall (Eckersall et all 2017). Based on this theoretical framework, this paper looks into themes and narrative strategies that explore the relationship and emotional connection between humans and robots. This is done through the analysis of the Hirata Oriza, Mari Velonaki, Blanca Li or Max Dean. To further the study of a dramaturgy of robots and machines, this paper analyses the concept systematurgy (Antúnez 2016), a methodology that provides an insight into Marcel-Lí Antúnez’s body of work. Systematurgy demonstrates how Antúnez articulates technology and machine-like elements within a dramaturgical process. Unlike traditional theatre, Antúnez’s dramaturgical model is not focused on the textual elements but integrates coding, image, drawing, robotic and mechanical elements into the narrative structures of performance.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Carla Capeto

Conference

Publication date: July 2020

Publication date (Print): July 2020

Pages: 336-340

Affiliations

[0001]Independent

43 Ollerton Green, E3 2LB London, UK

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.60

SO-VID: 28c6a3a2-bdb2-4cd1-b23e-031a2a9a8558

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of EVA London 2020

Conference acronym: EVA 2020

Conference number: 30

Conference location: London

Conference date: 6th July – 9th July 2020

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: AI and the Arts: Artificial Imagination

Product

Product Information: 1477-9358BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.60

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

REFERENCES

M. R Antúnez 2016 Sistematurgy Polígrafa Barcelona
BostonDynamics 2010 BigDog Overview (Updated March 2010) [online video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ 15th March 2020
K ČapekC Novack 2004 R.U.R. (Rossum’s universal robots) Penguin Books London
S Dixon 2007 Digital performance MIT Press Cambridge, MA
P Eckersall 2015 Towards a Dramaturgy of Robots and Object-Figures TDR/The Drama Review 59 3 123 131
P EckersallH GrehanE Scheer 2017 New Media Dramaturgy Palgrave MacMillan New York
A Heathield 2011 Dramaturgy without a dramaturge M BelliscoM.J CifuentesA Ecija Repensar la dramaturgia: errancia y transformación Seminario. Centro Párraga/CENCDOC Murcia
R. L Heilbroner 1994 Technological determinism revisited L Marx Does technology drive history? The dilemma of technological determinism MIT Press Cambridge, MA
H-T LehmannP Primavesi 2009 ‘Dramaturgy on Shifting Grounds’ Performance Research 14 3 3 6
M Masahiro 2012 The Uncanny Valley https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6213238 16 March 2020
G Pask 1964 Proposals for a Cybernetic Theatre http://www.pangaro.com/pask/ProposalCyberneticTheatrePask1964r.pdf 30 July 2015
J Pitches 2003 Vsevolod Meyerhold London Routledge
J Robertson 2018 Robo sapiens japanicus University of California Press Oakland, CA
K TrencsényiB Cochrane 2014 New dramaturgy: international perspectives on theory and practice Bloomsbury Publishing London
M Trimingham 2011 The theatre of the Bauhaus Routledge New York
M Van Kerkhoven 2009a European Dramaturgy in the 21^st Century Performance Research 14 3 7 11
M Van Kerkhoven 2009b Performance Research. On Dramaturgy: Notes on Contributors Performance Research 14 3 132 134

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] M. R Antúnez 2016 Sistematurgy Polígrafa Barcelona

[2] BostonDynamics 2010 BigDog Overview (Updated March 2010) [online video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ 15th March 2020

[3] K ČapekC Novack 2004 R.U.R. (Rossum’s universal robots) Penguin Books London

[4] S Dixon 2007 Digital performance MIT Press Cambridge, MA

[5] P Eckersall 2015 Towards a Dramaturgy of Robots and Object-Figures TDR/The Drama Review 59 3 123 131

[6] P EckersallH GrehanE Scheer 2017 New Media Dramaturgy Palgrave MacMillan New York

[7] A Heathield 2011 Dramaturgy without a dramaturge M BelliscoM.J CifuentesA Ecija Repensar la dramaturgia: errancia y transformación Seminario. Centro Párraga/CENCDOC Murcia

[8] R. L Heilbroner 1994 Technological determinism revisited L Marx Does technology drive history? The dilemma of technological determinism MIT Press Cambridge, MA

[9] H-T LehmannP Primavesi 2009 ‘Dramaturgy on Shifting Grounds’ Performance Research 14 3 3 6

[10] M Masahiro 2012 The Uncanny Valley https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6213238 16 March 2020

[11] G Pask 1964 Proposals for a Cybernetic Theatre http://www.pangaro.com/pask/ProposalCyberneticTheatrePask1964r.pdf 30 July 2015

[12] J Pitches 2003 Vsevolod Meyerhold London Routledge

[13] J Robertson 2018 Robo sapiens japanicus University of California Press Oakland, CA

[14] K TrencsényiB Cochrane 2014 New dramaturgy: international perspectives on theory and practice Bloomsbury Publishing London

[15] M Trimingham 2011 The theatre of the Bauhaus Routledge New York

[16] M Van Kerkhoven 2009a European Dramaturgy in the 21^st Century Performance Research 14 3 7 11

[17] M Van Kerkhoven 2009b Performance Research. On Dramaturgy: Notes on Contributors Performance Research 14 3 132 134