Dramaturgical analysis: A relational approach

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.