Race, Immigration, Technology and the Creative Process in Performance

This project is proposed as a first step to establish a strong collaboration between the Aesthetics of Performing and Spectacular Arts Department (EsPAS) headed by Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau at the ACTE Institute, a joint research center between CNRS and Sorbonne Paris 1, and the Theater and Performance Studies Department (TAPS) headed by Jennifer DeVere Brody at Stanford University, a collaboration we intend to pursue over the years. This collaboration will involve several permanent researchers and postdoctoral fellows from these research departments. It will be developed along the following research axes: 1) Race and Immigration in Performance: how are the themes of race and immigration treated in Performance? What is the political impact of performances dealing with race and immigration, and how do they shape our understanding of “minorities”? 2) The Impact of Technology on Performance: how is technology used in Performance and how does technology impact the aesthetics of Performance? 3) The Creative Process in Performance: how do artists work on a Performance? How does embodied research play a role in the creative process? We explore these three themes through joint colloquia, shared research programs and collaborative publications.