Master's thesis in theatre by Elisabeth Leinslie (2004)

Performance-teater og dramaturgi. Eksemplifisert ved Verdensteatrets forestilling Konsert For Grønland (literally: Performance theatre and dramaturgy. Exemplified through Verdensteatret's production Concert for Greenland). A master's thesis in theatre theory by Elisabeth Leinslie. Institute for music and theatre. The University of Oslo. The autumn of 2004.

The thesis examined which aesthetic and dramaturgic strategies and structures are employed in performance theatre of today, and which dramaturgic mindsets are the mindsets behind. The discourse regarding dramaturgic principles/strategies versus models/structures is a recurring theme for the thesis. The thesis uses a pragmatic approach to the field, with close look at the works.

Performance theatre is an art genre with a very diverse work practice. To make the material more scientifically manageable the basis is in one work: Verdensteatret's production Concert for Greenland.

After first discussing the historical roots of performance theatre in regard to aesthetic, dramaturgy and general artistic mindsets, the thesis explores the different levels of dramaturgic understanding the research tradition within theatre theory has to offer. Some central theorists within the field are presented, and their theories are compared to find similarities and differences. Further the thesis elucidates central factors in Derrida's deconstruction theories, with the aim to clarify deconstructive poetics.  

This theoretical material makes the foundation of the analysis, in which a complex aesthetic-dramaturgic work analysis is done. Based on the deconstruction and the analysis the question how this theoretical material can lead us further is discussed – further, into an existing dramaturgic model that can possibly work for Concert for Greenland.

The explanation model presented is found in post-structuralism, more specifically the rhizomatic structure of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

Source:

Elisabeth Leinslie's private archive, donated by Elisabeth Leinslie, 03.06.2011