Performing (with) care: theatre for survivors of gender-based violence

Abstract

Performing (With) Care: Theatre for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence introduces the concept of “survivor-centered theatre,” which disrupts the myth of the ideal white male spectator to imagine theatre productions about and specifically for survivors of gender-based violence. This dissertation asserts that trauma-informed, care-oriented theatrical experiences can offer emotional, psychological, and social support to survivors through carefully-wrought performances, as well as through care work behind the scenes and beyond the final curtain. The project offers practical guidelines for producing survivor-centered theatre that are grounded in intersectional feminism, prioritize the lived experience of artists and audiences, and maintain a dedicated ethic of care. Survivor-centered theatre positions the theatre as a site of reciprocity—wherein audiences believe and affirm the truth of survivors’ narratives—and works towards repairing the damage of epistemic violence that survivors face in many social and institutional spaces. ☐ Analyzing dramatic texts and performances from the author’s multiple perspectives as a critical scholar, a feminist spectator, and a theatre practitioner, each chapter in Performing (With) Care shows how sharing and witnessing testimonials through embodied performance and spectatorship can cultivate solidarity among survivors of gender-based violence and work towards epistemic justice by elevating survivors’ narratives. The guiding principles introduced in this dissertation inform various aspects of theatre artistry, from playwriting to intimacy choreography to audience engagement; these applications are demonstrated through close readings of play texts and performances, as well as by documenting and reflecting on the author’s own creative practices as a director. ☐ The interdisciplinary work presented in “Performing (With) Care” has significant implications for future research and artistic theatre practice, as well as for victim advocacy. As a critical scholarly lens, the concept of survivor-centered theatre can cultivate new perspectives from which to analyze and understand dramatic literature and performance. Moreover, the connections between theatre, community care, trauma recovery, and feminist activism are ripe with opportunities for research across academic fields. The practical guidelines offered in this project have the potential to significantly innovate artistic approaches to staging narratives of gender-based violence in ways that work towards a future free from violence. These principles applied holistically to theatre practice and embraced widely among artists and audiences can help to cultivate communities of care and creativity that extend beyond the theatre.