| dc.description.abstract | Although theatre and performance photographs often
illustrate scholarly works on theatre and performance, and
despite recent interest in links between theatre and the still
image from both theatre practitioners and theorists, there
remains relatively little critical work on theatre photography.
This thesis examines theatre photography, implementing
approaches that are a departure from habitual conceptions of
the photograph as document.
Taking the intersection of theatre and photography as a
vantage point, this thesis considers how photography might
shape theatre rather than recording it, and how this might
challenge notions of theatre's constitution, summoning
theatre's own stillness, its citation, and its spectrality. This
consideration takes place via analysis of a series of instances of
theatre photography, interrogating the specific operation of
photography and photographs in each.
Following the introduction, Chapter 1 gives an
overview of existing writing about theatre photography, from
questions of archiving to reflection on 'performance
documentation'. Chapter 2 concerns photographic studies of
the corporeal mime of Etienne Decroux, examining how
photographic stillness relates to mime practice. Chapter 3
concerns the theatre photographs of Josef Koudelka, and
considers how this work documents disappearance. Chapter 4
focuses on Martine Franck, photographer at the Theatre du
Soleil, and examines how theatre photographs correspond to
the photographer's other work. The work of this same
company is the subject of Chapter 5, where I consider Sophie
Moscoso's use of photography as part of a working process,
and the ways in which images affect stage practice. Chapter 6
concerns the work of New York performance photographer
Dona Ann McAdams, and considers the how photographs
perform. The conclusion considers the wider implications of
this work, and signals future research that might draw on my
findings. | en_US |
