Total Theatre Explores: Reflections


A series of articles written by and about women practitioners of physical and visual theatre and performance

Total Theatre Explores is a research and development project, hosted by Total Theatre Network, which specifically addresses gender and performance.

In the Reflections section of the Total Theatre Explores website we present a series of feature articles written by women practitioners of physical and visual theatre and performance - producers, directors, performers, scenographers, choreographers and dramaturgs.

Each woman takes the opportunity to reflect on her work and/or the work of other women practitioners within whatever context or terms of reference she feels are appropriate, which may or may not include a consciously feminist perspective. Most of these contributions have been specially commissioned for the Total Theatre Explores project; some are reprinted from Total Theatre Magazine or the User's Guide series of publications which are produced by University of Winchester in association with Total Theatre.

We offer this series of snapshots to give a taste of the diversity of ways in which women are working within physical and visual theatre and performance practice: there is no intention to present them as representative of any sort of consensus or overview of female practice within the sector. We feel that the articles show that women working within physical and visual performance are offering a fabulous variety of modes of practice, and that the many artists and companies cited in this section provide wonderful examples of role models for the next generation of women practitioners.

Cos I'm a Woman, W-O-M-A-N Miriam King documents the Total Theatre Talks on female practitioners in physical and visual performance, held as part of the London International Mime Festival.

Dramaturgy in Action Beccy Smith is a dramaturg - so what exactly does she do? All is revealed...

Big Daddy versus Mother Hen Marigold Hughes reflects on the ever-growing numbers of women as directors of devised theatre and visual performance

Through the Threshold Carran Waterfield describes two rite-of-passage performance projects she created with young female theatre undergraduates.

A Woman's Place Artist/scenographer Alex Hoare on her site-specific installation and performance project inspired by the remains of Nunnaminster, an old nunnery in Winchester.

The Mother From Medea to Mary: Dorothy Max Prior on dramatic representations, interpretations and explorations of mothers and motherhood.

Dances on Street Corners Virginia Farman trawls and crawls through the streets with Disco Sister's The Original Pedestrian.

Wollstonecraft Live! Anna Birch of Fragments and Monuments documents the making of a site-specific, multi-media event bringing 18th-century radical Mary Wollstonecraft back to Newington Green.

The Right Kit Vision mixer Alex Mermikides gives us a first-hand account of the live interaction between on-stage and off-stage performers and operators in Lightwork's London/My Lover

Going to Extremes Transgression and transformation, pastiche and pasties - all this and more as Dorothy Max Prior loses herself in the world of Burlesque performance

Reflections:



Total Theatre Explores 2006