The theme of this research is "Manifestations of sexuality in theatrical
performance: aesthetic, ethical and political effects and consequences of
sensual and erotic stimulation through exhibitionism and voyeurism".
A corpus of texts (critical essays, interviews, studies on the theme) and
images related to national shows (with the possibility of crossing them with an
international case) will be taken as the object of analysis, which between 2005
and 2010, exhibited sexual elements in a more or less patent way, trying to
restore their functioning and function, considering that they were surely
fulfilling different projects. It will also collect information produced
through an online survey to assess concepts, terms and discourses on the
presence of sexuality in theatrical performance shared by artists and
spectators. In parallel, the three selected shows will be analyzed, from the
João Garcia Miguel Company, Yerma; Blacks and the northern gods; Life is a
dream, seeking, through the intersection with the rest of the corpus, points of
contact and difference and proceeding to its categorization (or attempt of the
same) in the scope of the discussion about the manifestation of sexuality in
the theatrical performance, having into account the context of work / artistic
invention and the fiction inherent in theatrical invention. Among the
consequences that follow, we will be particularly interested in the issue of
the conscious sexual manipulation and stimulation of the spectator through
mechanisms of aesthetic and spectacular elaboration and the ethical and
political repercussion, whether premeditated or not.
GOALS
a) Description and analysis of the triad of performances of the João Garcia
Miguel Company;
b) Verification of the existence or non existence of a conscious
structuring of the spectacles with elements related to sexuality and with what
objectives;
c) Recognition of a connection between sexuality and the theatrical
performance of its erotic and sensual dimension as aesthetic practice, ethics
and conscious politics;
d) Identification of the sexuality marks inherent to the performance
practices, through a survey directed to creators and viewers and available in a
site specifically created to record the stages of the research (of importance
inescapable in this project since it places this work in the scientific
community);
e) To hold an international colloquium on the subject of research with the
corresponding publication of the communications in a site that will be
associated with the Center for Theater Studies and will remain updated;
f) Publication of a book in two volumes: the first with a study of myself
on the João Garcia Miguel Company in the perspective I describe here; the
second gathering studies of national and international authors that I will
invite, with a text of theoretical framework of my own.
METHODOLOGY
1) To gather the most important studies on sexuality and performance, on
studies of gender and corporality;
2) Draw a philosophical, scientific and cultural genealogy of the concept
of sexuality;
3) To analyze, with the aid of these studies, the place of sexuality in
contemporary Portuguese society and the eventual transformation of its
practices through publicity and "show-and-tell";
4) Describe an exemplary set of national shows with patented sexual
elements (gesture, movement, staging of the body);
5) To seek to interpret sexuality and its aesthetic, ethical and political
effects and consequences of sensual and erotic stimulation through exhibition
and voyeurism that transverse the various trends / categories of contemporary
theatrical performance.
Firstly, an annotated reading of the theoretical texts
that address the project's support axes will be carried out, with the
consequent selection of concepts and definitions that may be of interest to the
research. Soon after, I will select the shows to be considered as elements
of comparison between themselves and with the selected triad of the chosen
company (Companhia João Garcia Miguel), proceeding to its description and
analysis through videographic and photographic records.
From these choices, it will be possible to begin the process of surveying the
elements of sexuality manifested through their theatricalisation and that will
enable the beginning of the construction of the site with the introduction of
the survey to creators and spectators.
From here will follow the work of preparing the study for the first volume of
the book that will result from this research and that will focus on the João
Garcia Miguel Company.
In a second moment, the existence or non-existence of a conscious structuring
of the spectacles will be verified in the sense of the recognition of a
connection between the sexuality and the theatrical performance as aesthetic
practice, ethics and conscious politics. This recognition will also be
supported by the identification of the sexuality marks inherent to performative
practices, through an inquiry directed to creators and viewers and available on
a site specifically created to record the steps of the investigation. The
site will be built and fed through an ongoing invitation to motivate the
"public" to participate in the anonymous survey. During the
analysis of the collected data, we will insert updated bibliography and the
partial results of the research. The inescapable importance of the site in
this project lies in the fact that this work is made available to the
scientific community. The said site will be associated with the Center for
Theater Studies and will remain up-to-date.
Next, a cross-over between the theory and the analysis of the documents will be
done, through the elaboration of a critical text, which will be based on the
information to be raised. The interpretation of the data will constitute
the thematic basis for the organization of an international international
colloquium on research, to be held in Lisbon, with the corresponding edition of
the respective communications on the above mentioned website. The
bibliographic research will be kept constant in order to preserve its updating,
which will allow a later inclusion of new knowledge, if necessary.The last
phase, before the publication of the second and more complex volume of the
book, will consist of reviewing the material and conclusions on the effects and
consequences of the Aesthetic, Ethical and Political scope of sensual and
erotic stimulation through exhibitionism and voyeurism.
