Subject:

Every theatrical work contains an element of quotation, even if only in a residual form, and every artist inherits—more or less directly—from earlier forms by situating themselves within continuities, by acknowledging or claiming lineages, and by bringing into play and circulating aesthetic, poetic, and formal references. This junior lab in theater studies, in dialogue with choreographic studies and art history, aims to examine the ways in which these continuities are manifested in modern and contemporary theater (20th–21st centuries), primarily French and European, though without geographical limitation, given that the history of modern stage direction is steeped in intercultural exchanges.

The field of choreography has largely developed around the concept of repertoire and has continually explored the issue of quotation (I. Launay, 2019). The field of theater, on the other hand, in its practices of learning and creation, seems—at first glance—to be less centered on the transmission and appropriation of forms. While the textual dramatic repertoire has certainly shaped the history of this art form to some extent, in terms of stage forms (direction, acting), the legacies or survivals of motifs, tools, and techniques seem less monolithic than the “revival” of an objectifiable gestural, formal, or spatial repertoire. Nevertheless, the identity of an artist, a work, or a performance is nonetheless shaped by borrowings—and consequently by influences—that are more or less evident or decisive.

While theater studies have been able to draw upon—and transform—the concept of intertextuality, this concept has the drawback of neglecting a genealogical perspective in favor of an approach based on networks of reference. Building on the research of Aby Warburg and its contemporary reinterpretations (G. Didi-Huberman, 2002; A. Creissels, 2019), this research group will examine the channels through which theatrical forms “survive,” both within the institutional and educational networks that ensure their transmission and within the fabric of other performances that engage with them as references. This approach addresses the question of heritage from an empirical perspective—by examining the status of these traces formed through the appropriation, integration, and assimilation of prior or foreign elements into a performance—building on recent work that explores the practices of reenactment, remaking, or copying (A. Carré, M. Rhéty and A. Zaytzeff (eds.), 2013; A. Pellois and T. Gonzales, 2021; C. Triau (ed.), 2023)—and dynamic, since the aim is to understand how these imprints continue to operate, on an aesthetic level, within a work.

The laboratory’s activities involve aesthetic analysis, supported by screening series of recorded performances and research workshops that draw on sound and visual archives. We also aim to create a space for dialogue among artists, researchers, and playwrights—through roundtable discussions—centered on the concepts of citation (F. Fix and F. Toudoire-Surlapierre, 2010), transmission, the circulation of references, and theatrical memory (Marion Denizot (ed.), 2013).

Creation Date:

January 2025

Closure date:

December 2027

Project leaders:

• Lucie MOREL
• Antoine PALÉVODY
• Anna THIRIOT
• Christopher BEYNEL