Vortrag von Iva Brdar (TWM Forschungskolloquium)

Vortrag von

Iva Brdar

"Dramaturgy of Connections"

im Rahmen des TWM Forschungskolloquiums

Zeit: Mittwoch, 09. Dezember 2020, 12:00 c.t. – 14:00 Uhr
ZOOM-Zugang:
https://lmu-munich.zoom.us/j/98130692086?pwd=SUtrT1RSN3FxSnZqTVdlQlBTYzVUQT09
Meeting-ID: 981 3069 2086
Kenncode: 063279

Abstract
Although the term ‘connection’ has been widely used in the scope of internet technologies, where it signifies an established relationship with a network, it can be also used to denote the contemporary interhuman relationships. Some authors argue that this term describes more precisely their present fragility and instability, as well as the influence of our digital behavior on our offline lives (Bauman, Liquid Love). Referring to Szondi's Theory of the Modern Drama, where it is pointed out that interpersonal relationships are nested in the core of drama, this dissertation examines how the theater has responded to their transformation in the digital age and how the ‘connections’ are represented in theatre text.
I address these issues through the analysis of theatre texts written in different stages of the development of internet, which represent as well historical artefacts of digital communication rituals characteristic for a certain period. Some of the plays in question are: Closer by Patrick Marber (1997), Love and Money by Dennis Kelly (2006), Love and Information by Caryl Churchill (2012), Midnight Movie by Eve Leigh (2019) and others. These plays not only portray the transformations of intimate relationships and their apparent new fragility, they also utilize different forms of digital communication (chat, e-mails, tweets, YouTube videos) entangled with classical dramatic forms (dialogue, confession, choir...).
I argue that the entanglement of theatre and digital aesthetics brings empowerment to contemporary playwriting’s strategies in representing the ‘connections’ and also demonstrates a way to critically address the transformation of interpersonal relationships in the digital age.

Iva Brdar has completed studies of Dramaturgy at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and earned a master’s degree in Theatre Studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III; she also completed the Women Studies Program at the Center for Women Studies in Belgrade. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in Theatre Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München as a DAAD scholarship holder, with focus on digital communication. Furthermore, Iva Brdar is a prize-winning playwright, exploring her research interests in practice. Her play Rule of Thumb (Daumenregeln) won the Brücke Berlin Prize and Sterijino Pozorje Prize, with Geraniums Can Survive Anything, she won the Heartefact Foundation Prize, while Tomorrow Is (For Now) Always Here was shortlisted at Theatertreffen Stückemarkt. Her plays were staged in theatres worldwide (Schauspiel Stuttgart, Kosmos Theater Wien, Cherry Arts Ithaca…) and are represented in Germany by Rowohlt Verlag.