Kinetic Texts: From Performance to Poetry

Abstract

abstract: Text often feels irrelevant in the performances of the German freie Szene, or free-scene, which, in contrast to the country’s state-supported repertory theatre system, enables rehearsal processes that do not begin with plays. Taking seriously the literary aspects of the apparently meaningless texts of the free-scene and engaging with W. B. Worthen, Hans-Thies Lehmann, Joseph Roach, and Diana Taylor, the article proposes that we distinguish between “playtexts” and “kinetic texts.” Kinetic texts – texts in motion – neither represent performance, nor encourage representation in theatrical presentations. They consist of what is generally considered superfluous to a text: marginalia, commentary, interruptions. Using the kinetic text concept, the author examines three performances from the free-scene, by She She Pop, Showcase Beat Le Mot, and Gob Squad. With particular focus on Alles [Everything] (2011) by Showcase Beat Le Mot, the article shows how text is essential to the experience of the performance, finding poetry where we assume there is none. Finally, the article investigates the practical and political problems in trying to print kinetic texts.

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