“Diagramming” [Dance] Dramaturgy: Framing Dramaturgical Thinking Through Châtelet’s Concept of Virtuality

This research explores the complexity of defining dramaturgy and the role of the dramaturg in the creative process. To further address these issues, it focuses on the subfield of dance dramaturgy which provides valuable insights due to dance’s special attention towards movement and its dynamic nature and its role in the history of dramaturgy. It analyses the relationship between the different ways in which language and movement are used in the creative process, which consequently brings into question the theory-practice binary that has dominated the practice since its conception. This thesis proposes a shift from the theory-practice binary, towards an understanding of dramaturgical practice that operates between potentiality and processes of actualization, based on a conceptual analysis of virtuality and diagrammatic writing, terms proposed by mathematician-philosopher Gilles Châtelet. These terms become the basis for a proposed theoretical framework that can articulate some of the qualities of dramaturgical thinking. Ultimately, through this analysis it becomes possible to expand on the dynamic and embodied qualities of the dramaturgical practice and how they can be manifested through the role of the dance dramaturg.