Illustrator, collaborator, auteur: the expression and enactment of agency in design/scenography education

Richmond, Harriet Emma (2019). Illustrator, collaborator, auteur: the expression and enactment of agency in design/scenography education. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis argues that there has been an authorial turn in the occupational identities of theatre designer/scenographers, illustrated through the title of this thesis, ‘Illustrator, Collaborator, Auteur’. The authorial turn has been caused by the scenographic turn that may be described as a turn away from design/scenography for performance towards design/scenography as performance and this has led to a shift in the positionality of designer/scenographers in performance-making. Design/Scenography education is chosen as the context for the study as it is both an under-theorised area of scholarly enquiry and represents a site of social practices with the potential to provide insights into the changing occupational role of the designer/scenographer. The dual disciplinary context of the study, namely drama and education, necessitates engagement with theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches from both disciplines. These are applied in two case studies of design/scenography education. The first examines the emergence of design/scenography education in the UK in the period between the wars at the London Theatre Studio, and the subsequently constituted Motley Theatre Design Course. The second presents analysis of interviews with current course leaders of design courses.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):