What are the characteristics of contemporary circus? In what way does contemporary circus differ from theater, dance, and performance? Where do hybrid forms exist? Where are there observable commonalities? Despite the diversity of contemporary circus performances, are there generalizable characteristics that unite the performances? What potential do these questions have for dramaturgical practice?
This book adapts a cultural-semiotic approach to analyze contemporary circus performances. It offers the first comprehensive documentation and interpretation of the art form based on the reading theories of cultural, literature, theater, and dance studies. The volume thereby provides a dramaturgy of contemporary circus, which reveals its generalizable characteristics, fundamental techniques and structures, and the effects they produce. At the same time, theories and methods are modified and further developed regarding the characteristics of the circus.
This book is designed for students and scholars in the field of theater and performance studies, as well as for artists, dramaturges, and directors working in the field of circus.
Foreword
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Theory
Chapter 3: Contemporary circus readings: an analysis model
Chapter 4: Come wander with me: on narration in “Fragments of a Mind” by Squarehead Productions
Chapter 5: Metonymic and metaphorical readings: on ambiguity in “I am (k)not” by Ana Jordão
Chapter 6: A balancing act between novel and circus: intertextuality and intermediality in “Le fil sous la neige” by Les Colporteurs
Chapter 7: “Show me where you play, and I’ll tell you what you are”: on the relevance of performance context in “L'Argile” by Jimmy Gonzalez
Chapter 8: “Otherness is the craziness we carry inside”: on the discursive context of “L'Autre” by Cie Claudio Stellato
Chapter 9: Welcome to the Wonderland of contemporary circus: on metadiscourse in “Les Princesses” by Cheptel Aleïkoum
Chapter 10: Conclusion and outlook: toward a dramaturgy of contemporary circus
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Franziska Trapp is a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
''A welcome addition to the rich paradigm of circus research to which Dr. Franziska Trapp had already significantly contributed through organizing ground-breaking conferences on circus studies, in which her scholarly leadership achieved a powerful synergy, bringing together academic researchers and circus artists. In this innovative book, based on hands-on research and precise analyses, she explores, with theoretical and methodological virtuosity, the artistic creativity of contemporary acrobatic performances emancipated from the historical constraints of the traditional circus. It is a first and highly successful attempt to engage the challenging complexity of the contemporary acrobatic circus and to elaborate a persuasive semiotics and poetics of this new, emergent genre.''
Prof. Dr. Paul Bouissac, Emeritus at the University of Toronto
''This book sets new standards for our understanding and interpretation of circus performances. It is an essential resource for students and scholars alike interested in the emerging discipline of circus studies. No one working in the field will be able to ignore this work in the future. It is remarkable.''
Prof. Dr. Erika Fischer-Lichte, Professor of Theatre Studies and the Director of the International Research Center 'Interweaving Performance Cultures' at Freie Universität Berlin.
''Combining insights of cultural semiotics, dramaturgy and performance analysis Readings of contemporary circus will prove to be a landmark study within the emerging new field of circus studies. Through careful case study analyses Franziska Trapp’s book offers an innovative perspective on the thriving field of contemporary circus. Travelling between disciplines, people and environments, the book provides new insights in the different ways circus artist represent the world of today, deploying the language of circus as a complex and poetic means to challenge our perspective as a spectator.''
Prof. Dr. Karel Vanhaesebrouck, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
''This substantial book sets out to engage with essential questions about circus as it perceptively explains processes of reading performance and ‘methodological density’. In delving into a range of possible theoretical interpretations of well-chosen examples of contemporary circus and the significance of context, the discussion illuminates cultural meaning. This timely publication offers a valuable precedent for the study of circus.''
Peta Tait, Theatre Scholar, La Trobe University Melbourne, Australia
