Invitation: Practice-Based Research Showcase at the University of Toronto

[Bruce Barton]

PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH SHOWCASE

Presented by members of the DRA5000: Praxis class
Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto
214 College Street, 3rd floor, Toronto, ON

WEDNESDAY / 27 NOVEMBER / 7:30 pm

What happens when an actor begins to cry…?

This was the question that led off the announcement of the first Practice-Based Research Showcase in April 2009, at what was then called the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama at the University of Toronto. It is a question that we have reflected back on every year, with each new MA cohort, as it effectively evokes many of the key aspects of PBR activity. 

First and foremost, it is actually many different questions wrapped into one. What happens … to/for the performer? … to/for the audience? … to/between the ensemble? … emotionally? … psychologically? … cognitively? … physiologically? (to scratch the surface). A primary objective of PBR activity, as conducted in the core “Praxis" course at the renamed Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, is to unpack the densely concentrated dynamics of theatre and performance - without betraying the inherent integration of the same. We attempt to work towards heightened levels of focus and precision in our questions, our theoretical frames, our methodolog(ies), our processes, our analyses, and the articulation of our findings. 

At the same time, however, the above question also vividly emphasizes the definitively material and embodied nature of our concerns. PBR, as practiced in the Praxis course, is a distinctly pragmatic pursuit, focused on application and utility. It is research that begins in and returns to practice; research that understands practice as a rich territory of enacted reflection and discovery.

We invite you to join us for a Showcase of the current MA class’s ventures into the seriously playful and playfully serious world of Practice-Based Research on Wednesday, November 27th, at 7:30 pm. It is a truly impressive group, with ambitious, carefully considered projects. We will be utilizing a variety of spaces at the CDTPS on the 3rd floor of the Koffler Student Centre, 214 College Street, Toronto. This is an invitation to observe but also to engage, as audience members and - to the whatever degree you are comfortable with - as participants. We hope our curiosity will be infectious…

Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies: http://dramacentre.utoronto.ca / 416-978-7987

Bruce Barton
/ Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies / University of Toronto
214 College Street, 3rd floor / Toronto, ON / CANADA / M5T2Z9 / 416-978-7985 / Fax: 416-971-1378
/ Program Director / Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies / University of Toronto Mississauga 
3359 Mississauga Road North / Mississauga, ON / CANADA / L5L 1C6 / 905-828-5371 / Fax: 905-569-4763
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