The Somatic in Theatre and Performance Research Gathering

This four-day gathering belongs to the current bourgeoning interest in the dynamic interrelations between somatic practices and modern research, within or outside scholarly environments. It emerged from my ongoing curiosity and own research on somatically-informed or somatically-inspired practices in the field of theatre and performing arts, beyond the relatively established dialogues between somatics and dance. Reflecting on the work of artists-researchers, practitioners-researchers, practitioners and artists who have become part of my journey and who study various expressions of somaticities (directly or indirectly), I became intrigued to bring us together in one shared multidisciplinary environment. The reason I chose Corfu as the actual environment for this gathering is that, in my perception, this island becomes a metaphor of multiple interconnections. Beyond the fact that it is part of my cultural heritage and identity, Corfu to me ideally somatizes the harmonic integration of diverse traces and landscapes. While it challenges geographical, historical, ideological and cultural boundaries, at the same it seems to preserve and acknowledge each individual characteristic. Within this ‘holding’, the island also offers an ideal transition to a rich natural environment that can generously ‘nurture’ our shared explorations. Within this research community, we aim at co-exploring theatre and performance-based themes such as: - the somatization of text - somatic orientations - somatic soundscapes - ecological landscapes - somatic costumes - creative and critical reflection - somatic modes of listening - the soma in the collective - multiple definitions of the somatic - various manifestations of current practice research The gathering has a dual objective: 1. to contribute to practical questions in theatre and performance studies 2. to inform broader theoretical discussions through modern practice research/practice as research/performance as research or praxical methodologies.