THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA ON CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE: How Digital Media Challenge Theatrical Conventions in Multimedia Theatre, Telematic and Pervasive Performance

Summary of the thesis: This thesis investigates artworks born at the convergence of digital media and contemporary performance, and the ways in which technology impacts the field of performance. I map the field by defining three large categories that mark the heterogeneous landscape of technologically enhanced performances today, namely multimedia theatre, telematic performance and pervasive performance. Methodologically, I combine hermeneutic methods of interpretation and reflection with practice-based research. More specifically, I combine textual analysis of relevant works from each of the three categories—such as Ghost Road (Murgia and Pauwels 2012) in the category of multimedia theatre, make-shift (Jamieson and Crutchlow 2010) in the category of telematic performance and Rider Spoke (Blast Theory 2007) in pervasive performance—with the practical development and analysis of a performance experiment titled Chain Reaction (Pérez 2009 and 2011). Theoretically, the project is interdisciplinary, bringing together performance theory, digital media studies, experimental game scholarship and experiential art documentation. In discussing the ways in which digital media impact contemporary performance, I identify a number of traditional conventions in the field of theatre and performance that are currently being challenged. These are in the areas of audience participation, use of space, actor role, rehearsal and staging, and performance documentation. Structurally, it is an article-based thesis divided into two main parts. Part I includes an introduction to the object of study, presents the state of the art and describes the practical project of Chain Reaction in detail and in its historical context. It then explains the theoretical and methodological framework used in the thesis. It also contains a cross-examination of the main discussions and findings of the articles. Here I systematise the findings concerning the impact of digital media on performance and discuss the extent to which this impact affords new directions for creative expression. It closes with a conclusion, which reflects on the implications of this research project for the field of performance studies and points to topics for further research. Part II includes six published articles that forms the basis for the discussions in part I