Speaker
Description
This research presentation focuses on investigating performance and urban space pedagogies in the context of theatre and performing arts studies. It takes several student projects as case studies, from an enriched syllabus introducing project based courses on performance in public space and expanded scenography exploring practice based and place bound performance design. One of the most important aspects regarding performance pedagogies was centered around the catalytic role and experience of the urban public space. Urban space was regarded as an expanded stage, where embodied performative events take place on the basis of instant public exposure, immediate audience response, democratic open access and a potential for direct involvement and social impact. Through a somatic and experiential approach to the city’s public space, the students’ projects were expressed as conceptual/ideological, as well as physical investigations of the public urban space and aspired to draw a performative re-mapping of the city.
CV
Maria Konomi
Maria Konomi is Assistant Professor at the Department of Theatre Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She specialized in Scenography at University Arts London (BA Theatre Design & MA Scenography). She has over ninety credits for set and costume design in all performing arts genres and film. She has many years of academic teaching experience including the Hellenic Open University. She was co-curator for Greece at the Prague Quadrennial 2023 for the professional and student competition sections. Her research and publications focus on contemporary theatre practices, interdisciplinary approaches, new spatial forms of theatre and site-specific performance, expanded scenography and performance pedagogies.
