Performative Aesthetic Action and Theatrical Narrative in Digital Environments: Insights from the 20th Annual Lisbon Academic Theatre Festival and the Production of a Digital Media Art Artefact

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/vista.5868

Keywords:

video, cinema, video-performance, cyber-performance, digital media art artefact

Abstract

This article examines aesthetic and performative action within a digital context, focusing on the impact of digital devices on theatrical performative narrative, in the context of creation and in the context of exhibition. The study highlights the productions from the 20th edition of the Annual Lisbon Academic Theatre Festival, which were presented online during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the development of a video-performance specifically created for a digital media art artefact. The aim of this performance is to understand the aesthetic phenomena resulting from the transition from physical performance to digital space. Methodologically, the article provides a brief historical contextualisation of video as a recording medium and aesthetic element in theatre performances. It also situates the three artistic languages explored in this study — video, film, and performance — alongside their interconnections within the festival's productions. In addition to examining the sensory signs that emerge from the intersection of performance, video, and the visual arts within the framework of the artefact's video-performance, this study analyses both that performance and those from the festival using Pedro Veiga's (2022) grid, which categorises the intersection of agents and vectors in cyber-performance, reappropriated and expanded for this investigation.

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Author Biography

Ruben Ferreira, Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

Ruben Ferreira is an artist-researcher with a focus on the intersections between digital media art and theatre. He completed the Technological Specialisation Course in Photography (2012) at the Escola Universitária das Artes de Coimbra and holds a degree in Artistic Studies, with a Minor in Arts and Heritage (2018) from Universidade Aberta. He earned a master's degree in Performing Arts (2021) from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Nova University and is currently a PhD candidate in Digital Media Art at the University of Algarve, in collaboration with Universidade Aberta. Ferreira has worked with various theatre companies as an actor, set designer, and cultural communication specialist. He also works at the University of Lisbon's Cultural and Social Affairs Unit. Recently, he completed the Free Summer School Course in Theatre Genetics at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at the University of the Algarve and participated in the “I International Conference ‘Creation Processes’” organised by the Research Center in Arts and Communication.

References

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Published

2024-11-29

How to Cite

Ferreira, R. (2024). Performative Aesthetic Action and Theatrical Narrative in Digital Environments: Insights from the 20th Annual Lisbon Academic Theatre Festival and the Production of a Digital Media Art Artefact. Vista, (14), e024015. https://doi.org/10.21814/vista.5868

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Section

Thematic Articles