Performance Narrative:From Experimental Theatre To Performance Art

Experimental theatre and performance art are the new forms of performance narratives after the 20 th century.This study uses symbolic narrative as a theoretical resource and metatheatre as a specific theoretical perspective to analyse them,trying to sort out the logic of evolution from experimental theatre to performance art.Through the analysis of metatheatre theory,the study identifies three types of frame breaking in experimental theatre: from character to actor,from plot to performance,and reverse frame-disturning in which the audience is invited to participate.On this basis,and in the vein of theatre art,it can be found that performance art removes the role from the structure of theatre and likewise constitutes a frame-breaking of theatre art,forming reverse frame-disturning that requires the audience to watch.For the practice of frame-disturning in experimental theatre,this study takes the epic plays,brutal theatre,absurd theatre,speaking theatre,happenings,and immersive theatre as examples,and compares them from both conceptual and technical perspectives,with particular attention to the frame-disturning practices of Chinese experimental dramatists,in order to observe the interaction between frame-disturning practices in theatre performance and local cultural systems.As for performance art,in addition to focusing on its relationship with theatre art,this study also examines it in the context of conceptual art and participatory art,in order to analyse the value and significance of its practice of frame-disturning.In the introductory section,the study outlines the background and significance of the research,the difficulties of the research,and the current state of the research,and provides the necessary analysis and explanation of the theoretical foundations and basic concepts.The theoretical foundations are discussed from the perspective of symbolic narratology,while the conceptual definition section identifies the three core concepts of theatre,experimental theatre,and performance art.The first chapter focuses on the epic drama.Influenced mainly by Marxism,Expressionism and Piscatorian theatre practice,the epic drama breaks away from the traditional dramatic structure by using the techniques of alienation and historicisation to form a frame of transition from a two-dimensional to a one-dimensional compartmentalisation,completing the formal change of ’narrative’ against ’mimesis’.The epic drama thus takes advantage of this frame.The epic drama thus uses this frame to reveal the cause-and-effect relationship behind everyday appearances,inspiring the audience to rethink social reality with a rational spirit.The second chapter focuses on the drama of cruelty.The theatre of cruelty,influenced by symbolism,surrealism and Eastern culture,rebels against traditional forms of theatre performance with materialised theatre language and ritualised theatre performance,and in the pursuit of a ’total theatre’,forms a situation where the frame is violated from the second degree of separation to the first degree of separation."The effect of the ’ritual’ on the ’play’.Through the use of framing,the theatre of cruelty intends to transcend the everyday,expecting to lead the audience to the "metaphysical" spiritual realm.The third chapter focuses on the theatre of the absurd.It is represented by such playwrights as Ionesco,Beckett,Genet and Adamov.There are differences in technique and style between the specific works of the absurd dramatists,but they all share a similar sense of the absurd.The sense of the absurd refers to the irrational emotion that arises when one suddenly feels that existence has lost its meaning.The theatre of the absurd is dedicated to the use of various means of direct metaphor for the experience of the absurd on stage,thus creating a dramatic contrast with traditional forms,replacing wholeness with fragmentation,chaos with logic,and focusing on the loneliness and despair of modern man,with a strong dose of pessimism.The fourth chapter focuses on the speaking drama.Founded by Handke in the1960 s,the theatre genre has continued to influence theatre since then with its subversive innovation of the theatre form.In terms of theatrical expression,the most striking feature of speaking drama is the self-referential nature of theatrical language.By constructing a self-referential discourse,the play exposes the narrator,restores the real time and space,and reveals the participatory nature of the play.Self-referential talk exposes the second-degree compartment on which the plot is based to the spotlight,allowing the spoken word play to communicate with the audience at all times in the first-degree compartment,effectively transmitting the playwright’s reflections on theatre and other social and cultural aspects to the audience.In turn,through self-referential cultural criticism,the spoken word plays are able to renew human consciousness and evoke human subjectivity.Chapter 5 focuses on happenings.This study provides an overview of the background,techniques and concepts of happenings.Happenings is a postmodernist theatre that is no longer script-centred and emphasises performance,and is the extreme form of postmodernist theatre.Its emergence is closely linked to Futurism,Dadaism and Surrealism,and it draws its basis and impetus from these three literary trends.In terms of technique,episodic theatre involves the audience in the text of the performance,resulting in four main types of theatre: staged performance,staged episodic,and dynamic environment,purely episodic.Through such reverse frame-disturning,episodic theatre seeks primarily to enlighten the audience to re-examine everyday life and discover possibilities beyond the everyday order.Chapter 6 focuses on immersive theatre.The most characteristic feature of immersive theatre is that it invites the audience to enter the interior of the performance text,allowing the theatre scene to submerge the audience’s body and mind,thus giving the participants a new experience.It is easy to see that immersive theatre places the basis for the production of the artistic text on the same basis of the audience’s counter-transgressive frame.The participation of the audience ensures that the performance takes place,so that the subjectivity of the audience is maximised.It is worth noting that there is a strong link between immersive theatre and the experience economy.The immersion of immersive theatre can therefore be understood as a contemporary interpretation of reverse frame-disturning.Chapter 7 focuses on the practice of frame breaking in Chinese experimental theatre,reviewing domestic theatrical explorations from the 1980 s onwards,with the theatrical practices of Lin Zhaohua,Mou Sen,Meng Jinghui and Lai Shengchuan standing out.Lin Zhaohua’s theatre practice draws on many resources from Chinese opera and constructs a discourse on the dual structure of the director’s second theme and the actor.Mou Sen,on the other hand,more radically exchanges physical action for mere reproduction of the script,blurring the boundaries between theatrical performance and everyday life.Meng Jinghui’s theatre practice,on the other hand,is full of hilarious and exciting sensual impacts,and the production of his Meng style is inextricably linked to a series of teasing of narrative frames.Collective improvisation and the collage structure of the performance text are central to Lai’s theatre practice.Chapter 8 focuses on performance art.The chapter provides a more comprehensive exploration of performance art based on the definition of the introductory concept,thus enriching the understanding of its various aspects of reverse frame-disturning.Firstly,the chapter explores the evolutionary path from experimental theatre to performance art,pointing to the rise of post-dramatic theatre,which offers the possibility of a transgression between the two artistic disciplines.Secondly,the chapter examines performance art in the context of conceptual art,thus providing a discussion of the identity and social critical orientation of performance art.The chapter then summarises the forms of performance art,noting that it is public,private and physical in nature.Finally,the chapter examines performance art in the context of participatory art,pointing to its social utility as an artistic intervention in life.Overall,the development from experimental theatre to performance art is a deepening of the practice of frame-disturning in performance narratives,in which traditional theatre art is constantly challenged until it is transcended.The interpretation of metatheatricality and the cultivation of meta-consciousness by framing practices will continue to evolve,and the study of experimental theatre and performance art reveals possible directions for performance narratives,as well as finding a way of surveying and responding to cultural systems.