Résumé :
My thesis research is a critical and ethical analysis of live animals in the performing arts,
and their impact on environmental perceptions of the animal other. How does viewing an animal on stage, in a performative role, engender particular reactions from audiences in terms of how and what we learn about those animals. What is the interplay between performance arts, live animals, and their audiences, and how do modes of presentation influence ongoing relationships between those three elements? I investigated these questions through the lens of “geodrama”, which calls for re-reading historical texts to “discover our past sense of place with nature” (Chaplin xix), to learn how the resulting ‘performances’ have come to inform our contemporary environmental perspectives.
My research comprised of three major case studies: nineteenth-century circus elephants;
twentieth-century SeaWorld orcas; and a starkly different contemporary work by performance art duo Olly and Suzi, called Shark Bite. By putting these three works into conversation, I interrogate the tradition of animals in performance arts, and question how these relationships may evolve. My research combined primary and secondary historical materials, and theoretical analysis of the primary case studies, based on considerations for ecological performances laid out ! by Gail J. Kuhl (on what constitutes ethical ecological art), and Theresa J. May (on what realworld implications and ecological realities the works reflect). I discovered there is a strong desire for tangible encounters with animals through artistic performance. There is also a strong tendency to supplant animal realities for anthropocentric narratives that necessitate captivity for entertainment and education. However, there is an equally strong desire for these relationships to be ethical or to support the idea that the animals are being incorporated into the performance willingly, and audience perceptions on the animal performer are quickly evolving to reflect this. [author summary]

Collection : Bibliothèque de l'École nationale de cirque

Localisation : Traitement documentaire B

• Ex. 1 — Consultation sur place