An Invitation to 'Play': Interpreting Performing Arts History in the Museum

Elizabeth Gray discusses movement scores and tactile prompts in museums to help visitors experience and understand historical performing arts by exploring the embodied experiences of past performers.

A theatrical performance brings together multiple elements – costumes, props, scenery, sounds – however, it is the actions of the actors and dancers in relation to the audience that fundamentally create a performance. As such, in order to have a thorough understanding of theatre and dance from a historical perspective, we need to try and gain a sense of the experiences performers had during the performance process in rehearsals and on stage. As places that can facilitate opportunities for experiential learning, museums have the potential to play a role in sharing this knowledge of performing. The question of how this can be practically done was the focus of my PhD research, which developed the ‘Playful’ Re-performance Interpretation Framework as an approach for interpreting performing arts history that offers the opportunity for visitors to develop an understanding of the embodied experiences of performers of the past, despite these performers’ bodies no longer being physically present.

The proposition of the interpretation framework is that movement-based interpretation methods can offer the means to convey a sense of performers’ embodied experiences to visitors, and re-connect collections within performing arts museums to their prior active use or the experiences they represent. In this approach a movement score and specially designed tactile prompts are used to invite playful explorations of the movement qualities of a character, or a particular historic performance style. The movement score and tactile prompts are designed to be easily portable to encourage visitors to use these materials to undertake their explorations as they move throughout an exhibition space, encountering objects from the museum’s collection. The intention of these interpretation materials is to help visitors enter into the process of exploration within their own bodies. The movement score offers graphics and questions to stimulate exploration, and the tactile prompts encourage particular ways of moving when interacted with. The intention of the movement exploration is not to try and to facilitate a ‘re-performance’, or an identical depiction of how a role was performed (which would obviously vary depending on the individual person portraying the character), but rather to offer a space for visitors to connect to a character and performance techniques and styles through their own interpretative experience. This interpretation approach is underpinned by the museum adopting the ‘playful’ ways of being that are enacted by performers that enables transformations of identity, space, and time within the theatrical context. By taking on these ways of being within museums an open and welcoming environment can be established that invites visitors to engage with the interpretation materials to explore different ways of moving.

During my PhD research, this interpretation approach was implemented in relation to the context of performing as Harlequin in nineteenth-century English pantomime. Key qualities of Harlequin included their energy, playfulness, and mischievousness, and the movement score and tactile prompts were designed to encourage visitors to explore these qualities within their own bodies. Findings from the research highlighted how, through their engagement with the interpretation materials, visitors were able to feel a connection to, and have a better sense of understanding about experiences of performing as Harlequin. For visitors interacting with the bat encouraged them to expand their movements, and opened up investigations into the possibilities of movement. Physically exploring Harlequin’s movement qualities within their own bodies fostered a greater appreciation of the skills required to perform as the character that would not have emerged without this physical engagement. The interpretation also elicited stronger connections to the toy theatres on display by bringing more awareness to the embodied movements and experiences that were represented by these objects.

This feedback from visitors reflects the potential of the ‘Playful’ Re-performance Interpretation Framework to enhance understandings about the experiences of performers of the past, and acknowledges the value of the embodied knowledge of performers. Such an approach invites visitors to experience the transformative potential of the body: a potential that is enacted in the act of ‘le jeu’ (‘play’) within the theatrical context. In this way museums can interpret performing arts history through the lens of the performers, who, without which, this history would not exist.

This research was funded by the AHRC M4C Doctoral Training Partnership. My thanks also to the support of Derby Museums who generously allowed me to conduct my practical research within the The Tiny World of Toy Theatre exhibition at Pickford’s House Museum.