10.4 Adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality in performance
4 min read•august 13, 2024
Performance studies explores how artists transform existing works into new forms. , , and are key techniques used to reimagine stories and create fresh meanings on stage.
These methods allow performers to breathe new life into familiar tales, but raise important questions about artistic integrity and cultural sensitivity. Understanding their nuances helps us appreciate the complexities of creating impactful, responsible performances.
Adaptation, Appropriation, and Intertextuality in Performance
Defining Key Concepts
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- Adaptation transforms a work from one medium or genre to another (novel into a play or film)
- Involves considering fidelity to the source material, creative interpretation, and the constraints and affordances of different media
- Appropriation borrows elements from an existing work and incorporates them into a new work, often recontextualizing or subverting the original meaning
- Ranges from direct quotation to more subtle allusions or influences
- Intertextuality refers to the way texts interact with and reference one another, creating a web of meaning beyond any single work
- In performance, manifests through direct references, stylistic borrowings, or thematic resonances with other works
Relationship Between Concepts
- Adaptation and appropriation can be seen as specific forms of intertextuality, where the relationship between texts is more direct and intentional
- However, all works are intertextual to some degree, as they inevitably draw on and respond to cultural contexts and artistic traditions
Creative and Ethical Implications of Adaptation
Artistic Possibilities and Challenges
- Adaptation and appropriation can be powerful tools for reimagining and revitalizing existing works
- Allow artists to bring new perspectives and interpretations to familiar stories and themes
- When adapting a work, artists must balance fidelity to the original with the need for creative license and reinterpretation
- Consider responsibilities to the source material and its creators, as well as their own artistic vision
Ethical Considerations
- Appropriation can be particularly fraught, as it often involves borrowing from marginalized or underrepresented cultures and communities
- Artists must be mindful of power dynamics, cultural context, and whether their use of appropriated material is respectful, transformative, or exploitative
- Ethical practices may include obtaining permission from rights holders, acknowledging sources and influences, and engaging in dialogue with affected communities
- Goal should be to create works that are both artistically compelling and socially responsible
Adapting Texts for Performance
Understanding Source Material and Performance Medium
- Requires a deep understanding of both the source material and the unique demands of live performance
- May involve condensing or expanding the narrative, finding theatrical equivalents for literary devices, and considering physical and temporal constraints of the stage
- Key skills include identifying core themes, characters, and conflicts of the source material
- Finding ways to translate them into the language of performance (creating new scenes or dialogue, rearranging or combining elements, finding non-verbal means of expression)
Considering Audience and Context
- Adaptation requires understanding the target audience and cultural context of the performance
- May involve updating references, adjusting language or content, or making the material relevant and accessible to contemporary viewers
- Throughout the adaptation process, important to maintain a clear artistic vision and sense of desired impact
- Making difficult choices about what to include or exclude, balancing faithfulness to the source with creative innovation
Intertextuality in Performance Works
Creating Layers of Meaning
- Intertextuality can be a powerful tool for creating layers of meaning and resonance in performance works
- By referencing or alluding to other texts, artists tap into shared cultural knowledge and invite audiences to make connections and interpretations beyond the immediate context
- Intertextual references can take many forms (direct quotations, adaptations, echoes of theme, style, or structure)
- May be used to comment on or critique the referenced work, place the current work in a larger artistic or cultural context, or create a sense of depth and complexity
Audience Engagement and Interpretation
- Meaning and impact of intertextual references often depends on audience's familiarity with referenced works and ability to recognize and interpret connections
- Artists must consider target audience and cultural literacy required to fully engage with the work
- Intertextuality can subvert or challenge dominant narratives and interpretations by recontextualizing familiar elements in new and unexpected ways
- Powerful tool for social and political commentary, as well as artistic innovation and experimentation
- Requires balance between accessibility and complexity, familiarity and novelty
- By carefully crafting intertextual references and inviting active interpretation, artists create works that are both intellectually and emotionally resonant
Key Terms to Review (21)
Adaptation: Adaptation refers to the process of transforming existing works or narratives into new forms of performance. This involves reinterpreting characters, themes, and structures to resonate with contemporary audiences while retaining some essence of the original piece. It is closely linked to appropriation and intertextuality, where elements from various sources are woven together to create a fresh perspective or critique.
Appropriation: Appropriation refers to the act of taking or borrowing elements from one context, culture, or work and using them in another, often to create new meanings or interpretations. This practice raises questions about ownership, authenticity, and the power dynamics involved in cultural exchanges, especially in performance where artists adapt existing texts, styles, or symbols to fit their own narratives.
Audience Agency: Audience agency refers to the ability of spectators to actively participate in, interpret, and influence the performance experience rather than being passive observers. This concept highlights the dynamic relationship between performers and their audience, emphasizing that viewers can shape the narrative, meaning, and impact of a performance through their reactions and engagement.
Collage: Collage is an artistic technique that involves assembling various elements, such as images, text, and objects, to create a new whole. In performance, collage serves as a method to weave together disparate sources, styles, and narratives, making it a powerful tool for adaptation and appropriation. This technique allows performers to engage with intertextuality by juxtaposing different contexts and meanings, thereby challenging traditional boundaries and encouraging audience interpretation.
Cultural Appropriation: Cultural appropriation is the act of taking or borrowing elements from one culture, particularly by members of a dominant culture, without understanding or respecting the original context, meaning, or significance. This practice often leads to the commodification and distortion of marginalized cultures, raising important discussions around power dynamics, representation, and ethical responsibility in artistic expression.
Devised theatre: Devised theatre is a collaborative performance-making process where the script and concept are created by a group of performers, rather than being pre-written by a single playwright. This approach allows for a high level of creativity and experimentation, as it incorporates input from various members of the ensemble, leading to unique and original works. The focus on collaboration also encourages a dynamic relationship between performers and the material, which can deeply influence the final production.
Feminist readings: Feminist readings refer to analytical approaches that examine texts and performances through the lens of gender equality and women's experiences. These readings often critique traditional narratives that perpetuate patriarchy and aim to uncover the roles, representations, and voices of women within various forms of art, including literature and performance. By focusing on how women are portrayed and the implications of these portrayals, feminist readings seek to challenge existing power dynamics and promote a more inclusive understanding of cultural narratives.
Film adaptation: Film adaptation refers to the process of transforming a source text, such as a novel, play, or short story, into a cinematic format. This process often involves reinterpreting the original material, selecting key elements to emphasize, and adjusting the narrative to fit the visual and temporal constraints of film. It intertwines with themes of adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality as filmmakers draw upon existing works while creating new interpretations that can resonate with contemporary audiences.
Intertextuality: Intertextuality refers to the way that texts (including performances) influence and reference one another, creating a network of meaning through connections and associations. This concept emphasizes that no text exists in isolation; instead, every work is shaped by its relationships with other texts, which can manifest as direct quotations, allusions, or thematic parallels. By understanding these connections, audiences can appreciate how meaning is constructed and interpreted within the broader cultural landscape.
Intertextuality theory: Intertextuality theory refers to the complex relationships and connections between texts, suggesting that no text exists in isolation but is influenced by and interacts with other texts. This concept emphasizes that meaning is created not just within a single work but through the interplay of multiple texts, which can include literature, performance, film, and other cultural artifacts. In performance, intertextuality can shape how adaptations and appropriations draw upon existing narratives, characters, and themes to create new meanings and interpretations.
Julia Kristeva: Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, psychoanalyst, and literary critic known for her work in semiotics, feminism, and psychoanalysis. She is influential in poststructuralist thought, especially through her concepts of intertextuality and the abject, which challenge traditional notions of authorship and meaning in texts. Her ideas are particularly relevant in discussions of how performance art can subvert established narratives and reflect cultural shifts.
Linda Hutcheon: Linda Hutcheon is a Canadian scholar and theorist known for her work in postmodernism, particularly her theories on adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality. Her ideas help to unpack how texts and performances interact, reshape meaning, and create new interpretations through the adaptation process. Hutcheon's framework emphasizes that adaptations are not merely copies but transformative acts that reflect cultural contexts and engage with their source materials in critical ways.
Palimpsest: A palimpsest is a manuscript or document that has been reused after its original content has been erased, but still retains traces of the earlier writing. This concept not only applies to physical texts but also to performance and art, where previous layers of meaning, context, and form inform and interact with new interpretations, creating a rich tapestry of intertextuality and adaptation.
Pastiche: Pastiche is a work of art, literature, or performance that imitates the style or character of another artist or genre, often combining various elements from multiple sources. It serves as a celebration of the original works while also demonstrating the creator's understanding and appreciation of those influences. By blending these diverse styles, pastiche highlights intertextuality and the connections between different cultural texts.
Postcolonial critique: Postcolonial critique refers to the analytical framework that examines the cultural, political, and social legacies of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on how these histories shape identity, power dynamics, and representation in contemporary society. It challenges dominant narratives and highlights the voices and experiences of marginalized groups, often questioning the impact of colonial power on both colonizers and the colonized.
Postmodernism: Postmodernism is an artistic and cultural movement that emerged in the mid-20th century, characterized by skepticism towards grand narratives and ideologies, embracing fragmentation, and celebrating diversity of perspectives. It often blurs the boundaries between high and low art, challenges traditional forms of representation, and explores the concept of intertextuality, which connects to how personal narratives can reflect broader social contexts and adapt various influences in performance.
Remix culture: Remix culture is a social and creative movement that emphasizes the idea of reusing, transforming, and combining existing cultural works to create new content. This culture promotes collaboration and sharing among creators, allowing for the blending of various media and styles to produce innovative interpretations. It plays a crucial role in understanding adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality, as it showcases how artists draw inspiration from one another and challenge traditional notions of originality.
Spectatorial engagement: Spectatorial engagement refers to the active participation and emotional investment of an audience in a performance, shaping their perception and experience of the artwork. This concept emphasizes how viewers are not just passive observers but can engage with and respond to the themes, emotions, and messages conveyed through performance. Understanding this engagement is crucial when considering the dynamics of censorship, subversion, transgression, adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality in performance.
Stage adaptation: Stage adaptation refers to the process of transforming a story, text, or concept from one medium into a theatrical performance. This involves reinterpreting the source material to fit the live performance context, which may include changes to dialogue, characters, or narrative structure, allowing the piece to resonate with audiences in a different way. It connects closely with adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality by showcasing how works influence one another and how narratives can be reshaped for the stage.
Surrealism: Surrealism is an artistic and literary movement that emerged in the early 20th century, aiming to unlock the unconscious mind and explore dream-like states through unexpected juxtapositions and fantastical imagery. It seeks to challenge conventional perceptions of reality, often blending the real with the imaginary. This movement has deeply influenced various forms of performance, where elements of adaptation, appropriation, and intertextuality create a rich tapestry that reflects the complexities of human experience.
Transmedia storytelling: Transmedia storytelling is a narrative technique where a single story or story experience is told across multiple media platforms, creating a cohesive and immersive world for the audience. This approach encourages engagement and participation by allowing users to explore different facets of the story through various formats such as film, video games, books, and social media, making the overall experience richer and more interactive.