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Site-Specific Performance
Site-specific performance – acts of theatre and performative events at landscape locations, in village streets, in urban situations. In houses, chapels, barns, disused factories, railway stations; on hillsides, in forest clearings, underwater. At the scale of civil engineering; as intimate as a guided walk.
Leading theatre artist and scholar Mike Pearson draws upon thirty years practical experience, proposing original approaches to the creation and study of performance outside the auditorium. In this book he suggests organizing principles, innovative strategies, methods and exercises for making theatre in a variety of contexts and locations, and through examples, case studies and projects develops distinctive theoretical insights into the relationship of site and performance, scenario and scenography. This book encourages practical initiatives in the conception, devising and staging of performances, while also recommending effective models for its critical appreciation.
Leading theatre artist and scholar Mike Pearson draws upon thirty years practical experience, proposing original approaches to the creation and study of performance outside the auditorium. In this book he suggests organizing principles, innovative strategies, methods and exercises for making theatre in a variety of contexts and locations, and through examples, case studies and projects develops distinctive theoretical insights into the relationship of site and performance, scenario and scenography. This book encourages practical initiatives in the conception, devising and staging of performances, while also recommending effective models for its critical appreciation.
- GenresTheatre
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2010
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About the author
Mike Pearson
23 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2025
I used this for my presentation paper, and honestly? This book is like that one person in your group project who shows up, does exactly what they’re supposed to, nothing more, nothing less, and quietly disappears once it’s over. Reliable? Sure. Inspiring? Not really.
Pearson gives a solid overview of what site-specific performance is, how it’s evolved, and how it operates in different contexts. It’s definitely useful if you need clear definitions and some historical grounding. But it’s not exactly a page-turner, and it didn’t push the conversation forward in a way that blew my mind.
It got the job done for my assignment—which is why it’s sitting comfortably at 3 stars. It showed up, performed its duty, and dipped. No complaints… but no applause either.
Pearson gives a solid overview of what site-specific performance is, how it’s evolved, and how it operates in different contexts. It’s definitely useful if you need clear definitions and some historical grounding. But it’s not exactly a page-turner, and it didn’t push the conversation forward in a way that blew my mind.
It got the job done for my assignment—which is why it’s sitting comfortably at 3 stars. It showed up, performed its duty, and dipped. No complaints… but no applause either.
March 2, 2022
Performance art in Wales, a great read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews