Ukulele Mekulele : balancing sole authorship and devised approaches to performance making

Abstract

The creation of the performance work UKULELE MEKULELE is used as a site to uncover the interactions between the work of the sole author and group-devised processes. The increasing acceptance of the 'openness' in contemporary theatre practice has strong implications for the role of the sole author, who traditionally has been the provider of the 'closed' - known quantities that are subsequently 'realised' by a production. How can the sole author best write for the seemingly contradictory environment of the group-devised production? Critical incidents from the performance are selected for study. These 'moments that work' and their provenance are utilized as examples of the interaction of the various forces at play in the performance making process. The researcher's intimate contact with the artwork entails a unique vantage point from which to observe these forces at work. Their evocation and analysis will have relevance for the creators of live art in collaborative contexts.