EXAMPLE OF A PROSPECTIVE AND DOCUMENTARY DRAMATURGY FOR ÇA IRA (1) FIN DE LOUIS, BY JOËL POMMERAT

Abstract

This article proposes a description and theorization of the dramaturgical work done by Marion Boudier alongside author-director Joël Pommerat for the creation of Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis (created in 2015 and represented at São Paulo International Theater Exhibition in 2016). How to work from the archives of the French Revolution to accompany an author-director who writes his texts with the scene during rehearsals? Marion Boudier presents what she calls "prospective and documentary dramaturgy". This accompaniment of scripture is distinguished from classical dramaturgy practices. In order to enter scripture, Joël Pommerat directed his actors in long-prepared and nourished improvisations for an important historical documentation. Rather than clarifying a previous text with the purpose of transposing it into the scene, the dramaturgical work then consists in proposing a documentary material relevant to the chosen theme and potentially resourceful for the theater, then reacting to its scenic evolutions. This way, the dramaturgy is a kind of investigation, carried out at the service of the author-director and his actors throughout the process of creation.

Keywords

Dramaturgy. Prospection. Documentation (archive). Stage writing. French Revolution.