The Guide : An Emerging Role in Participatory Theatre

Abstract

This research poster unpacks the capabilities and purpose of the guide: a proposed role in participatory theatre rising from a growing interest in audience involvement. In shedding the familiar comfort of passivity for agency, the spectator can become lost in the muddied waters of participation. The guide offers a helping hand by facilitating the transformation of audience members into active players through the minimization of performative risks. Utilizing dramatic theory as a method of analyzing a series of theatrical case studies, this research surveys the contemporary impact of the guide and highlights its potential in being developed further.