Bald heads & blue stars: a theory, model and impact of verbatim theatre practice

Bald heads & blue stars: a theory, model and impact of verbatim theatre practice

The aim of this practice-led research is to investigate the creative practice of a verbatim theatre process. Verbatim theatre involves interviewing a community about a topic or event, recording these conversations and using the resulting stories as stimulus for the creative development of performance. I have made a significant contribution to theatre-making knowledge by articulating a theory and model of practice and investigating the impact of verbatim theatre practice on a community of storytellers.

I engaged in a rigorous Reflective Practitioner Case Study to write and perform in bald heads & blue stars, through interviewing 15 women from the Queensland Alopecia community and translating their stories into performance. Across this process I facilitated a triangulated documentation of practice, to induce rich data sets that were integral to articulating a key outcome for the research: the Engaged Verbatim Theatre Praxis model and theory of practice. Current research has focused primarily on debates around truth and authenticity, leaving a distinct absence of engagement with the artistic practice of verbatim theatre. Within the framework of the Engaged Verbatim Theatre Praxis model I name and define key creative practices within the verbatim theatre process, such as Community Immersion, Listening for Aesthetics and Voicing Stories. Analysing and naming these practices provides a new and considered language around the artistic process of verbatim theatre, contributes to the knowledge and understanding of theatre making and is a step towards understanding the impact of creative practice on the storytelling community.