Readings for a Contemporary Theatrical Poetics

Abstract

LOOKING! MAKING-LOOK: A Theatrical Paradox. Undoubtedly, there is a visual activity in the theater that can be considered direct and even unreflective: the act of looking at the stage. Through this simple activity, the subject is already defined as a spectator. However, as in the visual arts in general, the act of looking in the theater is accompanied by a certain urgency. This urgency underpins it as its rationale and reinforces it. It is the urgency of *making-seen*, and the singularity of the stage as a focal point continually asserts itself upon the spectator to secure their attention. Thus, by definition, the theatrical stage is that which *gives-to-be-seen*.