Performative Writing as Training in the Performing Arts

Abstract

While it can be enjoyable and meaningful for students to perform on stage, they often view a performance’s end as just that—a definitive conclusion, a finished process. However, post-performance reflection, and revision, are critical components of art making. Offering writing strategies and examples of student work, this chapter advocates the body-centered, creative practice of performative writing as a useful method for training in the performing arts—an extended “stage” for students to revisit and reassess their work on the page as fully as on stage.