Mediatized Theatrical Communities

Participation and spectatorship in BAT-Bottega Amletica Testoriana project

Abstract

This paper analyses the intersection between theories of participative art (Bourriaud 1998; Kester 2004; Bishop 2012; Harvie 2013) and mediatization from the perspective of the participatory cultures (Jenkins 2006, 2008; Boccia Artieri 2012). To do this the paper presents the case study of BAT - Bottega Amletica Testoriana, an innovative performative project conceived by the director Antonio Latella in collaboration with the multidisciplinary circuit of the Marche Region (Amat) that stands out as a formative pathway and co-creation workshop for eight young performers. BAT must be seen as an experimental an innovative performative project based on the performers training and the audience engagement despite the lack of a final show. At the same time, it has engaged a select group of eight spectators who have followed the project closely and actively, forming a distinctive community of practice sustained by continuous interaction through a WhatsApp group. The paper presents the results of a research conducted both through interviews with the organizers, performers and a sample of the audience, and the analysis of the WhatsApp conversations among the eight spectators involved in the project and among them and the organizers. The presented findings allow to observe an emerging theatrical community based on the mediatization of dramaturgy, presence and communication roles.