When light comes to matter

The concepts of relationality and materiality, as explored in recent studies in contemporary scenography, offer valuable insights into the nature and aesthetics of performance lighting. Particularly, the theory of agential realism put forth by physicist-theorist Karen Barad, along with the notion of intra-action, challenges the metaphysical assumptions of individualism and the preexistence of separate entities, encompassing both human and nonhuman elements. This theory troubles the understanding of the relationality and materiality of light and invites a reimagination of its supposedly predetermined nature and aesthetics within the realm of theatre. In this short essay, I revisit my original performance work with intra-action as the core creative concept. By examining the intra-actions involving light and other human and nonhuman entities, with a specific focus on the creative process, I argue that the concept of intra-action has the potential to provoke a rethinking of light as a predetermined, independent visual element of performance. Furthermore, it stimulates a reimagining of the aesthetics of light in relation to other theatrical elements, encompassing both human (creators, performers, and spectators) and nonhuman matters (sound, space, architecture, technological apparatus, etc.) within the context of contemporary performance

Aesthetics · Art · Sociology · Visual arts · Cinema and Media Studies · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism · Theatre and Performance Studies

• The Diffracting Light in Contemporary Theatre

  Amy Chan, Amy B W Chan•Performance Research•2020

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• Diffracting Diffraction

  K Barad•Parallax•2014

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