The Poetics of Research – December 11

In connection with the election to the researcher position at the Institute, we invite you to the “Poetics of Research” seminar on Wednesday, December 11, at 15:00, held in the Reading Room of the Archives of Latvian Folklore, 5th floor of the National Library of Latvia.

Kitija Balcare will present the lecture:
“The Body and Ecotheatre: From Movement to Bioperformativity”

Abstract:
Amid the decline of biodiversity, interspecies relationships are increasingly reflected in the arts, emphasizing that humans and non-human beings live in interrelatedness rather than isolation. In theatre, the body and its physical presence play a vital role in expressing this interconnectedness. The lecture will explore Latvian examples of ecotheatre from 2020–2024, where movement becomes a form of bioperformativity—no longer symbolic but embodying the presence of other-than-human beings in shared performance space. This embodied practice enhances ecological awareness through sensory and physical engagement.

Theoretical framework includes:
Una Chaudhuri (species theatre), Lisa Woynarski (bioperformativity), Anna Tsing (interspecies relationality);
Methodology: ecocritical performance analysis based on Theresa J. May’s approach.