Browsing by Author "Marais, Jamie Emily"

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    Mission : Heartstone – creating a physical theatre performance by incorporating South African sign language
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Marais, Jamie Emily; Du Preez, Petrus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Drama.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sign Language awareness is rapidly increasing throughout the world. One reason for this is the constant attempt to incorporate Sign Language into political, social and cultural spaces. South Africa is quickly joining this cultural and linguistic movement. This arts-based research describes the process of incorporating South African Sign Language (SASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) in the creation process of a Physical Theatre approached performance. The study examines mime, puppetry, object theatre, improvisation and contact improvisation as building blocks within the Physical Theatre process and indicates how a Sign Language can be related to and incorporated in these practises. These practises are discussed in relation to the characters and scenes in the performance creation and production of Mission: Heartstone. The study describes how the all-hearing cast, with no prior knowledge of SASL or BSL, experienced working with this visuospatial language. As part of the research, an alternative style script, mainly focusing on the Sign Language used in the production, is included. The study concludes with the discussion of how, jointly, Physical Theatre and Sign Language can be used as a creative impulse to create theatre.