Decision-Making and Gender Dynamics in Processes of collaborative theatre-making
In my artistic research project, I explore how decision-making is negotiated in collaborative theatre-making. Situated within theatre studies and research on collaborative creation, my project addresses how these processes emerge through communication, power relations, and gender dynamics.
The main research question asks how and under which conditions decision-making processes are negotiated within collaborative theatre-making, and how gender dynamics may influence these processes.
The project combines a practice-based approach with theoretical inquiry. I use my artistic practice as the primary empirical basis and draw on three interrelated theoretical frameworks: feminist and gender theory to analyse power relations, affect theory to examine embodied and non-verbal interaction, and theories of internal group dynamics in theatre to understand different modes of collaboration.
The primary material consists of three consecutive theatre projects that I initiate and participate in as a performer-researcher. They provide an inside perspective and function as analytical sites for observing and experimenting with decision-making and power relations. In addition, I analyse rehearsals in two theatre groups, Toxic Dreams (Vienna) and Dah Theatre (Belgrade), as comparative case studies that contextualise my own practice and provide external perspectives on collaborative processes.
Methodologically, I combine practice-based research with a qualitative approach. These include devising and documentation of artistic processes, participant observation, reflective writing, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and comparative analysis.
By clarifying how decision-making is negotiated through communication, gender dynamics, and power, I aim to I aim to deepen the understanding of decision-making in collaborative theatre practice and to show how such understanding may inform more inclusive forms of collaborative creation.
First supervisor: Univ. Prof. Dr. Barbara Lüneburg, ABU
Second supervisor: Univ. Prof. Dr. Silke Felber, Art University Linz
Biography
Katarina Marković is a theatre-maker, performer and educator based in Belgrade, Serbia. She holds a Master’s degree in Serbian Language and Literature and received scholarship-supported training at LISPA / arthaus.berlin in physical and devised theatre, following Jacques Lecoq’s pedagogical approach. Her artistic training also includes education in physical, participatory, and site-specific theatre, developed through participation in numerous workshops and training programmes.
Her artistic practice encompasses both authored and collaborative theatre-making. She has performed in a range of theatre and performance projects, with a focus on performance, devising processes, and collaborative creative work.
Her doctoral research focuses on the interplay between collaborative decision-making, gender dynamics, and theatre practice.