Archiving theatrical performance : a focus on the accession and description of theatrical play documents

Abstract

As a transient event, a theatrical performance is impossible to capture in its original form. Instead, only aspects of the performance may be captured: whether through preserving the material remains of the performance; or the functional documentation created to document the performance into photographic/videographic forms. Considering this, the author explores two prominent difficulties in the archiving of performance: Firstly, deciding which performance documents should be preserved; and secondly, how to organise and describe such documents in a manner that preserves the performance memory. This paper applies current research literature; case studies of the UM SPA Digital Archive and the UoB Theatre Archive; and a group interview with professionals who use and/or contribute to theatre archives – to develop guiding principles for the accession and description of theatre documents. The research demonstrates the importance of following the principles of respect des fonds and original order. Contrasting this, the research advocates for the use of computerised technologies in the development of non-traditional archiving models (including living archives) to authentically preserve the performance memory. Additionally, it illustrates the importance of strong archiving policies that standardise the accession, organisation, and description of theatrical documents – which is particularly lacking in the Maltese context. Moreover, it endorses collaboration between theatre makers and archivists to document and archive performance. The research concludes that theatre archives should utilise the guiding principle of collecting performance documentation that accounts for as many aspects of the performance memory as possible. This process must be adapted to the limitations of the archive. Finally, theatre documents must be organised in ways that link to both their originating performances and creators, using metadata description that can be adapted to the multitude of documentary formats and creators alike. Summarily, archiving practices must be adapted to the irregular nature of performance in order to authentically represent it.