Dramaturgies of mobility: on the road with Rob Drummond’s Bullet Catch

Abstract

Focusing on the author’s recent journeys to the USA and Brazil as co-director of the touring production of Bullet Catch by Rob Drummond (the Arches 2012), this article draws on the insights and methodologies provided by John Urry’s ‘mobilities paradigm’ in order to develop a dramaturgy of international touring. An autoethnographic methodology is employed as a way of mobilizing this discussion, bringing theoretical reflection together with embodied, experiential travel. Building on existing ‘mobile methods’, authoethnography is presented as a model for researching this subject ‘on the move’, revealing the ways in which a performance can be shaped and interpreted in different ways depending on the conditions and processes of mobility.

Keywords:

• mobilities paradigm
• touring theatre
• Bullet Catch
• Rob Drummond
• mobile autoethnography