A Practical Model of Urban Theatre Performance for Enhancing Contextual and Site-Specific Artistic Production

Abstract

Urban theatre performance has emerged as a critical response to the need for socially engaged and spatially grounded artistic practices. Yet, the absence of a structured, replicable model often leaves such performances fragmented and unsustainable. This study aims to develop a practical model of urban theatre performance that integrates the performer’s body, urban space, narrative construction, and ideological engagement as central components. The research employs a practice-based methodology, focusing on iterative creative processes, reflective documentation, and site-specific performance experiments conducted within dense urban environments. The model is structured into four practical stages: bodily exploration of public sites, development of action-based narrative modules, spatial rehearsal techniques, and site-responsive performances. The actor’s body functions as a perceptive and expressive medium, engaging directly with the textures, pressures, and social dynamics of the city. Narratives are not pre-written scripts, but emerge situationally through the body’s interaction with space and audience. Findings indicate that this model fosters performances that are not only aesthetically impactful but also ideologically resonant—revealing tensions, exclusions, and symbolic structures embedded in urban life. The model offers a transferable and context-sensitive framework for community-based artists and theatre practitioners aiming to create grounded, socially relevant performances in contemporary urban contexts