GAIP and Cerita Pendik Performances plus Leader of Artists Forum on "De-narcissism and the Other"

BACKGROUND: My work as a writer and performer refers to cultural theories which examine audience engagement in large public spaces (Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism; Performance Art Journal; International Journal of Performing Arts and Digital Media.)  Julia Kristeva (1980) and Barbara Creed (2012) discuss psychoanalytic theories of “the other” and of narcissism which investigate narrative as a reflection of psycho-physical relations between performer and audience.  How may we define and understand “the other” as a tool for generating performances that appeal to multicultural audiences in a large-scale, public context? CONTRIBUTION:   To explore this question, I collaborated on choreography, performance and stage design of  two public theatre works “GAIP” and “Cerita Pendik” with seven highly regarded artists (see proofs.) Our goal was to engage large pubic audiences without disrupting civic activity in a large, public UNESCO World Heritage tourist site.  This research was transferred to other researcher/practitioners in an artists’ forum on “De-Narcissism and the Other” that I led with Festival Director of the Melaka Performing Arts Festival.  These projects contribute to current debates in performance practice exploring techniques of audience engagement which loosen the traditional theatrical boundaries between performer and the audience as somehow different, divided or “other.” SIGNIFICANCE:  This research has international significance as a focal point of the Melaka Art and Performance Festival; a prize-winning event (see proofs) held on a UNESCO World Heritage site with major stakeholders: the Melaka City Authority and Malaysia Government department for Tourism and the Arts. My creative work was selected by the Festival admissions panel dedicated to bring innovative and inclusive theatre to an international public across socio-economic and cultural divides. The work was staged with support from Australian High Commission; the embassies of Japan, Indonesia, Ireland, Thailand, Italy, Colombia, France, the New Zealand High Commission, Alliance Française de Kuala Lumpur and Institut Français.