The Conversing Researcher Goes to the Theater
Methodological Possibilities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48075/rt.v20i2.37181Keywords:
conversing researcher, theater, art, gender dissidenceAbstract
This article stems from doctoral research completed in 2024, which investigated the role of travesti artists on Brazilian stages as sociocultural mediators in promoting the visibility and affirmation of gender dissidence. Inspired by the concept of the conversational researcher, proposed by social psychologist Peter Kevin Spink (2008), theatrical performances (both in-person and virtual) were visited, and conversations were established with audience members. Since its creation by Spink, the conversational researcher has frequented a relatively large variety of “micro-places” as its spaces of activity are called. This time the theater was visited, highlighting its potential as a locus for this type of qualitative research based on spontaneous and informal interaction. The research involved observing several performances of the theatrical play “Manifesto Transpofágico”, created and performed by actress and playwright Renata Carvalho. The approach involved attending theatrical performances, observing interactions between the artist and the audience, and establishing interactions with the people present assuming the posture of a conversational researcher, conducting more formal interviews inspired by Oral History, and finally proceeding, in collaboration with the artist, to an analysis of the empirical material thus obtained. The article does not explore the research material or results, aiming instead to detail and discuss the methodological approach taken.
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