S’engager dans un atelier-théâtre. À la recherche du sens de l’expérience

Rachel Brahy (2019)

Mons: Éditions du Cerisier. PhD thesis.
(With an afterword from Laurent Thévenot).

About the book

“Rachel Brahy devotes her study to collective theatrical creation in workshops. By following the concrete work of several action-theater companies, she bears witness to the evolution of an approach to popular education and culture, which appeared in the 1970s, and raises the question, through the various creative experiences she has accompanied, of what remains of its political significance in a world dominated by the economy.”

EXTRAIT

“3. Une modalité d’engagement spécifique
De quel engagement parle-t-on? Quels modes de coordination entrent ici en jeu? Pour apprécier les conditions de félicité de l’engagement en atelier-théâtre, plusieurs termes, vocables, se sont progressivement imposés. Le côté humain a été souligné par les participantsLe.s comédiens-animateurs ont parlé d’eaiser, évoquant ainsi des composantes telles que la familiarité relationnelle et la confiance. Elles permettent de mieux comprendre l’engagement observé dans l’atelier-théâtre et l’agir concret qui s’y déploie. La modélisation théorique effectuée par le sociologue français Laurent Thévenot sous la notion de «régime d’engagement» nous paraît adaptée pour décrypter les spécificités de l’atelierthéâtre. Voyons plus exactement ce qu’il en est.

3.1. L’apport de la théorie des régimes d’engagements
Tout d’abord, il faut avoir à l’esprit que Laurent Thévenot a théorisé trois «régimes d’engagement. Ces derniers représentent, en somme, trois manières d’agir, de se coordonner aux autres, à soi et aux situations rencontrées.” (p. 85/86)

EXTRACT
3. A specific form of engagement
What kind of angagement are we talking about? What modes of coordination come into play here? In order to appreciate the conditions of felicity of the engagement in the workshop-theatre, several terms and expressions have gradually emerged. The human side was emphasized by the participantsThe actors-facilitators spoke of eaiser, evoking components such as relational familiarity and trust. They allow for a better understanding of the commitment observed in the workshop-theatre and the concrete action that takes place there. The theoretical model developed by the French sociologist Laurent Thévenot under the notion of “regime of engagement” seems to us adapted to decipher the specificities of the workshop-theatre. Let us see more exactly what it is.

3.1. The contribution of the theory of commitment regimes
First of all, it is necessary to keep in mind that Laurent Thévenot has theorized three “regimes of Engagement. These represent, in short, three ways of acting, of coordinating oneself to others, to oneself and to the situations encountered.” (p. 85/86)