Performing arts archives: dynamic entities complementing and supporting scholarship and creativity.(Report)

The Role of Archives in Democratic Societies

In the course of history, whenever political and social oppression take place, many records that document the past and the rights of countries or individuals are destroyed in order to make essential evidence unavailable to anyone who may try to counteract the oppressors' actions. Existing memory is erased. The task of democratic archives is exactly the opposite: to preserve memory and the records "created and received in the course of individual or institutional activity and set aside (preserved) as evidence of that activity," (1) as well as "for action or reference." (2) By keeping the records safe from malicious tampering and destruction, archives in democratic societies hold individuals and institutions accountable for their actions, making it possible for citizens to access the records and exercise their rights. Many types of archives house the records of government, business, institutions of all kinds, and individuals, to name just a few examples. All of them, including those that house performing arts materials, participate in preserving democracy as well as cultural and artistic heritage. It is therefore important to make a clear distinction between those who create the records and the archivists who preserve these records for future reference and use. The archival profession supports and fights for service and accountability to the public. Therefore, archivists frequently oppose the actions of an administration or individual when these actions are anti-democratic. Recently, for example, the Society of American Archivists has been very vocal in objecting to the government's attempts to restrict access to public records. (3) From an archivist's perspective, archives are a means to democracy, and working for an institution or individual should never imply supporting wrongdoing. In a democratic society, everyone who uses archives needs to remember that without the work of archivists, many records would not survive and could not be used.

The archival community fully participates in international intellectual and political discourse. Archival theory and practice have changed over the years, embracing new ideas and challenges. Archivists such as South African Verne Harris have been active in reshaping archives and archival practice in ways that support and reflect progressive political and cultural changes in South Africa and other countries. (4) Much of archival literature and practice focus on the debate on archives as power; (5) this debate also takes place in other communities and disciplines, such as theatre and performance studies. The thinking of philosopher Jacques Derrida (6) and the postmodernist approach have played an important role in current archival discourse. (7) But even before these approaches emerged, those in the archival community were engaged in self-reflection and change. (8)

Performing Arts Archives and Sources

Archivists are active on many fronts and engage with different communities; their work is complex, and not all of its aspects are directly visible to users. For this reason, some users tend to have an oversimplified view of what archivists do, and the role of the archival community is not always properly recognized. Archivists' work is highly interdisciplinary, relies on strong theoretical and practical knowledge, and is carried out in a variety of settings and contexts. Performing arts archives are part of this variety. Archivists are players in the discussion that surrounds the documentation of live performance, which is a highly controversial topic in artistic, archival, and scholarly communities. The selection and preservation in archives of materials that are directly or indirectly related to performance may be seen as an imposition of power (9) and is often condemned as contrary to the spirit of live theatre and performance. (10) In many instances there is a lack of communication and understanding among artists, scholars, and archivists.

In reality, our goals are the same. We all love theatre and performance for its live quality and its cultural, political, and social meaning. No one is interested in turning theatre into a fixed, immutable entity. Performing arts archives make it possible to preserve the memory of artists, movements, and performances. Archivists want this memory to stay alive and be used for new creations. One Italian archivist who works in the archives of an active theatre, and whom I interviewed for one of my studies, remarked: "The archive has to be alive; it has to be an entity active for everybody. To the set designers whom ... I have the pleasure to know, I say: 'This archive is waiting for your work. You know it is here.' ... Because it [an archive] has to be alive. If its existence is not known, if it does not coexist with the city, the people, the scholars ... it is a dead archive. And theatre cannot be a dead issue: on the contrary, it has to make people understand everything that is out there, convey the possibility to do and discover things." (11)

Other performing arts archivists and scholars with whom I have been in contact through my studies and experience share this opinion. It is also recognized that the materials held in archives--for example, photographs, videos, promptbooks, programs, posters, sketches, plans, and stage models--are only one part of what is needed to study and understand theatre and performance. People and places are among the many sources used by scholars and artists. In dance, for example, the dancer's body is seen as an archive. "Dancers are the living archives of dance history," writes American dance critic and historian Martha Ullman West. "Long after they leave the stage, in their minds and muscles they hold the memory of form, rhythm, mood, and intent, constituting an irreplaceable resource for performers, historians, and frequently the choreographers themselves." (12) The dancers' bodies are a source of information and insight for others as well as for the dancers themselves; an American scholar and tap dancer whom I interviewed pointed out that she discovers connections as she dances. (13) Performance knowledge can be transmitted in many modes, as performance studies scholar Diana Taylor discusses in The Archive and the Repertoire. (14) Archivists do not only work with materials in archives; they also act as liaisons among communities and make users aware of all other types of sources available elsewhere.