From escape rooms to TikTok to Tim Horton’s “Roll Up the Rim to Win” to DIY everything, participatory performance is ingrained in the very fabric of our contemporary society. Written in a series of alphabetical, standalone mini essays that activate the reader as a participant who chooses their own path, PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation collects, describes, and analyzes live performances in which the audience become participants in the piece itself.

Jenn Stephenson and Mariah Horner explore the parallels between participatory theatre and the interactive phenomenon where the passive consumer is now engaging with their content. In a world where participation is key to our social interaction, Stephenson and Horner find a unique approach to understanding our relationship with theatre, and by extension, each other.

Jenn Stephenson is Professor at Queen’s University in the Dan School of Drama and Music. She is the author of two books: Insecurity: Perils and Products of Theatres of the Real (UTP, 2019) and Performing Autobiography: Contemporary Canadian Drama (UTP, 2013). Recent articles have appeared in Theatre Research in Canada and Contemporary Theatre Review.

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Mariah Horner is a Ph.D. candidate at Queen’s University in the Cultural Studies Department. She won the 2022 Mayor’s Arts Award (Creator) in Kingston as a site-specific theatre artist and is a vocalist with Kingston supergroup The Gertrudes. Recent articles have appeared in Canadian Theatre Review and Theatre Research in Canada.

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Jeff McGilton is a queer creator, collaborator, and facilitator with a passion for community-based arts. Trained in applied theatre, Jeff acknowledges the power that art can have in the conveying of meaning, bridging of gaps, and shifting of perspectives. He is a firm believer in the importance of access to art for all and has worked in multiple settings that facilitate that process. He hopes that the puzzles and illustrations found throughout this book bring its readers joy, rumination, laughter, a conversation, new collaborations, and happy realizations.

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