University of Glasgow

Theatrical Technologies: Challenging Gender and Sexuality in Theatre

Academic History:

2017 - present: PhD in Theatre Studies, University of Glasgow

2015 - 2016: MLitt in Playwriting and Dramaturgy, University of Glasgow (Distinction)

2011 - 2015: BA (Hons) Media and Communication, Glasgow Caledonian University (First Class Honours)

Supervisors:

Dr Michael Bachmann

Dr Stephen Greer

Research Interests:

• Theatre and Media Studies
• Phenomenology
• Queer Studies

My research explores the ways in which theatre can use technology and media to challenge strict gender binaries and sexual orientations. The use of technology in theatre can have a positive potential for dis-orientation, for creating a space in which spectators experience a fluidization and permeation of bodily and gender boundaries. Technology exists in a symbiotic relationship with the human body, and my research looks into the queer outcomes of such human-machine interactions. I build upon phenomenology and queer studies and use my own artistic practice as a writer to navigate the affective dimension of selected theatrical events.

Previous Research Projects:

My postgraduate thesis used hermeneutic phenomenology to explore the ways in which the use of media and technology in Graham Eatough's production of Lanark: A Life in Three Acts (Citizens Theatre, 2015) can be understood to challenge normative accounts of being in the world.

My undergraduate dissertation used a phenomenological framework to describe Andrey Tarkovsky’s film The Sacrifice (1986), and to discuss the ways in which themes of time and spirituality are mirrored in its technological design.

Scholarships:

2017: SGSAH Scholarship for Doctoral Study, University of Glasgow

2015: Scottish Funding Council Scholarship for Masters of Letters in Playwriting and Dramaturgy, University of Glasgow

Awards:

2016: Alasdair Cameron award for best overall student on a Theatre Studies Postgraduate Programme, University of Glasgow

2015: GCU Award for Best Overall Media and Communication student, Glasgow Caledonian University

Contact Details:

Address: University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Work Tel No: 07417 345296

Email: v.butucea.1@research.gla.ac.uk

First published: 25 September 2017