Hi, my name is Pieter Verstraete. Welcome to my profile page.
I am an interdisciplinary scholar who lectures in-between Theatre Studies, English/American Literature, Cultural Studies, Communication & Design. Besides that, I have experience as an art/theatre critic and as a dramaturge, with special expertise in sound (design) for the theatre, music theatre and audio drama. My second main expertise as a postdoc researcher lies in issues of (post)migration, diaspora in performance, and performative protest, particularly with a focus on Turkey where I lived for the past 6 years.
I love teaching! I give workshops on sound and listening, urban theatre strategies, audio narratives, postmodern playwriting, and the Theatre of the Oppressed. At the university, particularly my classes on American contemporary Drama, Theatre Theory, and Film Analysis are really well-received. And I enjoy discussing political issues related to the contemporary stage and aesthetic protest.
Among my publications, I recommend reading:
“The Secret Theatre Revisited: Eavesdropping on Locative Media Performances”, Journal of Sonic Studies, 5 (Dec., 2017/2).
“Türkiye’de Sembolik Siyaset ve Protesto Kültürü: Gezi’den Sonra Yeni Bir Performativite mi?” [Trans. Symbolic Politics and Protest Culture in Turkey: A Post-Gezi Performativity?], PRAKSIS, 42 (Nov., 2016/3).
“Drama and Performance Studies”, co-authored with Daniël Ploeger. In: The Years Work in Critical and Cultural Theory (YWCCT), Vol. 23, (2015), ed. Neil Badmington & David Tucker. The English Association: 351-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ywcct/mbv018 . (Published: 04 June 2015).
Curtin, Adrian & David Roesner, eds. “Sounding Out ‘the Scenographic Turn’: Eight Position Statements”. With statements from Ross Brown, Adrian Curtin, George Home-Cook, Lynne Kendrick, David Roesner, Katharina Rost, Nicholas Till and Pieter Verstraete. In: Theatre & Performance Design, 1:1-2 (2015): 107-125. DOI: 10.1080/23322551.2015.1027523. (Published: 04 June 2015).
“Still Standing? A Contextual Interview with ‘Standing Man’ Erdem Gündüz”. In: Jahrbuch Türkisch-Deutsche Studien 2014, In der Welt der Proteste und Umwälzungen: Deutschland und die Türkei, Vol. 5. Göttingen: V&R Unipress 2015: 121-36.
Pamela Karantonis, Francesca Placanica, Anne Sivuoja & Pieter Verstraete. Cathy Berberian: Pioneer of Contemporary Vocality. Oxford: Routledge 2014. (including co-authored introduction)
“Cathy Berberian’s Stripsody: An Excess of Vocal Personas in Score and Performance”. Cathy Berberian: Pioneer of Contemporary Vocality, ed. Pamela Karantonis, Francesca Placanica, Anne Sivuoja & Pieter Verstraete. Oxford: Routledge 2014: 67-85.
“The Standing Man Effect”. Mercator-IPC Policy Brief. Istanbul: Istanbul Policy Center, Sabanci University, Stiftung Mercator Initiative 2013.
“Turkish Post-Migrant ‘Opera’ in Europe: A Socio-Historical Perspective on Aurality”. The Legacy of Opera: Reading Music Theatre as Experience and Performance, ed. Clemens Risi & Pamela Karantonis. Amsterdam: Brill Rodopi 2013: 185-207.
“Radical Vocality, Auditory Distress and Disembodied Voice in Performance: The Resolution of the Voice-Body in The Wooster Group’s La Didone”. In: Theatre Noise: The Sound of Performance. Eds. Lynne Kendrick & David Roesner. UK, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012: 82-96.
“Vocal Extensions: Disembodied Voices in Contemporary Music Theatre and Performance”. Department of Public Sound. Ed. Including Vinyl Record. Ed. Peter Fengler. The Netherlands, Rotterdam: De Player 2012: 1-20.
“The Listener’s Response”. In: Performance Research 3, On Listening (October, 2010), ed. Catherine Laws:88-94. DOI: 10.1080/13528165.2010.527213. (Published: 29 October 2010).
For a full list of my publications, please see here.