From reproduction to creativity and the aesthetic: towards an ontological approach to the assessment of devised performance

In this article I attempt to interrogate some of the issues around the assessment of live work. I use a range of theories, particularly Ranciere’s notion of the ‘aesthetic regime’ of art, to suggest a three pronged ontological approach to assessment that seeks to avoid the dangers of Bourdieu’s and Passeron’s concept of reproduction, and which instead values students’ creations. Firstly, I suggest that educators should embrace the ambiguities in moments which allow for the shifting of conceptual boundaries. Secondly, I propose that in such moments a social interaction is created between artwork/student and spectator/assessor that is indicative of both the arts generally and live performance specifically. Finally, I suggest that we require students to explore the frontiers of what can be created, explored, shown and understood through performance. I conclude by using the work of the company Goat Island to offer some practical examples of what this might mean for both live performance and assessment practices.