Unscripted Traditions: Q&A with the Authors Exploring Southeast Asian Performing Arts
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By Darren Moore and Stephanie Burridge
Improvisation Methods and Practices in Southeast Asia: Music, Dance, and Theatre edited by Darren Moore and Stephanie Burridge explores the diverse role of improvisation across the Southeast Asian performing arts. It investigates improvisation in the creative process, from rehearsal and performance to teaching and learning. The book, featuring a mix of theoretical perspectives and practical insights, highlights how contemporary artists use improvisation to foster collaboration and, most importantly, interdisciplinary innovation. Through full-length chapters and case studies, contributors showcase real-world applications of improvisation, emphasising its power as both a creative process and performance strategy. This anthology is a vital resource for researchers, educators, and practitioners, offering a comprehensive understanding of improvisation in Southeast Asian arts and sparking excitement about the potential for interdisciplinary innovation.
What inspired you to write “Improvisation Methods and Practices in Southeast Asia” at this particular moment time?
The project originated from the Music Research Symposium Singapore, hosted at LASALLE College of the Arts in 2023, which had the theme of improvisation. The conference highlighted a diverse range of practices in performance, pedagogy, and research, but we thought there was a need for more scholarship on the topic in Southeast Asia that included a multidiscipline approach. By including dance and theatre along with music, we were able to investigate how improvisation across the performing arts in the region interconnected creatively and philosophically.
What specific definition of “improvisation” did you work with when curating this collection, and how does it differ across Southeast Asian contexts?
As the editors, we intentionally kept the definition open and didn’t attempt to define improvisation. Leaving an open framework, the authors across the 20 chapters of the book were able to articulate a wide variety of engagements with improvisation in their practice, research and teaching. Case studies and examples from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and more permeate the volume making it an engaging and informative read. In fact, the only attempt at defining improvisation was made in the first chapter by Steve Dixon, who employed a philosophical lens and provided examples from a broad range of performance practices across disciplines.
The book explores improvisation across music, dance, and theatre. What connections or distinctions did you observe between improvisational approaches in these different art forms?
Through exploring improvisation across music, dance and theatre, we noticed that contemporary applications of improvisation were more intentional as a tool or skill. Interestingly, the more traditional the art forms, the more embedded the method was; it wasn’t seen as a separate skill, but rather an embodied approach inherent to the art form. The traditional forms were also interdisciplinary by nature, with music, dance and theatre very integrated. Perhaps the contemporary drive towards collaborative interdisciplinary work is a return to the norm?
What surprised you most during your research and compilation process?
The most surprising element was how differently all the authors in the book engaged with improvisation. The book includes deeply personal accounts of practice in settings that range from site-specific examples, community arts, to theatre productions, studio reflections, cultural exchanges and reflections simply on what it involves to create and perform through improvisation.
What insights from Southeast Asian improvisational methods might be valuable for performing artists and educators outside the region?
Performing artists and educators from outside the region benefit from the range of unique practices in Southeast Asia. Many of the writers are artist/practitioners who work within the sphere of traditional practices in the region or by studying and adapt elements creatively for contemporary resonance. The connection with tradition by contemporary practitioners enriches their practice, providing methods that inform their art-making including adopting an interdisciplinarity and experimental approaches that underpin the continual evolution occurring within Southeast Asian arts.
What key takeaway would you want readers to walk away with after reading this book?
Southeast Asia has a rich and distinctive performing arts tradition, as well as a unique engagement with improvisation. By studying performing artists, we can learn about the diverse methods and practices for engaging in the performing arts. We aim to reach as a wide audience who will not only enjoy the methods, narratives, research and examples across the chapters but be inspired to look towards the region for unique approaches to improvisation to energize their artistry, teaching and learning.
Improvisation Methods and Practices in Southeast Asia
Moore, Burridge, and the contributors explore the multifaceted role of improvisation, from rehearsal to performance and teaching to learning within the Southeast Asian performing arts scene. They feature a vital overview of how contemporary Southeast Asian artists use improvisation in their practice through diverse theoretical perspectives, innovative methods, and idiosyncratic strategies.