Presence and Micro-politics of the Sensible: Ouverture Alcina, an example of Postdramatic Composition

Abstract: Presence is a widely investigated topic in the Performing Arts. This paper provides an indicative review of the most recent theories, and proposes an approach to presence relying on the epistemologies of the somatic and gestural practices, as well as on the notion of affect (Massumi, 1995; 2015). Subsequently, it focuses on Ouverture Alcina, a solo by the Italian company Teatro delle Albe. Here, presence is the result of a physical, performative and compositional practice, a dispositive affecting the perceptive experience of the viewer as a form of political agency.