Chiara Grima de la Cruz, M.A.

I am a research associate in subproject E02, “Human Differentiations of the Audience: Inclusion and Exclusion through Practices of Addressing and Segregation in Contemporary Theater,” in SFB 1482 “Human Differentiation” at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Together with Jun. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Wihstutz and Dr. Elena Backhausen, I am investigating a cultural shift in adressing the audience in contemporary theater.

What am I researching?

Accessibility strategies such as content notes or relaxed performances promise new approaches and sensitivity, but also create new categorizations. I am investigating how such practices are institutionalized and what normative ideas about the audience, kinds of vulnerability, and sense of belonging they produce.

In my dissertation, I therefore ask, among other things, how content notes as discrimination-sensitive strategies for addressing audiences contribute to the differentiation of spectators. I am interested in how forms of address structure audiences and how theatrical gatherings, social discourses, and public spheres influence each other.

Where do I come from?

I come from the Ruhr area and studied theater studies and linguistics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. My experience in publishing and journalism has also shaped me.

Further research interests

My other main areas of interest are queer-feminist theory, ancient Greek theater, contemporary political theater, and class issues in the arts and culture sector.