Sharing the process: a consideration of interauthorship in the performing arts

In this article I argue that a key development arising from the interaction between digital technology and the performing arts has been the strengthening of the awareness of collaborative processes and indeed the celebration of collaboration as a fertile mode of creating innovative work. Using the work of shinkansen, a
collaborative venture that I co-founded as an example, I point out that many have recognised that innovative and significant works of
art have been created through emerging forms and disciplines, but that until recently few have fully acknowledged the effect on the people and the culture of developments such as inter/co- authorship.
I argue, furthermore, that the debate raging in the digital world regarding ownership is hardly raised in the world of theatre-based performance.
While the ethos of the internet has spawned initiatives such as open source and copy-left, the alternative trend of commodification, concepts
of originality and the divinely inspired artist continues to hold sway in mainstream theatre. While I acknowledge that there are exceptions, I argue that the recent past reveals a number of collaborative initiatives, which have slowly been realigned to privilege the individual and to present work as associated with, if not owned by, (the name of) an individual artist.