"Change the Script": Costume Scenographics Workshop

Abstract

Change the Script (craft version) is a three-day co-performance design workshop grounded in costume scenographics. Participants created performative objects from discarded books and used them in solo, group, and collective performances. Costume's non-human agency acted as an intermediary between self and other, is argued to enable collaboration and reconnection. The guiding questions were how costume scenographics can balance power asymmetries, craft affective proximities, and foster co-decision processes in groups. Why Costume Matters | Theoretical framework Costumes are more than a representational layer; they actively transforms bodies, relations, and meanings (Lindgren & Lotker, 2023; Pantouvaki et al., 2021).They operate as mediators between human and non-human others, destabilizing human-centered design and opening relational encounters(Light, 2024). Understanding costume as a conscious act of appearing otherwise in front of others, can potentially reshape the rigidity of social roles (Goffman, 1959), negotiate the presuppositions, and disperse power. Costuming emerges as both an embodied practice and a methodological tool for participatory inquiry. The workshop builds on the discourse on Expanded Scenography (McKinney & Palmer, 2017) and Costume Scenographics (Hann, 2023). Practically draws on Tadeusz Kantor's bio-objects (Witts, 2010), Jacques Lecoq's methods (Lecoq et al., 2001), particularly the L.E.M. program, Barbieri's (2013) dress performance practice and Østergaard's (2018) community costume practice. These references supported the design of a costume-based method where crafting and performing became inseparable practices of engagement and connection. Methodology The workshop followed an ethnography-by-design methodology (Cantarella et al., 2020) and unfolded in a library space. Participants engaged in creative upcycling of discarded books to design costume-like objects. These objects became the medium for performance, first individually, then in small groups, and eventually collectively. The process was documented through photos, videos, and personal notes, and concluded with a roundtable discussion and a feedback questionnaire. Costuming Futures The workshop demonstrated how costumes can mediate co-design by reshaping identity, expanding empathy, and enabling encounters with otherness. Costuming, as a simple yet powerful performative practice, permits even non-performers to stage their self/opinions, take action, and contribute meaningfully to group processes while remaining "themselves". Future work should investigate how costume can reshape power asymmetries not only in performance-based co-design but also in broader participatory activities, and how institutions might play a crucial role in sustaining costume-led practices as tools for inclusive engagement. Participants described the workshop as a safe and generous environment that offered time and materials for playful experimentation. The choice to begin with body warm-ups rather than formal introductions initially created uncertainty, but ultimately encouraged participants to move beyond fixed roles and rigid self-identifications. Exercises were introduced only moments before they began, which generated anticipation, supported improvisation, and engaged participants directly in decision-making. Costumes provided a sense of courage, particularly for those with little performing experience or discomfort with public exposure. "If it were not for the mask I created, I wouldn't be able to perform." The shared process of co-performing fostered strong affective bonds, with participants expressing both gratitude for the collective experience and sorrow at its conclusion. Participants' Experience | Outcomes References • Barbieri, D. (2013). Costume ReConsidered , front the scenographic model box, to the scenographic body, devising a practice-based design methodology that re-focuses performance onto costume. In. Hellenic Costume Society.