The analysis of the relationshipbetween body-space and boundries in art performances taking place in black box stages

We monitor, touch, listen and measure the world surrounding us with all our bodily existence. Experiential world contitutes the boundaries of our body, memory and identity by being organized around our body. As it is inseparable with its spatial and conditional existence, the image of ego constantly communicates and interacts with the environment. Architecture, in all this bodily experience, functions as a mediator between us and the outer world. Body, as a means of communication between the individual and the environment, plays an important role in identifying and organizing the space. As the body experiences a space, it attributes new meanings to the space in environmental and aesthetical terms. In other words, it re-generates the space. The reactiveness of the body and the space towards each other is present as the interaction between the body and the space. In this thesis, the empicial relationship between the body and the space has been examined through black box stages, which come fore as "bare" places which allows the bodily awareness to be manifested the most. Within the context of this thesis, the body, as a tool to sense and interpret the outer world, has been discussed as the main constituent element of the interaction; while the space has been approached as the area which is perceived, interpreted and re-generated, therefore dominated by the body. The motion, which has been generated by the interaction of the body with the body, brings numerous possibilities in terms of the design of the place of such motion. The abstraction process of the body and the loss of meaning of terms of orientation such as "up" and "down" during the interaction of the body and the space has been more visible while accommodated by a black box stage. Rather than a designed and organized space, black box spaces are identified and re-generated as a place for a network of isolated relationships. With the addition of the audience to this experience, the spatial boundaries have been transformed by the parameters caused by the audience, as well as the motion happening on the stage. In this manner, black box stages brings new possibilities of a space design which is able to transform through the interaction of the artists and the audition, rather than a stable and static one. Therefore, this thesis study emphasizes new possibilities regarding space design within the intersection of theatre and architecture. Consisting of four sections, this thesis covers the purpose, hypotheses, methods and obstacles in the first section. The second section gives the literature review regarding the concepts of "place" and "body" and the interaction between them. Also, this section explaing black box stages within the context of the literature review, along with their place in the structured environment and contemporary theatre scene of Istanbul. The third section examines the elements of place-body interaction in black box stages through three case studies from Istanbul contemporary theatre scene. The last section provides the conclusion of the thesis as the results of the analyses within the context of the literature review.