Fostering connection without collapse: attuning to the third Space in participatory performance practice

A notable problem in participatory theatre concerns how facilitators foster connection between participants while preserving individual distinctiveness. To address this problem, this paper draws on existing literature and examples from my doctoral research to argue that concepts of ‘third space’ provide a critical framework for recognizing and engaging participants’ differences in ways that neither create separation nor collapse difference into sameness, while sustaining meaningful connection. In my discussion, I differentiate between two interrelated forms of third space: the ‘personal third’ and the ‘intersubjective third’. I consider how attending to others’ ‘personal thirds’ might enhance facilitators’ capacity to engage sensitively and responsively with individual differences, and how recognizing the ‘intersubjective third space’ that emerges between people during interaction might help to foster connection across those differences. Foregrounding these considerations, I propose that concepts of ‘third space’ offer a valuable vocabulary for recognizing and navigating the relational complexities of participatory theatre practice.