Improper Bodies Robots, Prosthetics, and Disability in Contemporary Performance

Elizabeth Jochum, Marco Donnarumma. In Hilary Bergen, Eric Mullis, Benny Simon, Sydney Skybetter (Eds.), Robot Theaters - Collisions in Performance and Social Robotics. London: Routledge, 2026

This chapter examines robotics, prosthetics, and disability in three contemporary performances: Louis-Philippe Demers and Bill Vorn’s Inferno, Claire Cunningham’s Thank You Very Much, and Marco Donnarumma’s Ex Silens. Each of these performances uniquely stages bodies in collaboration with technology in ways that emphasize the malleability of human bodies and challenge conventional assumptions about prosthetics and wearable devices. Through a detailed discussion of these works, this chapter leverages critical disability studies (CDS) and disability aesthetics as important tools for analyzing robot performance.

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