Writing with the body

signed dramaturgy as a tool for deaf theatrical sovereignty

Abstract

This study examines Signed Dramaturgy as a form of performative writing that positions the deaf body as the primary site of theatrical creation. Grounded in the understanding that Sign Language constitutes a spatial-visual linguistic system, the research proposes a theatrical notation model capable of translating the embodied grammar of Libras into staging directions. The analysis centers on the play Sopro de Liberdade (Breath of Freedom), exploring how visual notation structures actions, emotions, and technical components in ways that remain accessible to deaf artists and audiences alike. Findings suggest that Signed Dramaturgy articulates an epistemological shift within Deaf Theatre: rather than adapting scripts written in Portuguese, it establishes an autonomous poetics in which performance emerges from movement, rhythm, and the expressive dynamics intrinsic to deaf culture. The article argues that this practice exceeds the status of a theatrical method, functioning instead as an act of artistic sovereignty that reclaims representational and narrative agency for deaf creators. It concludes by emphasizing the urgent need to cultivate deaf playwrights trained in embodied writing as a means to consolidate a self-determined and self-referential theatrical tradition.