reperforming

Reperforming refers to the act of performing a work or action again, typically in artistic, musical, or research contexts. The term encompasses both restaging a past performance and the replication of procedures to verify findings or preserve practices over time. It emphasizes the continuation or reanimation of material rather than the creation of something entirely new.

In the arts, reperforming is a practice within performance studies and theatre where a past work is restaged, often by different performers, directors, or in a new social or cultural context. Such restagings can reinterpret meanings, test the work’s adaptability, or make it accessible to new audiences. Reperformances are not necessarily faithful re-creations; they may reinterpret choreography, staging, or dramaturgy while retaining core material or authorship.

In music, reperforming can involve performing a historic piece again, sometimes with period instruments, different ensembles, or alternative interpretive decisions. Historically informed performance is one approach that emphasizes reperforming works from earlier eras to approximate the practices of their composers. Reperforming in music can illuminate how performance choices shape audience perception and the work’s reception across time.

In science and practice, reperforming aligns with replication or repetition: repeating an experiment, protocol, or procedure to assess reliability, generalizability, and robustness of results. Reperforming in this sense supports methodological transparency and cumulative knowledge, while also highlighting contextual factors that influence outcomes.

Overall, reperforming sits at the intersection of preservation, interpretation, and verification. It raises questions about authorship, originality, and the ways meaning evolves when a work or procedure is enacted again. See also replication, revival, reenactment, and performance studies.