On the Emergence of Routines: An Interactional Micro-history of Rehearsing a Scene

Abstract In workplace settings, skilled participants cooperate on the basis of shared routines in smooth and often implicit ways. Our study shows how interactional histories provide for routine coordination. We draw theater rehearsals as a perspicuous setting tracking histories. rehearsals, process building performing is focus. builds collections consecutive performances same instructional task coming from corpus video-recordings 30 h professional actors German. Over time, instructions their implementations are routinely coordinated by virtue accumulated experience: Instructions become shorter, timing responses becomes increasingly compacted long negotiations reduced to two-part sequence instruction implementation. Overall, perform scene emerges. histories, patterns projection next actions emanating reliable can be used respondents sources anticipating relevant actions. The contributes our understanding knowledge accumulate over experiences publicly performed reciprocally perceived ways this impinges efficiency joint action.