Conceptual theatre in America, 1968-1990: "Rewrighting" the classics.
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Title
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Conceptual theatre in America, 1968-1990: "Rewrighting" the classics.
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Identifier
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AAI9119632
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identifier
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9119632
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Creator
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Green, Amy S.
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Contributor
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Gordon Rogoff
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Date
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1991
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater
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Abstract
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Conceptual productions of classic plays present familiar texts in radically altered theatrical forms. Their directors start with the original scripts but set them in environments that defy expectations of how they should look, behave, and sound on stage. They bring something alien to their production in order to make a contemporary statement about or through an old drama. Some simply change the setting. Others completely revise the style, structure, and implications of the play. The overstep traditional directorial boundaries and challenge entrenched definitions of masterpieces. They "rewright" what venerable playwrights have wrought and in the process have restored debate about classical theatre to the forefront of the American theatrical consciousness.;For use in this study, "rewright" was adapted from "playwright" to reflect the craftsmanship involved and the elevation of the director to equal status with the author of the text. Tradition presumes the author's predominance, but conceptual directors function more as dramatists' partners than servants in creating new theatre from old scripts.;The roots of director's theatre are traceable to the masterminds of twentieth-century theatricalism. Craig, Meyerhold, Brecht, and Artaud all experimented boldly with the classics. Artaud's "No More Masterpieces" provides an unofficial slogan. More recent practitioners in Europe include Grotowski, Brook, Stein, Strehler, and Mnouchkine. In America, early rewrighters include Orson Welles, Tyrone Guthrie, and Joseph Papp. The small army of conceptual directors who have come of age since the 1960s are the focus of this study.;A sample of American productions presented between 1968 and 1990 are examined in depth after an introduction to the critical landscape the movement's historical context. The main chapters are divided into productions of Greek and Roman plays, Shakespeare, Moliere, and the operas of Mozart-da Ponte. Featured directors include Joanne Akalaitis, Lee Breuer, Liviu Ciulei, Lucian Pintilie, Peter Sellars, Andrei Serban, Robert Woodruff, and Garland Wright. The study acknowledges the role of conceptual theatre in revitalizing classical production in America and articulates some general critical guidelines for evaluating individual conceptual productions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Theatre
