MWTheatricalism

Theatricalism The emergence of theatricalism as a popular theatre experience was a radical break from previous realistic works for theatre and established parameters for what art is. Theatricalism eschews the traditional ideas of realism for an attempt at a more thought-provoking, outside-the-box adventure into the fantastic and absurd. Such forays into the abstract world of theatricalism include Samuel Beckett’s __Play__, Robert Wilson’s interpretations of Shakespearian sonnets, and Tony Kushner’s __Angels in America__. Each of these theatrical works is thought-provoking in the sense that the most common reaction of the audience will likely be that of confusion. However, repeated viewings or readings of the works reveal a more symbolic and systematic writing; they ask the audience to question the reasons for the action onstage, the meaning of the work as a whole, as well as what actually comprises or deems something as art; in Robert Wilson’s __Einstein on the Beach__, for example, there is an enormous focus on physical movements and gestures as well as looped dialogue, yet the work is referred to as an “opera”. The question “What is art and what is theatre?” resounds throughout these plays and forces the audience to question its own preconceived notions on the matter. The idea of theatricalism seems to operate by sacrificing plausibility and a sense of flow and plot for an emphasis on the symbolic, conceptual, and philosophical ideas behind art itself. Realistic props and scenery are unnecessary, and in most ways superfluous, to the action itself. In older “realistic” pieces, characters—their social classes, gender, age, etc.—were embodied by the choices in costuming and the settings in which they inhabited. Concrete realistic staging and costuming gave a foundation for the plot and therefore the dialogue; shows based on theatricalism often replace the traditional setting-scene relationship and instead choose to have the physical setting unrelated to the action or scenario playing out onstage (i.e. Shakespeare’s sonnets recited in front of gas pumps). Within the minimalist approach to setting, there are extremes as evidenced by __Play__; the only scenery Beckett mentions is three urns, and the spark of the play lies within the creative usage of lighting and the rapid-paced dialogue. Theatrical plays, like the postmodern literary movement, have a blatant disregard for the conventional use of language, often looping, rearranging and manipulating it to create a sense of chaos. The repetition of the entire script in __Play__ and the random switching of languages in __Angels in America__ are just two examples of the ways that playwrights can use and disregard the “traditional” rules of language. Words are more for conveying an effect than holding substance, so chants, singing, and speedy lines give the audience a gut-feeling or primal response; rather than portray a message or moral based on dialogue and its meaning, theatrical dialogue tends to provoke an analysis of the weight of words and their actual importance in society. As opposed to realism, where believability in the scene and the emotion and portrayal of the characters is most important, theatricalism desires to make a statement in the broader sense of theatre. For example, it is very unlikely that Shakespeare intended for one of his sonnets to be performed by women in drag holding gas nozzles with a floating hat in the background, yet a director interpreted it as such in what can be considered a questioning or re-imagining of Shakespeare’s intentions. The melding of completely unrelated topics and worlds is the essence of the abstract, and that abstractness thrives in the realm of the theatrical and the dramatic. In some theatrical plays, plot takes a backseat to sensational movements or what might be better described as performance art. There is no plot or dynamics to a reading of Shakespeare at a gas station, but the slow, deliberate movements of the performers reveals a serious control and an odd rhythm to the scene. Theatricality revels in the obscene and the absurd whether it is in concept or staging; its goals are to question, comment, and provoke via any and all aspects of theatre possible. Realism and theatricalism are extremely different in action; while realism approaches a real-life “natural” and plausible view of life, theatricalism is a caricature of reality that explores the incoherent. The essence of the theatrical is the acceptance and exploitation of language, facets of society, and art itself; to create a theatrical work involves less attention to literal details, and more imagining of what is beyond the written word.