Reductionism in Drama and the Theatre. (eBook)

Contents 8
Acknowledgements 7
Introduction 12
Part1: Principles and Methods of Reductionism 24
1. Reductionism in the Natural Sciences 25
2. Reductionism in the Human Sciences 33
3. Critique of Reductionism 40
Part II: Towards an Epistemology of Drama and the Theatre 48
1. The Arts and the Sciences 49
2. The Theatre as Practical Science 53
3. The Theatre and Truth 57
4. Analysis in Action on a Stage of Observation 68
5. Processing the Product 74
Part III: Samuel Beckett: Less. Ever Less 78
Chronology of Beckett's Dramatic Works 79
Section A: A Celebration of Diminution 80
1. Reductions from Conventional Drama to Godot 96
2. Reductions from Godot to What Where 106
3. Reductions from Beginning to End 139
4. Draft Manuscript Reductions 154
5. Directorial Reductions 170
6. Reductions to Other Art Forms 180
Section B: Epistemology of Indeterminacy 198
Summary and Conclusion 211
Appendix 219
Bibliography 227

Introduction (p. 1)

The development of twentieth-century drama is characterized by a deliberate dissociation from those forms, structures, and subject matters which used to provide thé blueprints and building materials for playwrights of earlier periods.

Never before has so much energy been expended on questioning, modifying, reorganizing, and even obliterating an art form which has held such a secure place in thé history of our culture for so long. While différent schools of thought hâve been successful in explaining this dissociation by linking it to différent causes (social and political change, for example, displeasure with traditional modes of expression, a changing concept of man and his place in thé universe), much remains unexplored and unexplained.

Thus, for instance, we still know little about thé interrelation between a playwright`s intentions and thé dramatic format chosen to give them expression, or about thé relationship between thé duration of a dramatic présentation and its intensity.

In fact, it seems that thé opening-up of drama to a whole new range of possibilities, effected by thé dissociation from its long tradition, has magnified thé confusion about its essential nature and has caused considérable insecurity as to its typological status. The extraordinary prolifération of generic descriptions attached to twentieth century plays offers some indication of that confusion and insecurity.

At its conception, this study began as an investigation into one particular aspect of thé révolution in twentieth-century drama the unusually fréquent occurrence of formally and structurally "reduced" plays.

Sometimes called "minimalist drama," thèse are plays which pay ordy scant tribute to Aristotle`s demand for a "certain magnitude" and which deliberately defy many of our accepted beliefs about thé nature and, especially, thé scope of a theatrical expérience.

As many of thé formai and structural éléments which are considered definitional in traditional drama hâve been simplified, condensed, minimized, or even excluded in thèse plays, they hâve posed considérable problems in terms of their critical appréciation, and hâve lived marginal lives in thé répertoire of most théâtre companies.

They hâve challenged our idea of what constitutes "an evening in thé théâtre" and hâve forced us to revise our notion of what, minimally, constitutes a play. Originally, thé contention was that several complex and interconnected social and cultural factors had combined to engender thèse reduced plays, and that a Ml investigation of thèse factors would lead to a better understanding of thé reasons for their fréquent occurrence and thé character of their dramaturgical distinctiveness.

Included amongst thèse factors are thé reductive influences which highly industrialized and urbanized societies exercise on thé individual, thé equally reductive effects of a world devoid of a meaningful spiritual centre, thé disindividuation experienced by millions in mass societies and mass cultures, and thé création of increasingly limitée "visual rhythms" through thé pervasive exposure to commercial télévision.

The dramatic concem with "reduced" forms of being, thé hypothesis continued, effected a "reduced" drama. Following thé idea of thé theatrum mundi (thé stage as a mirror of thé world), thé dramatists` concern with thé decreasing radius of positive action generated a drama with little or no action, thé concentration on problems concerning individuals generated plays with a limited number of dramatis personae`, thé breakdown of communication generated plays which gravitate towards silence.