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7/27/2019 Postmodernism in Theatre - An Essay.docx
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Laura Jackson
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As aspiring performers we look to our predecessors - those who came before us in the
dramaturgical world - in order to learn from where theatre arrived. If art reflects culture then
as times have changed so too has theatre: the performative elements that are favoured, the
topical focuses and the subsequent social implications. Karen Jrs-Munby in her
Introduction to Lehmanns Postdramatic Theatre explains that although new theatre is playful
and innocent, the practitioners of contemporary experimental theatre are actually well
versed in the historical avant-garde, the neo- and post-avant-garde and so-called modern
drama (2006: 7). We need to understand what it is that preceded us and also what is
happening in the modern (2006: 7) dramatic world in order to understand our position
therein. It next comes naturally then, that the responsibility falls on the new wave of
performers to take the theatre of now into the next theatrical realm: we decide which
performative elements are favoured, we decide upon which topics we shall focus, and then
we shall see the social implications of our new theatre. Many terms have been used to
describe the new forms of theatre because it is difficult to name a movement of theatre that is
happen in the present- if we call ourselves modern (Jrs-Munby, 7), what is meant by the
term postmodernism. What is meant by the term post-dramatic? What is mean by the term
Performance Art and what is meant by the termperformance?
It is our goal to ascertain what is meant by these words and in what context are they are best
used, whether or not they are interchangeable and ifnotwhat differentiates them from each
other. Once we have deciphered the difference, it is worth examining them in regard to new
texts, in order to understand which of these terms are applicable (and how this is discernable).
For that reason let us take the work of artist Karen Finlay: A Constant State Of Desire and
Heiner MllersHamletmachine and examine them according to the following definitions.
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Firstly let us take the term postdramatic. The most conclusive examination of what this term
refers to and the elements that make it up isPostdramatic Theatreby Hans-Theis Lehmann.
Lehmann defines postdramatic theatre as that which explores the relationship of the
following concepts: text, space, time, the body and media. In Karen Jrs-Munbys
Introduction to Lehmanns work, she suggests that Post-Dramatic theatre requires a renewed
attention to be placed on the performance in theatre and that the previously assumed
dominance of the text should be challenged. (2005: 4). The focus should instead be placed
on the body in space and on an expectation on the spectator that he should become an active
co-writer of the (performance) text (2005: 6). Consequently if we define dramatic theatre
as having a focus on the dramatic text, then postdramatic theatre must be a movement
away from this focus. Karen Jurs-Munby clarifies what exactly this prefix post entails:
that post here is not to be understood as an epochal category, nor simply as a
chronological after drama, a forgetting of the dramatic past, but rather as rupture and a
beyond that continue to entertain relationships with drama and are in many ways an analysis
and anamnesis of drama (Lehmann, 2006: 2).
Our definition of postdramatic theatre therefore is one which favours more than just the
dramatic text, it exists not within a fourth wall, fictional totality but instead depicts the
world as open to its audience, an essentially possible world, pregnant with potentiality.
(Jurs-Munby, 2005: 12)
So, what then distinguishes postdramatic theatre from postmodernism? Postmodernism is a
term which describes a movement in art, music, architecture, literature, and philosophy
defined by a reaction to modernism. Again, to refer to the Introduction by Karen Jurs-
Munby, applying the term postmodernism to theatre is problematic because of the
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difficulty surrounding anycategorical definition of what the postmodern actually is and
consequntly the superficial (Jurs Munby, 2005: 13-14) terms postmodern theatre and
postmodern drama have been utilised in an attempt to find a way to tie this concept of
postmodernism in with performance. Wessendorf in Jurs-Munby summarises this idea that
postdramatic theatre deconstructs drama which is integral to theatre tradition, where as
postmodernism deconstructs our view of what is modern which does not always tie into
theatre.
Even though the concept of postdramatic theatre is in many ways analogous to the
notion of postmodern theatre, it is not based on the application of a general cultural concept
to the specific domain of theatre, but derives and unfolds from within a long- establish
discourse on theatre aesthetics instead, as a deconstruction of one of its major premises.
Because it is more difficult to associate postmodernism with theatre than it is to connect the
term postdramatic with theatre, theatre practitioners, critics and scholars have had much more
difficulty defining this term. Lehmann suggest that works of the 1970s to late 1990s theatre
became referred to as post-modern, summarising them as the theatre of deconstruction,
multimedia theatre, restoratively traditionalist theatre, theatre of gestures and movement.
(2006: 25). He discussed that this definition leaves us with a very broad idea of what is meant
by postmodernism or postmodern theatre and because of this the term postdramatic,
which has been previously seen as interchangeable with postmodern, is more relevant. He
explains that postmodernism examines a nihilism and grotesqueness in an empty, silent
space, while postdramatic theatre can inhabit not only the empty space but also the
overcrowded space and if we these are the key words (nihilistic and grotesque) is King
Learthen postmodern? (2006: 25) Before we move onto define Performance Art, an
interesting point to note is that of Jeanie Forte, who in her article Womens Performance Art:
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Feminism and Postmodernism explains postmodernism as a filter through which to view
Performance Art: through the lens of postmodernism feminist theory, womens performance
art appears inherently political. (1988: 217)
Lehman states that Performance Art is a form which strives for an experience of the real
and compares this to postdramatic theatre which makes an attempt to conceptualize art:
it does not offer a representation of the real but instead a more direct approach, or as
Lehmann calls it an unmediated experience of the real (time, space, body). (2005: 134)
Lehmann also suggests that the heart of Performance Art is a shared experience between
artist and audience and that difference between the concept of Performance and the concept
of Theatre (postdramatic or otherwise) becomes less significant as a performer gets closer
to an event and to the performance artists gesture of self-presentation (2005: 134). This is to
say that Lehmann favours the body, time and space as the most important part of theatre,
namely his postdramatic theatre, and the more performance artists understand what it is they
are showing with their bodies and the gestures they make, the more they place with the
dimensions of time (2005: 134) and space the more theatrical Performance Art becomes.
Both Performance Art and postdramatic theatre according to Lehmann aim to no longer
be oriented towards the psychological unfolding of action and character. (2005: 134).
Jeanie Forte confirms this idea in her definition ofPerformance Art which is that all
performance art, particularly in the earlier years, evidenced a deconstructive intent. (1988:
217) She also suggests that Performance Art made a radical movement away from those
concepts which we associate at modern or elements ofmodernism, particularly
commercialism, assimilation and triviality, within the deconstruction of commercial art
network (being galleries and museums). By abusing these spaces which are the very
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pinnacle of modern art, Performance Art is attacking the structures and institutions of
modern art, resulting hence in the concept ofpostmodernism. (1988: 217).
Performance is a word that applies to all theatrical movements and approaches to theatre
because it refers to thephysical presentation of the text. The performance (of any genre of
theatre, including both dramatic and postdramatic theatre) is the work done by the
performers and incorporates those elements which are specific to whichever theatrical form
or style it is that is being performed, an integrative aesthetic of the live. (Barck, 1995:
133) Performance, according to Lehmann, involves a face to face communication that
cannot be replaced by even the most advanced interface mediated communication process
which in the words of Gumbrecht means a performance of presence. (2005: 135). The act
ofperformance, namely the staging practice allows a performative act of new theatre a
reality without necessarily representing something real. (2005: 135-136) It is possible
that the realityinduced by the physical presence (2005: 135) ofperformance is enough,
and that it does not need to exhibit any emotional substance. (2005: 136.)
To clarify, the term performance relates to that which the performers do, postdramatic
theatre and Performance Art are forms (of which performances occur) which differ in
some ways as we have said above, but both of which aim to deconstruct. (Forte, 1988: 217)
In the case ofpostdramatic theatrethe deconstruction is of the concept of the dramatic and
in Performance Art the deconstruction is of the idea of modernism. The term
postmodernism therefore describes a movement in the arts, namely literature, architecture
and visual arts away from modernism.
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Now that we understand the difference between these four concepts, let us examine them in
terms of new work: firstly Karen FinlaysA Constant State of Desire. The work of Karen
Finlay aims to afflict the senses of her spectators through an exploration of self, through
monologue style personal accounts of the experiences of a range of characters, reflecting and
deconstructing the conditions of seeing and hearing in the society of the media (Lehmann,
2006: 167). With this definition in mind we can locate her work under the category of
experimental theatre, which Lehmann includes under the cap of postdramatic.
It also sits firmly within the term ofperformance because it is reliant on the body on stage
for full impact. While reading the text which Finlay performs it is interesting to note that
she does not simplyspeakthe lines, but the performance is in the way she moves her body,
and the different sounds she creates with her voice, specific to the space in which she brings
the text to life. Finlay herself describes in detail the processes through which she puts her
body in order for the performance of her writing to reach its full potential.
That state of being is very natural, so I'm surprised when people call it a trance state.
It's something really lacking in our culture-any kind of religion, or any kind of spiritual mask,
or any way of breaking the usual routine of day-to-day acting. When one is emotional, when
an event takes someone by surprise, whether it's a death, a birth, or anything, it breaks that
nine-to-five type of behavior. That's what I want to be showing. I do go into somewhat of a
trance because when I perform I want it to be different than acting. I hope this doesn't sound
too dorky or trite-I'm really interested in being a medium, and I have done a lot of psychic
type of work. I put myself into a state, for some reason it's important, so that things come in
and out of me, I'm almost like a vehicle. And so when I'm talking it's just coming through me.
(Schechner and Finlay, 1988: 154)
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She describes that the energy she picks up from those around her and the energy that she
herself emits is an extremely important element of her work (something which cannot be
gained from reading the text alone) and she consequently highlights the importance of the
live performance.
I pick up the energies from the people, I got to completely psych into them because I
want them to feel that I am really feeling it. Maybe not even my words, but just that energy.
I'm giving everything I have to make it an experience. You can't pick that up on film or on
disks.It's the live experience, and that's really important. (Schechner and Finlay, 1988: 154)
To further this examination: if, as we have said, the main premise of postdramatic theatre is
a shift of focus away from the dramatic(namely the text) then Finlays insistence that the
live performance takes precedence over the dramatic text, we can conclude that according
to this definition, Finlay herselfconfirms that her work is, in this sense, postdramatic. Her
live performance has such as significant impact on her audience that excited men have been
known to throw lit cigarettes at her, (Fuchs, 1989: 49): hence, yes, the term performance
and the importance of this idea is certainly relevant to Finlays work.
Now we shall consider, isA Constant State of DesirePerformance Art? According to Jeanie
Forte as we previously discussed, an important element ofPerformance Art is the
deconstruction of the institutions that make up modernism. In the same interview, Finlay
discusses the cancelling of her work because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter.
The first place I was asked to stop was at the ICA [Institute of Contemporary Art]
and next was AIR [Artists in Residence], a gallery. People say, "Oh, we can't really put you
on here, but maybe we could set somethingup in a loft, not announce it publicly. (Schechner
and Finlay, 1988: 152)
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If we were to apply the term postmodernism to Karen Finlay it would involved examining
her work as a piece of literature: she utilises literary techniques to remove a sense ofrealism
instead creating her own world in which it is real and acceptable to change between the
different personas which she has created, morphing ages and genders, and the use of non-
realistic and repetitive text. Dont worry, I wont mention your name. Dont worry, I wont
mention your name (Finley, 1990: 5)
As can be concluded from this analysis, all four of the terms are in some sense applicable to
A Constant State of Desire because they refer to elements of or a movement towards the type
of theatre that Karen Finlay is propelling forward in her writing and in her presence on stage.
New let us examine Heiner MullersHamletmachine to see how well the above definitions of
these key terms relate to this text. Firstly, is it postdramatic? ShakespearesHamletis a play
which conforms to those elements which are associated with the term dramatic. It has a
distinct beginning, middle and an end, it follows the plights of dramatic characters and, like
all ofShakespeares work, it requires detailed attention to be placed on the importance of the
literary text. Heiner MullersHamletmachinedissected the drama into monologues and
could be seen as utilising the postdramatic concept of attempting to alienate, twist, distort,
perforate and dismember the dramatic, through use of literary deconstructive techniques
such as slang (Lehmann, 1997: 57). All a spectator needs to do is take a note of the very first
line of Mullers text by the character Hamlet I stood at the shore and talked with the surf
BLABLA (Muller, 1984: 53) to notice the use of the technique; the informal BLABLA
instantly undermining the focus on dramatic text which we expect of works of Shakespeare.
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In understanding whether or notHamletmachine fits in the realm ofPerformance Art, it is
worth noting Mullers collaboration with Robert Wilson. The postdramatic elements of
Mullers text combined with the modern, multimedia-driven experiments used by Wilson
allow us to define this text as Performance Art. In the words of Vanden Heuvel a dynamic
interaction ensues between the literary elements of Mullers text, a structure and language
laced with an overbearing sense of modernist historical angst and fragmentation, and the
playful, multimedia insurgencies of Wilsons production elements (Vanden Heuvel, 1992:
54).
Sue-Ellen Case brings us to our next point, namely the application of the term performance
to the work of Heiner Muller. She says that the language or action of the script is not as
important/ radical as the text which lies in its production. There is no language or action
in the script for the subject or the selfthe radical quality of the text lies in its production
(Case, 1983: 100). The images which are conjured in the imagination of the reader from such
stage directions as The woman dangling from a rope. The woman with her arteries cut open
etc. Hamlet views them with the attitude of a visitor in a museum (theatre). The dead women
tear the clothes off his body (Muller, 1984: 55) are obviously more profound in seeing them
on stage, in performance and so we can conclude that the body on stage, is integral to the
realization of Mullers work.
Mullers reference to watching the dangling woman with the attitude of a visitor in a
museum( 1984: 55) and his comparing that the theatre brings us back to Fortes point of the
use and abuse of modern structures and institutions like museums and galleries, and
highlights the idea of postmodernism in visual art being reflected in the theatre.
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Consequently parallels can be drawn between the concept of postmodernismand Mullers
Hamletmachine.
To summarise, it is true, that many different terms have been used to try to most effectively
examine the new work arising from new artists and the following concepts postdramatic
theatre, postmodernism, Performance Art and performance each come with a different
set of connotations are each applicable to the works of artists such as Karen Finlay and
Heiner Muller in differing contexts. Specifically the textsA Constant State of Desire and
Hamletmachine are comparable in terms of their conformation to postdramatic theatre and
performance art their examination of postmodern concepts and the focus on performance
as an integral element of these texts as a whole.
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Works Cited
Case, Sue-Ellen 1983, From Bertolt Brecht to Heiner Muller,Performing Arts Journal, MIT
Press on behalf of PAJ, vol.7, no.1, pp. 94-102.
Finley, K 1990, The Constant State of Desire, in Shock Treatment, Distributor,
Subterranean Co., San Francisco, pp. 126.
Lehmann, H 2006, Postdramatic Theatre, trans. Karen Jurs-Munby, Routeledge, London
Muller, H 1984, Hamletmachine inHamletmachine and Other Texts for the Stage,
Performing Arts Journal Publications, New York, pp. 49-58
Vanden Heuvel, M March 1992, Complementary Spaces: Realism, Performance and a New
Dialogics of Theatre Theatre Journal, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 47-58.
Schechner, R & Finley, Spring 1988,Karen Finley: A Constant State of Becoming: An
Interview, TDR (1988-), Vol. 32, No. 1 , pp. 152-158
Forte, Jeanie, May 1988, Women's Performance Art: Feminism and Postmodernism,Theatre
Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 pp. 217-235
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrejhttp://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrejhttp://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrejhttp://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrejhttp://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrejhttp://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/action/showPublication?journalCode=theatrej