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Committed Drama Within Postdramatic Theatre COMMITTED DRAMA WITHIN POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE: A STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY GERMAN LANGUAGE PLAYS by PAULO RICARDO BERTON B.A., Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, l999 M.A., Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, 2007 Fulbright/CAPES Scholar A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theatre and Dance 2010 This thesis entitled: Committed Drama Within Postdramatic Theatre: A Study of Contemporary German Language Plays written by Paulo Ricardo Berton has been approved for the Department of Theatre and Dance Prof. Dr. Oliver Gerland Prof. Dr. Bud Coleman Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii ABSTRACT Berton, Paulo Ricardo (Ph.D., Theatre) Committed Drama Within Postdramatic Theatre: A Study of Contemporary German Language Plays Thesis directed by Associate Professor Oliver Gerland Keywords: Drama, German Drama, Postdramatic Theatre This dissertation challenges the view that drama has been divested of its critical functions under the dominant cultural paradigm of postmodernism and its socio-political correlative, late capitalism. To be sure, contemporary cultural circumstances have pressured “committed drama,” that is, drama that invites audience members to reflect critically on the world they inhabit by raising social and political issues, and by challenging mainstream aesthetic norms. On the one hand, the mainstream theatre, while still making use of some dramatic structural features, dissociates drama from any subversive political purpose. On the other hand, the postdramatic theatre theorized by Hans-Thies Lehmann eliminates the ideas of representation and fictionality, privileging instead the spectator‟s phenomenological experience in the moment of presentation. This situation has led some critics to forecast the extinction of drama as an artistic form. Through the analysis of six plays written by contemporary German language dramatists--- King Kongs Töchter (Theresia Walser), Transdanubia Dreaming (Bernhard Studlar), Täglich Brot (Gesine Danckwart), Das Kalte Kind (Marius von Mayenburg), Die Frau von Früher (Roland Schimmelpfennig) and Monsun (Anja Hilling)--this dissertation argues for the vitality, liveliness and resistance of the dramatic form. Drama that engages a critical vision of the world, expressed through the representation of fictional characters, continues to be a meaningful method of communicating social, political and ideological commitments. DEDICATION To Mina Müller and Graça Nunes v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to my advisor, Oliver Gerland, whose dedication, patience and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to complete this research work. I am heartily thankful to my second readers, Camila Bauer, Elizabeth Jochum, Marcos Barbosa and Kornilia Vasileiadou, whose suggestions, interest and cleverness contributed to the elaboration of obscure passages and to the refinement of categorical ones. I am heartily thankful to my friends, Marco Briziarelli and Susana Martinez-Guillem, who helped me many times during the process of writing. Our brainstorming sessions were fundamental in helping me with the choice of specific terms. I am heartily thankful to my professors in Brazil, Regina Zilberman, Marta Isaacson de Souza e Silva, Vera Teixeira de Aguiar and Antônio Marcos Vieira Sanseverino, whose efforts and trust in my capacity made possible the attendance at a Doctoral Program abroad. I am heartily thankful to the Fulbright Commission for supporting my PhD with a scholarship, and to its employees at the office in Brasília, who were always available and ready to help me when I needed the most: Glayna Braga, Giselle Mello and Mariana Costa. I am heartily thankful to CAPES Foundation for supporting my PhD with a scholarship, and to its employees at the office in Brasília, who were always available and ready to help me when I needed the most: Maria Luiza Lombas, Sandra Lopes Hugo de Jesus e Silvio dos Santos Salles. I am heartily thankful to IIE for the continuing assistance, and to Sarah McCormick at the office in Denver, who was always available and ready to help me when I needed the most. Lastly, I am heartily thankful to my wife, Leila, and to my daughters, Helena and Dóris, who supported me in any respect during the completion of the project. Paulo Ricardo Berton vi CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 2. DRAMA ...........................................................................................................11 2.1. WHAT IS DRAMA? ..............................................................................11 2.2. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................21 2.2.1. RYNGAERT‟S NINE CATEGORIES ...................................................22 2.2.2. THE ACTANTIAL MODEL ..................................................................26 2.3 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................32 3. POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE ..........................................................................34 3.1. POSTMODERNISM ..............................................................................34 3.2. WHY NOT POSTMODERN THEATRE? .............................................40 3.3 THE IDEA OF THE POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE ............................41 vii 3.4. PERFORMANCE AND THE POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE .............46 3.5. DRAMA X POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE ..........................................55 3.5.1. AUTHOR ................................................................................................56 3.5.2. SYNOPSIS ..............................................................................................56 3.5.3. PLAY ANALYSIS .................................................................................57 3.5.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS............................................................68 4. GERMAN CONTEMPORARY DRAMA .........................................................72 5. THE SOCIAL PLAYS ........................................................................................76 5.1. KING KONGS TÖCHTER ....................................................................76 5.1.1. AUTHOR ................................................................................................76 5.1.2. SYNOPSIS ..............................................................................................77 5.1.3. PLAY ANALYSIS .................................................................................78 5.1.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS............................................................93 5.2. TRANSDANUBIA DREAMING ..........................................................94 5.2.1. AUTHOR ................................................................................................94 5.2.2. SYNOPSIS ..............................................................................................95 viii 5.2.3. PLAY ANALYSIS .................................................................................96 5.2.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS..........................................................110 5.3. TÄGLICH BROT .................................................................................111 5.3.1. AUTHOR ..............................................................................................111 5.3.2. SYNOPSIS ............................................................................................112 5.3.3. PLAY ANALYSIS ...............................................................................114 5.3.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS..........................................................124 5.4. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................126 6. THE DOMESTIC PLAYS ................................................................................127 6.1. DAS KALTE KIND .............................................................................127 6.1.1. AUTHOR ..............................................................................................127 6.1.2. SYNOPSIS ............................................................................................128 6.1.3. PLAY ANALYSIS ...............................................................................131 6.1.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS..........................................................145 6.2. DIE FRAU VON FRÜHER ..................................................................146 6.2.1. AUTHOR ..............................................................................................146 ix 6.2.2. SYNOPSIS ............................................................................................147 6.2.3. PLAY ANALYSIS ...............................................................................149 6.2.4. POSTDRAMATIC ELEMENTS..........................................................161 6.3. MONSUN .............................................................................................162
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