Meeting Trees Halfway: Environmental Encounters in Theatre and Performance by Megan Laura De Roover A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved March 2018 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee Tamara Underiner, Chair Erika Hughes Peter Goggin ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2018 ABSTRACT How do trees (live and representational) participate in our theatrical and performed encounters with them? If trees are not inherently scenic, as their treatment in language and on stage might reinforce, how can they be retheorized as agents and participants in dramatic encounters? Using Diana Taylor’s theory of scenario to understand embodied encounters, I propose an alternative approach to understanding environmental beings (like trees) called “synercentrism,” which takes as its central tenet the active, if not 100 percent “willed,” participation of both human and non-human beings. I begin by mapping a continuum from objecthood to agenthood to trace the different ways that plants and trees are used, represented, and included in our encounters. The continuum provides a framework that more comprehensively unpacks human-plant relationships. My dissertation addresses the rich variety of representations and embodiments by focusing on three central chapter topics: the history of tree representation and inclusion in dramatic literature and performance; interactions with living trees in gardens, parks, and other dramatic arenas; and individual plays and plants that have a particularly strong grasp on cultural imaginaries. Each chapter is followed by one or more corresponding case studies (the first chapter is followed by case studies on plants in musical theatre; the second on performing plants and collaborative performance events; and the last on the dance drama Memory Rings and the Methuselah tree). I conclude with a discussion of how the framework of synercentrism can aid in the disruption of terministic screens and facilitate reciprocal relationships with trees and other environmental agents. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation was made possible by generous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in their support of a Doctoral Fellowship. Likewise, I am grateful to Arizona State University through the awarding of a Graduate College Completion Fellowship and the overall support from School of Film, Dance, and Theatre. The opportunities, trust, feedback and support granted by the Theatre and Performance of the Americas Program have also shaped this project profoundly. Enormous appreciation goes out to my committee who reined in an ambitious project into a rich and focused dissertation on trees. Each member contributed greatly to my development as a student and a scholar. Dr. Hughes was the first to encourage me (and push me) to write about the desert with a performance studies lens, in many ways sparking the impetus for this dissertation. With enthusiasm and curiosity, Dr. Goggin welcomed and honed my investigations of live and representational natures. While each committee member has unmistakably made their mark on this work and my growth as a scholar, Dr. Underiner deserves special recognition in shaping my progress. In this dissertation and in all my work, she has gone above and beyond from the very first moment she welcomed me into her office as a master’s student, to the countless meetings, skype calls, and rewrites of this document. Throughout the past five years, her enthusiasm for the growth of my work and myself has never once wavered, and I am truly transformed by her support and guidance. ii I’d like to finally thank my family and my friends for their generosity and support. And, above all else, my gratitude goes to my loving husband, Stephen, without whom I would never have started this journey at all. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………….…….………..….v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………...1 2. TOWARDS A TREE CONTINUUM…………………………………………...16 3. FROM NŌ TO GODOT…………………………………………………………48 Case Study #1: Range of Representations in Into the Woods…………………..112 Case Study #2: Spanning the Continuum in Little Shop of Horrors………..….132 4. LIVING TREES………………………………………………………………..151 Case Study #3: Discovering Cacti in the American Southwest……………...…198 5. ANCIENT TREES AS AGENTS………………………………………………212 Case Study #4: Manifestations of Trees in Memory Rings…………………..…267 6. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………307 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………314 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Accidental Ent, Preservation Park, Guelph………………………….……………….ix 2. Continuum…………….…………………………………………………….……….19 3. A rhetorical model for environmental discourse……………………………….…....20 4. Dimond Model for Environmental Encounter…………………………………….…21 5. Dramatistic Pentad………………………………………………………….……......23 6. Scenery……………………………………………........…………………..………...25 7. Objectified………………………………………………..………………………......26 8. Dedicated……………………………………….……………………………………27 9. Econ…………………………………………………………….………………....…29 10. Charismatic or Misbehaving Flora………………………………………..…….……31 11. Enchanted or Empowered…………………………………………………………....32 12. Animated Low……………………………………………………….…………..…..33 13. Animated Medium……………………………………………………….…………..34 14. Animated High…………………………………………………………..…………...35 15. Ent…………………………………………………………………….………..…….36 16. March of the Ents, The Two Towers……………………………...………….……....37 17. “The Ents”………………………………………………………………..….....…….38 18. Spirit………………………………………………………………………..….……..39 19. Mosaic from Pompeii features the Pan and a hamadryad (tree spirit)…………….....40 20. Alien……………………………………………………………………………….....40 v Figure Page 21. Mascot………………………………………………………………………..………42 22. Miss Venezuela 2014……………………………………………………..………….43 23. Miss Nigeria, 2015…………………………………………………………..…….…44 24. Continuum as circle………………………………………………….………………45 25. Willow on the Grounds of Cawdor Castle, Scotland……………………..………….47 26. National Noh Theatre Stage via the-noh.com…………….............................……….60 27. “Matsukaze” by Grace Beahm………………………………………………..……...69 28. “Benny Birch’s 31 Birthday Party” The Walleye……………………………....……92 29. Folkmanis’ “Tree, Enchanted”………………………………………………..…...…93 30. Skylar Campbell with Artists of the Ballet in “Pinocchio” Photo: Aleksander Antonijevic………………………………….……………………………….……….97 31. Staghorn Sumac in the Guelph Arboretum…………………………….………..….106 32. Continuum for Little Red Riding Hood……………………………….……………117 33. Continuum for Jack and the Beanstalk…………………………………….……….119 34. Continuum for Rapunzel/Witch…………………………………….………………121 35. Continuum for Baker…………………………………………………….…...…….123 36. Continuum for Cinderella………………………………………………..…………126 37. Kim Crosby in 1991 production of Into the Woods…………………….………….129 38. “The Purple Terror”…………………………………………………….…………..134 39. Continuum for Little Shop of Horrors, Original Film…………………….….…….140 40. Continuum for Little Shop of Horrors, Musical……………………….…………...142 vi Figure Page 41. Cover of Original Cast Album of Little Shop of Horrors…………………………..144 42. The Addams Family “Cleopatra”……………………………………….……….….146 43. The New Addams Family “Cleopatra”………………………………….…………..147 44. Continuum in Motion……………………………………………..………………...149 45. Giant Sequoia in Yosemite National Park, California, USA….…………………....150 46. Patrice De Villiers Inglorious Fruits&Vegetables…………………………….…....156 47. “Plant Shaming”………………………………………………..……………..…….178 48. Trek to the Tree Ceremony………………………………….…………………..….187 49. The Creeping Devil Cactus…………………………….……………………..…….199 50. Organ Pipe Cactus……………………………………………..…………………....199 51. Saguaros at the Desert Botanical Gardens…………………….……………..……..204 52. Eisele Saguaro Selfie……………………………………………….………………207 53. Standing with (left)……………………………………………….…………...……207 54. Encounter (right)………………………………………………….……………...…207 55. Ancient Bristlecone Pine, Inyo National Forest, California, USA………………....211 56. Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: Desolation (1836)……………………….....218 57. Michael Day “Ukrainian government escort looks at the deserted city from the hotel roof”………………………………………………………………………….…..…221 58. The Battle of Issus mosaic………………………………………………………..…225 59. Cross Section of an Ancient Bristlecone Pine………………………….…………..233 60. Century-old “Sapling”…………………………………………………….………..255 vii Figure Page 61. Sculpture Garden Grove…………………………………….…………………...…256 62. Ancient Bristlecone Pine…………………………………………..……………..…258 63. Spending time with ancient trees……………………………………………..…….265 64. Continuum for Methuselah…………………………………….………………..….283 65. Continuum for the Memory Tree……………………………….....………………..284 66. Keith Skretch, Drifting Logs…………………………………………………..……289 67. Continuum for Statacut Technique ………………………………………….……..290 68. Keith Skretch, The Seven Dwarfs find Snow White…………………………….…295 69. Keith Skretch, The Huntsman Rescues Little Red Riding Hood…………………...295 70. Keith Skretch, Gilgamesh battles the Cedar Forest………………………….……..296 71. Continuum for Tree-Beings………………………………………….……………..299 72. Continuum for Tree-Beings, modified………………………………..…………….304 73. A “baby” bristlecone, less than an inch, possibly three years of age……………….308 74. Certificate of Adoption…………………………………………………………..…309 75. White Spruce Sapling……………………………………………………….……...313 viii Figure 1. Accidental Ent, Preservation Park, Guelph ix INTRODUCTION I have a very clear memory from my childhood of driving to visit my grandparents. As we drove the Mazda from our farm in Stanley to their bungalow in the village of Kakabeka Falls, I watched a long line of spruce trees through the car window. I’m