The Congressladies and the Role of Dramaturgy in Political Theater A
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University of California Santa Cruz PERFORMING PROPAGANDA: The Congressladies and the Role of Dramaturgy in Political Theater A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in THEATRE ARTS by Richard Rossi June 2015 The thesis of Richard Rossi is approved: __________________________________ Professor Michael Chemers, Chair __________________________________ Professor Kate Edmunds __________________________________ Professor David Cuthbert __________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Richard F. Rossi 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iv SECTION ONE: The Role of the Dramaturg ................................................................1 SECTION TWO: Political Theater, Then and Now ......................................................6 SECTION THREE: The Congressladies as Hegemonic Political Theater ..................11 SECTION FOUR: Personal Analysis, Propaganda, and its Limitations .....................19 SECTION FIVE: Conclusion ......................................................................................25 APPENDIXES Appendix A: Congressladies Actors Packet ....................................................30 Appendix B: Congressladies First Draft .......................................................103 Appendix C: Congressladies Final Draft .......................................................128 Appendix D: Actors Script Comparison ........................................................199 Appendix E: Lobby Display Poster & Transcript ..........................................287 Appendix F: Designer Presentation Slides ....................................................295 Appendix G: Program Notes ..........................................................................306 Appendix H: Scene Breakdown .....................................................................308 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................310 iii ABSTRACT: Performing Propaganda: The Role of Dramaturgy in Political Theater Richard Rossi This thesis examines the practical contributions of the dramaturg during the collaborative process as well as the working relationships between the dramaturg and the other members of the cast and technical crew. A major aim of the work is to determine the role of a dramaturg in political drama, while also looking at the purpose of such theater in a politically hegemonic area. Partially a reflection on personal practice and experience working on heavily politicized theater, it will also analyze the changing requirements of the dramaturg based on the aims of the theatrical piece. Additionally, this thesis will look at the use of historical research in political drama as a method of informing decisions and adaptations as well as enforcing or eliminating political bias. iv SECTION ONE: The Role of the Dramaturg What is a dramaturg, exactly? Compared to the well-known staples of the theater, the dramaturg appears to occupy a rather tenuous position. Praised widely in some theatrical circles and virtually unheard of in others, most people have a distinct lack of understanding about what it is a dramaturg does, or does not, do. This is in spite of the fact that dramaturgy, in one form or another, has existed since the second millennia BCE, informing some of the most well respected playwrights, philosophers, and historians known in theater.1 I believe the inherent difficulty in defining the role of the dramaturg stems from the lack of a concrete understanding of the role of the modern dramaturg in the same way that directors, designers, and technicians have concrete definitions of their roles. Chemers asserts that: A dramaturg is a member of the artistic team of a production who is a specialist in the transformation of a dramatic script into a meaningful living performance.2 While certainly true, this is not something anyone might call ‘concrete’, nor is that a job description that is wholly owned by the dramaturg. Once could say that the director holds a similar job description, yet there are few other satisfactory answers regarding the job description of a dramaturg. Chemers goes on to assert that the German model of dramaturgy, that of placing a work in a socio-political context, is the correct path to travel for the American dramaturg. Nevertheless, consensus among 1 Chemers, Michael M. “Historicizing Dramaturgy.” in Ghost Light: An Introductory Handbook for Dramaturgy. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010. 2 Ibid. 5. 1 other professionals is not universal. The 2009 Australian Theatre Forum sparked a heated debate on the definition of dramaturgy and reached a rather dispiriting non- answer: ...people agreed that dramaturgy has been largely accepted as a methodology in contemporary practice. In fact, one got the sense that we are all dramaturgs now [sic]; what that means in practical terms, however, is still being resolved.3 The authors of the chapter go on to put forth a definition in much the same vein as Chemers: A confluence of literary, spatial, kinaesthetic, and technical practices, worked and woven in the matrix of aesthetic and ideological forces.4 This sort of non-answer peppers the books and papers that attempt to address the role of the dramaturg in modern theater. However, dramaturgy in a more traditional role, namely that of dealing with Shakespeare and his contemporaries, has an easier time finding a defined place, mostly due to the “overwhelming cultural standing and the primacy of a historically defined language”5 that can place the dramaturg on solid ground in relation to the script. Hartley notes that a dramaturg must have a wide variety of skills with which to accomplish the numerous and often wildly disparate requirements for each production: he must be a textual and verbal specialist, a historian and a theorist, a critic and a sounding board, and frequently the main connection between the audience and the production itself. This goes much further in 3 Trencsényi, Katalin, and Bernadette Cochrane, eds. New Dramaturgy: International Perspectives on Theory and Practice. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. 18-19. 4 Ibid, 19. 5 Hartley, Andrew James. The Shakespearean Dramaturg: A Theoretical and Practical Guide. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 17. 2 defining the role of a dramaturg than the previous non-answers inasmuch as their duties are solidified as concrete tasks rather than abstract ideas. Nevertheless, we are left with a fairly daunting list of responsibilities; does being a dramaturg simply mean being the theaters’ general jack-of-all-trades and master of none? How does a beginning dramaturg, or even an experienced dramaturg, balance such a disparate array of tasks in order to meet the requirements of the performance? The director or playwright, either of which may exercise ultimate control over the end product, may have very well-defined expectations for the dramaturg that limit their scope, but that focus is often a rarity. More often than not, the role of the dramaturg is not understood well enough to take advantage of his capabilities. This is especially true among college-level theater, which may not have specific classes for dramaturgy as it would for other positions. Without such guidelines, the role of the dramaturg is frequently self-defined, as it was for myself, with tasks assigned in order to take full advantage of personal intellectual strong points rather than weak points. The lack of integration, not to mention understanding, is one of the most unfortunate aspects of working as a dramaturg in college or community theater. Is there an easy way to define the position of a dramaturg in theater? The answer for now appears to be no. When asked what a dramaturg is, which is a question that only very rarely follows the usual blank stares, I have begun to call myself a theatrical research historian. This is clearly not what any of the above definitions allude to, nor is it a complete listing of what a dramaturg does. However, 3 it is a perfectly suitable definition, not only for myself and my strengths, but for the layperson and their understanding of theater. Given that the position itself is still relatively unknown, there is no reason to complicate the issue with a confusing and overly pedantic definition. This short description hits the most salient points of being a dramaturg quite nicely; it emphasizes the intellectual nature of the work in a context that makes sense to everyone, namely that of a historian. While not always true, the majority of theatrical work is at least somewhat historical and can be informed by research in that area. And of course, it is simple; there is a tendency within theater to clutter thoughts and actions with post-modernist ideas on a multiplicity of labels and ‘what it means to be a _____.’ While not necessarily an inevitable response to post- modern thought, it is a reasonable progression within the theater community, but only within the theater community. As it was mentioned earlier, one purpose of the dramaturg is to be the link between the production and the audience/public, and I believe that job has to start with the dramaturg himself. An individual of particular interest to me when trying to define my role as a dramaturg was the dramatist John Arden, who pioneered a method of dramaturgy based on ‘moral