21St Century Romanian Playwrights' Hauntings Jane G
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Contested Sites: 21st Century Romanian Playwrights' Hauntings Jane G. Duncan Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEATRE CONTESTED SITES: 21ST CENTURY ROMANIAN PLAYWRIGHTS’ HAUNTINGS By JANE G. DUNCAN A Dissertation submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Jane G. Duncan defended this dissertation on March 26, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Mary Karen Dahl Professor Directing Dissertation Edward Wynot University Representative Kris Salata Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. For Mark, Bennett, and Nora. Te iubesc mai mult decât orice. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with any major milestone, there are a number of people involved along the way. I have been blessed with some wonderful mentors in my life—some peers, some teachers. If not for Dr. Kenneth Campbell, Dr. James Parker, and Janet Rodgers at Virginia Commonwealth University, I would not known about the phenomenal theatre in Romania. I benefitted greatly under your tutelage. I extend my sincerest thanks and admiration for my classmates and fellow collaborators at Florida State University, especially Susan Russell, Shannon Walsh, Jay Gipson-King, George McConnell, and Geoff Kershner. You made me laugh, inspired me, and kept me on my toes, but most of all you reminded me why I love theatre. The Theatre Studies faculty at Florida State challenged me, applauded me, engaged with me in meaningful discourse, and taught me how to find my scholarly voice. I am so grateful for your patience and your counsel Dr. Carrie Sandahl, Dr. Laura Edmondson, Dr. Anita Gonzalez, Dr. Alan Sikes, and Dr. Michal Kobialka. Dr. Stuart Baker was and continues to be a mentor. Thank you, Stuart, for modeling the kind of teacher, theatre practitioner, and human being I aspire to be. I extend special thanks to my committee, especially Dr. Mary Karen Dahl. Your attention to detail and ability to help me focus my argument has helped make this manuscript what it is. I thank Alina Coman: enthusiastic supporter, occasional translator, and connector of resources. Eşti teribil. Thank you to the playwrights represented in this work, especially Saviana Stanescu, whose Waxing West started it all for me, and who continues to answer my questions. Sunt recunoscător. In memory of Dr. Daniel Gerould, a true ambassador for Eastern and Central European theatre. Thank you for opening the door. Finally and most importantly, I thank my family—my parents, siblings, and especially my husband and children. Thank you for your sacrifices of time and money, and thank you for your encouragement. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract v 1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 2. CHAPTER TWO: DECONSTRUCTING/RECONSTRUCTING HISTORY 30 3. CHAPTER THREE: GENERATION GAPS 47 4. CHAPTER FOUR: DUELING INFLUENCES 80 5. CHAPTER FIVE: INDIVIDUAL VS. SOCIETY 121 6. CHAPTER SIX: CODA 146 7. REFERENCES 150 Biographical Sketch 159 iv ABSTRACT Using Carlson’s theory that text can be considered “haunted” in the ways it recycles material already familiar to the audience, I suggest that Romanian playwrights writing after the year 2000 are highlighting the historical struggles/difficult past of the nation in an effort to “move on,” perhaps specifically in conjunction with Romania’s bid to enter the EU. I propose that Romanian playwrights are creating hauntings through their work, and in so doing, are entering into a poly-vocal dialogue about the nation. I offer myself as a bridge in the conversation, not to provide the reader with all of the answers about Romania, but to help complicate Americans’ understanding of this nation. v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION “History is entirely shaped by the system within which it is developed” (Michel de Certeau, The Writing of History). In 2004, Romania was on the cusp of inclusion in the European Union. They were celebrating the 15-year anniversary of both the end of the Ceausescu regime and the end of communism. 1 Like many of their neighboring countries, they had experienced a sort of identity crisis following the fall of communism, which had been their form of government for over forty years. One of the reforms the EU required of the Romanian government before they could enter the EU was an agreement that prejudice against minority groups would cease. Entry into the EU, and indeed a perception among all Western nations that Romania is “one of them,” was particularly important to the Romanian government and the Romanian people. In order to abide by the requirements laid out for them by the EU, Romanians had to figure out how to grant minority groups the same rights they held. To do this, they had to figure out what made Romanians “us” and the minority groups “them,” as well as what makes Romania different from the West. I found myself in this contested space during June 2004; I was in Sibiu, Romania for the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. One evening I debated with a young Romanian woman about the importance of her language. She insisted that in order to be successful in our global community, English is the only necessary language. This woman was not only disparaging knowledge of her native language, but was essentially proposing that English be adopted as a sort of “world language.” I admit I was prepared for her privileging of English, as I had already witnessed the ways the Americans and the British were welcomed and celebrated in Sibiu, but I was somewhat surprised by her lack of consideration for the importance of her own language. This exchange stayed with me, prompting me to look more closely at the ways Romanians depict themselves to the outside world. Knowing that there are those who use language as a way to identify members of a particular nation, I began to think about the ways Romanians were 1 Ceausescu was the self-appointed President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in Romania from 1969 until his execution in 1989. His death marked the beginning of the Revolution in Romania and the fall of communism. 1 identifying themselves to visitors and also among themselves. This highly contested site is attempting to redefine itself for entry into the EU and the larger global community. When weighing the implications of entering into the global community, it is not terribly farfetched to propose that Romanians may be rearranging their own history. Marvin Carlson, in The Haunted Stage (2001), writes The close relationships between theatre and memory have been recognized in many cultures and in many different fashions. The founding myths and legends of cultures around the world have been registered in their cultures by theatrical repetition, and, as modern nationalism arose to challenge the older religious faiths, national myths, legends, and historical stories again utilized the medium of theatre to present—or rather, to represent, reinscribe, and reinforce—this new cultural construction. (3) Using Carlson’s theory that text can be considered “haunted” in the ways it recycles material already familiar to the audience, and in fact can be used to reinvent a history, I suggest that Romanian playwrights writing after 2000 are highlighting the historical struggles/difficult past of the nation in an effort to “move on,” perhaps specifically in conjunction with Romania’s bid to enter the EU. 2 I propose that Romanian playwrights are creating hauntings through their work, and in so doing, are entering into a poly-vocal dialogue about the nation. I offer myself as a bridge in the conversation, not to provide the reader with all of the answers about Romania, but to help complicate Americans’ understanding of this nation. Prior to my visit to Sibiu, I was in contact with Romanian born playwright Saviana Stanescu, and was able to read one of her plays, Waxing West. I was struck by many things in Stanescu’s writing, but was particularly interested in the ways she was constructing the idea of the Romanian nation. Stanescu taps into one of the most recognized myths of Romania— vampires. She paints her real-life characters Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu as vampires in this complex play about a young Romanian woman who moves to New York City just before September 11, 2001 to embark on an arranged marriage with an American man. This use of folklore, a tale that feeds directly into misconceptions Westerners may have about Romania (among others, that it is a country of vampires) was surprising and confusing. The play was written in English, ostensibly for an American audience. Several questions arose during my 2 Romania gained entry into the EU in 2007. 2 reading: Was her attempt an effort at defining her nation using historical circumstances? Did she utilize the commonly held myths of vampirism and Dracula as a means to complicate our (Western) understanding of her nation? Was it tongue-in-cheek, or was she attempting to reveal some truth in this misconception? How do her depictions of Romania/Romanians affect/reflect Romania’s place in the international community? Is her perspective unique in Romanian playwriting, or are there other playwrights who are also attempting to position/re-position Romania for themselves and a more global audience? With so many questions after reading only one example of a post-2000 Romanian play, I felt that there was a great deal still to be investigated. Stanescu is perhaps the most prolific of contemporary Romanian playwrights, with an ever-growing repertoire that presently stands at seven full-length and five short plays.3 When queried, however, she quickly rattles off the names of several of her contemporaries, many of whom still reside in Romania.