A Critical Theory for Challenging Oppression and Spectacle by Donovan King

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Optative Theatre: A Critical Theory for Challenging Oppression and Spectacle by Donovan King A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FINE ARTS (THEATRE STUDIES) DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA CALGARY, ALBERTA NOVEMBER, 2004 © Donovan King 2004 ii APPROVAL UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled “Optative Theatre: A Critical Theory for Challenging Oppression and Spectacle” submitted by Donovan King in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts (Theatre Studies). iii Abstract The goal of this thesis is to develop a powerful new socio-theatrical paradigm for the 21st Century: the optative theatre. Exploring the state of oppression in the new millennium, the shortcomings of standard theatrical paradigms, and explosions in critical discourse and new technology, this thesis proposes that a new activist and user-based theatre is both necessary and desirable in order to overcome the dragooning of theatre, society, and humankind. Drawing primarily from the fields of Cultural and Theatre Studies, especially as they relate to Cultural Resistance and Global Justice, the Situationist notion of Spectacle is examined as an oppressive force that quagmires and devastates the whole of humanity. Critical thinking is provoked regarding human behaviour and dramatic performance on the world stage, and concepts of revolutionary theatre and theatrical revolution are examined in depth as they relate to Spectacle and the liberation of humanity. Based on the concept of counter-hegemonic playing, the highly activist optative theatre is portable, user-friendly, and free. Designed to inspire critical reflection and humanist transformation, optative theatre proposes that by adopting an anti-oppressive foundation to human identity, it is possible to employ theatre activism to challenge oppression in all its forms - by meta-theatrically playing the provocateur, and hence by living in action. With the ability to create instant virtual realities, optative theatre provides both a tool for critical reflection and a theatrical strategy for challenging oppression on personal, cultural, and structural levels of society. Furthermore, as a viral form of theatre, it has the potential to spread rapidly. iv Acknowledgements Although a scholarly undertaking of this scope inevitably makes use of a wide variety of academic sources, given its socio-theatrical nature it has also involved a substantial practical dimension, and I would like to acknowledge first and foremost all the players who have engaged with the Optative Theatrical Laboratories, especially Peter Pelletier, Ross Bonnell, George Mougias, and Jason C. McLean, all of whom made significant contributions. I would also like to express my indebtedness to David Fennario, Augusto Boal, Andrew Boyd, Bill Talen, Michael O’Neill, Kathyrn Blume, Stephen Duncombe, Judy Rebick, Alexis Sottile, Theatres Against War (THAW), and other activists for their inspiration, assistance, and confidence. I would like to thank my supervisor Barry Yzereef for his encouragement, support, and guidance throughout the composition of this thesis, and Kathleen Hulley for her support, academic feedback, and inspiration. I also express gratitude to my family and friends, notably Todd Mascis, Clara Bratt, my brothers Matt and Jason, my mother Phyllis Jacoby, and especially my father Gary King for his unfailing support, without which this thesis would not have been possible. I am indebted to the Canada Council for the Arts for providing project funding, and to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission, who have made important efforts to try and rectify human rights violations resulting from the controversial nature of this work. Lastly, I extend my acknowledgements to the various adversaries of the optative theatre, including (but not limited to): Pat Donnelly and Lucinda Chodan of The Gazette, Jeremy Hechtman of the St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival™, and former Dean of Graduate Studies Dr. Robert Mansell of the University of Calgary, all of whom have presented formidable challenges and stimulating inter-performances. v Table of Contents Approval page……………………………………………………………………….ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………iv Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………v List of Figures……………………………………………………………….……..vi Introduction……………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1: Critical (socio-theatrical) Theory……………………………..11 Chapter 2: The Spectacle……………………………………………….…16 Chapter 3: “Theatre” in the Spectacle ……………………………………22 Chapter 4: Invisible Theatre………………………………………..………48 Chapter 5: Spectacle & Oppression………………………………………62 Chapter 6: Clandestine Theatre…………………………………………...79 Chapter 7: The Counter-Spectacle…………..……………………………91 Chapter 8: Theatrical Revolution…………………………………………116 Chapter 9: Revolutionary Theatre………………………………………..125 Chapter 10: Revolutionary Theatre Cookbook………………………….160 Chapter 11: Optative Theatre..……………………………………………184 Chapter 12: Field Work…………………………………………………….206 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………251 vi List of Figures 3.1 Linear progression of “official” theatre and its influences……….………43 3.2 “Theatre” in the Spectacle…………………………………………….……46 3.3 “Theatre” magnified…………………………………………………….......47 4.1 Invisible Theatre deploying into Spectacle……………………………….60 7.1 Pure Theatre in the Spectacle………………………………………..…...89 9.1 Reality Interpretation Chart ………………………………………………126 9.2 Steve Mann in “PLEASE WAIT”…………………………………………156 10.1 Basic Media Virus Design………………………………………………..167 10.2 Image BEFORE culture jam……………………………………………..173 10.3 Image AFTER culture jam………………………………………….…….173 11.1 Revolutionary Theatre Structure…………………………………………191 11.2 Optative Theatre Structure……………………………………………….192 12.1 Theatrical Matrix, Car Stories…………………………………………….211 12.2 Culture-Jam of The Gazette………………………………………………212 12.3 Corporate media, our image………………………………………………227 1 Introduction We believe this text will help avoid any future confusion. If our activities seem feverish, it is because we feel the urgent need for solidarity with others. And in that regard, our success has been explosive. Yesterday we were alone and irresolute. Today a group exists, with deep and courageous ramifications, some of them already spreading beyond our borders. We must share the glorious responsibility of conserving the precious treasure we are heir to. It too is part of a long historical tradition. Our relationship to its artefacts must be constantly renewed, challenged, called into question. This is an impalpable, demanding relationship which requires the vital forces of action. The treasure I speak of is the poetic stock, the emotional fountain of youth from which future centuries will drink. It can only be transmitted if it is TRANSFORMED. Otherwise, it is distorted. Let those moved by the spirit of this adventure join us. Within a foreseeable future, men will cast off their useless chains. They will realize their full, individual potential according to the unpredictable, necessary order of spontaneity - in splendid anarchy. Until then, we will not rest or falter. Hand in hand with others thirsting for a better life, no matter how long it takes, regardless of support or persecution, we will joyfully respond to a savage need for liberation. - Paul-Émile Borduas, Refus Global, Québec, 1948 In the 21st Century, the theatre has exploded into a maelstrom of forms, styles, contents, and processes, and taking note is Mark Fortier, who recently summarized the most prominent theatrical theories in his book Theory/Theatre. Noting the difficulties of blending theatre and theory in a business and art-field that is somewhat resistant to change, he challenges the reader to take the time to reflect on what theatrical theorists have been doing for a long time: attempting to challenge both the theatrical and societal status quo. He concludes at the end of his book: 2 But we still don’t know what happens next. Have we come to a temporary end of theory or exhaustion of theory, analogous to the ‘end of history’ that has come with the global triumph of capitalism? Is it time for theory to settle down for a while? Have we seen the last of any big new movements? Perhaps, but it is just as likely that something new and unexpected is already on its way. If so, I leave you to make your own introductions. (148) Not surprisingly, Fortier concedes that capitalism has triumphed, which has prompted me to urgently write my own introductions. I contend that the time is ripe to create new theatrical theories that beg to differ. Surrendering to capitalism is the equivalent of dooming humanity to endless oppression and inequality, and the dawn of the new millennium has signified an extension of consumer- capitalism into almost every aspect of our lives, resulting in increased alienation, depoliticisation, and oppression. This problem was identified in the 1960s by revolutionary Guy Debord, who defined society as a “Spectacle”, so-called because it is designed to immobilize people by centering their attention on something outside of themselves, much like spectators observing actors in the theatre. For Debord, the Spectacle was a way of describing how modern life reduced individuals to a state of passivity in which they lost all sense of full human potential. It was a metaphor for the way in which

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