Reading Betroffenheit As Postdramatic Theatre: an Analysis of Crystal Pite's Collaborative Work with the Electric Company Thea
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READING BETROFFENHEIT AS POSTDRAMATIC THEATRE: AN ANALYSIS OF CRYSTAL PITE’S COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH THE ELECTRIC COMPANY THEATRE IN VANCOUVER by Olga Ozkaya B.A., Koc University, 2015 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Theatre) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2018 ©Olga Ozkaya, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Reading Betroffenheit as Postdramatic Theatre: An Analysis of the Crystal Pite’s Collaborative Work with The Electric Company Theatre in Vancouver submitted by Olga Ozkaya in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Theatre Studies Examining Committee: Dr. Kirsty Johnston Supervisor Dr. Hallie Marshall Additional Examiner ii Abstract In this thesis, I examine Vancouver-based, Canadian choreographer and dancer Crystal Pite’s artistic approach as a dance theatre artist with a focus on her multi-award winner work Betroffenheit (2015). Pite founded her dance theatre company Kidd Pivot in 2002. Since then she and the performers with whom she has collaborated have created Lost Action (2006), Dark Matters (2009), The You Show (2010), The Tempest Replica (2011), and Betroffenheit, all while gaining international fame and attention. In this thesis, I am most interested in the latter. Betroffenheit was co-created with Pite and actor Jonathon Young, co-founder and artistic director of Vancouver’s innovative and multi-award-winning Electric Company Theatre. Pite’s choreography integrates theatricality, movement, music, Young’s autobiographical narrative and text, and visual design. For this reason, I argue that Betroffenheit brings together the predominant properties of what Hans Thies Lehmann has termed postdramatic theatre. It blends theatrical elements, dance traditions, spoken text, and other performance genres. While Pite has often been connected to dance theatre, I argue here that Betroffenheit can be generatively read as postdramatic theatre. In order to discuss the relationship between dance theatre and postdramatic theatre, I will focus on Hans Thies Lehmann’s Postdramatic Theatre. Most prominently, my study demonstrates how reading the performance as postdramatic theatre helps to highlight the production’s numerous theatrically performative elements. Through investigating scholarly articles, book reviews, national and international performance reviews, and interviews, I aim to provide a deeper understanding of how Betroffenheit productively trouble boundaries between dance and theatre. iii Lay Summary Crystal Pite is a Vancouver- based Canadian dancer and choreographer who is one of the most prominent pioneers of dance theatre. Her creations and collaborations have gained recognition internationally, and are helping to shape a new genre of performance. Pite’s works offer a new understanding of dance that gathers theatrical elements and dance techniques together. As yet, however, there is a dearth of scholarly work about Crystal Pite and her pioneering position in performing arts in the general sense. My study focuses on a specific collaboration of Pite with an equally innovative theatre artist, Jonathon Young, the co-founder of Vancouver’s multi-award-winning and innovative Electric Theatre Company. In 2015, they created a production called Betroffenheit (2015) which I explore as an example of postdramatic theatre. While prior graduate dissertations have investigated Pite’s works in different ways, I intend to analyze Betroffenheit as an example of postdramatic theatre. Ultimately, this study investigates the sense in which Pite’s style pushes the boundaries of dance theatre techniques. iv Preface This thesis is an original, unpublished. Independent work by the author Olga Ozkaya. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface .............................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review: What is Postdramatic Theatre? ...............................................7 2.1 Postdramatic Theatre and Drama in Crisis ................................................................... 16 2.2 Postdramatic Theatre and its Components .................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Parataxis/ non-hierarchy ....................................................................................... 20 2.2.2 Simultaneity .......................................................................................................... 20 2.2.3 Play with the Density of Signs .............................................................................. 20 2.2.4 Plethora ................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.5 Musicalization ....................................................................................................... 21 2.2.6 Scenography, Visual Dramaturgy ......................................................................... 21 2.2.7 Warmth and Coldness ........................................................................................... 22 2.2.8 Physicality ............................................................................................................. 22 2.2.9 Concrete Theatre ................................................................................................... 23 2.2.10 Irruption of the Real .............................................................................................. 23 2.2.11 Event/Situation ...................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Examples ....................................................................................................................... 24 vi 2.3.1 Richard Foreman: Luogo + bersaglio .................................................................. 24 2.3.2 Robert Wilson: the CIVIL warS: a tree is best measured when it is down ........... 25 2.4 What does Lehmann mean by Text/Textscapes, Dream Images and the Body, and Physicality and why are these relevant to Betroffenheit? ......................................................... 28 2.4.1 Text/ Textscape ..................................................................................................... 28 2.4.2 Dream Images ....................................................................................................... 30 2.4.3 Physicality and Body ............................................................................................ 30 Chapter 3: The Establishment of an Independent Genre; Dance Theatre .............................32 3.1 Brief History of the Term ............................................................................................. 32 3.2 Mother of Dance Theatre and Legacy of Pina Bausch ................................................. 35 3.3 The Growth of Dance Theatre: Bausch’s Creation Process .......................................... 37 Chapter 4: Crystal Pite as a Dance Theatre Artist ...................................................................40 4.1 History of Pite’s training as dancer ............................................................................... 40 4.2 Why is Pite’s Work Relevant to Postdramatic Theatre? ............................................... 47 4.2.1 Dark Matters ......................................................................................................... 47 4.2.2 The Tempest Replica ............................................................................................ 50 Chapter 5: Betroffenheit ..............................................................................................................54 5.1 Why is Betroffenheit a Postdramatic Theatre Work? ................................................... 57 5.2 Postdramatic Features ................................................................................................... 58 5.2.1 Text and Textscape ............................................................................................... 58 5.2.2 Dreamlike Images ................................................................................................. 61 5.2.3 Physicality and Body ............................................................................................ 63 Chapter 6: Conclusion .................................................................................................................67 vii Bibliography .................................................................................................................................71 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................77