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Behind the Words: the Art of Documentary and Verbatim Theatre

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Behind the Words: the Art of Documentary and Verbatim Theatre Behind the Words: The Art of Documentary and Verbatim Theatre By Colette F. Keen MA (Interpretive Writing), GradCert (Journalism). Thesis Submitted to Flinders University for the degree of PhD School of Humanities and Creative Arts (Drama and Creative Writing) 25 August 2017 i TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ iv DECLARATION ................................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. vii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction: Tracing the Words .................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem/Gap/Methodology.................................................................................. 6 1.3 Personal Motivation........................................................................................... 11 1.4 Influences: We Ourselves ……………………………………………………… 13 1.5 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................. 18 2. Theatre Meets Journalism ............................................................................................ 19 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 19 2.2 In the Beginning ................................................................................................ 21 2.3 The Living Newspaper ...................................................................................... 27 2.4 On the Street and in the Theatre ......................................................................... 31 2.5 The Other Places ............................................................................................... 36 2.6 Documentary Verbatim Theatre ......................................................................... 41 3. A Genre of One’s Own: Anna Deavere Smith .............................................................. 44 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 44 3.2 Influences .......................................................................................................... 47 3.3 Process and Pointillism ...................................................................................... 54 3.4 Caging the Lioness ............................................................................................ 59 4. The Vast Kindergarten: A Moment with Moisés Kaufman…………………………….62 ii 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………62 4.2 Early Life……………………………………………………………………….. 63 4.3 What is ‘Moment Work’ ………………………………………………………...69 4.4 The Laramie Moments ...................................................................................... 75 4.5 It’s Good to be the King ................................................................................... 81 5. Seeking Dorothy in the Land of OZ ............................................................................. 84 5.1 Behind the Curtain ............................................................................................. 84 5.2 Research: Dorothy Lives in Kansas, but OZ is Australia .................................... 87 5.3 Tag of Empathy (TOE) ...................................................................................... 91 5.4 Interviews: Can We Talk ................................................................................... 94 5.5 Choices: To be, or not to be ............................................................................... 98 5.6 Postscript: My Valentine ...................................................................................103 6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................107 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................111 7. The Death of Kings - links to performance videos .......................................................130 8. The Death of Kings by Colette F Keen ...................................................................... 1-72 Appendix 1 - Monash and Flinders University Human Research Ethics Approval Certificate ………………………………………………………………………………. 131 Appendix 2 - AIDS COUNCIL OF NSW (ACON) Human Research Ethics Approval Certificate……………………………………………………………………………...... 132 Appendix 3 – Consent Form…………….......………………………………………….. 133 iii Summary Documentary Theatre, and its more recent iteration, Verbatim Theatre, has been a vital theatre form in the West since the early 20th Century, notable for its preoccupation with socio-political issues and its reliance on the actual words of those who witnessed or participated in a particular event or phenomenon. This thesis examines what puts the ‘art’ into Documentary and Verbatim Theatre, while considering its relationship with and roots in journalism. By exploring the influences on practitioners and how these impact their work, the question asked is: What position does the writer take in terms of placing themselves in the text and how does this influence the work? To inform this, it is asked: Is the writer speaking for or with the story-owners. Related questions include: To what extent does the writer have an outsider/insider positionality; what is the intersectionality of the writer with the subject; and what role does empathy play in the creation of such work? This critical reflection provides practitioners, participants, and the audience of Documentary and Verbatim Theatre with new ways of engaging with this arts practice. To establish the form’s development from journalism to art, the historical influence of journalism is explored. Ethnographic methodology is also employed to analyse the subject positions and working methodologies of two of the great practitioners of this form, Anna Deavere Smith and Moisés Kaufman. Auto-ethnographic techniques are also utilised, drawing from the experience of working as personal assistant to Smith and participating in Kaufman’s professional training in Moment Work. The practice component of the dissertation is the full-length Documentary Verbatim Theatre script, The Death of Kings (Keen, 2016). This work has been created as an example of a writer speaking with the story-owners and positioning themselves in the audience. The play focuses on the experiences of self-identified white gay men in Sydney, Australia and the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by the gay community. iv The result of this research is to offer an analytical framework for mapping out the influences on the writers of Documentary or Verbatim Theatre, demonstrating how they create an artistic element not found in documentary and journalism practice. By understanding how Documentary and Verbatim Theatre go beyond journalism, we are given the opportunity to better appreciate and more deeply query the nature of the truth being presented and the art inflecting and underpinning the stories told by the creators of these works. Keywords: theatre, documentary, verbatim, journalism, ethnodrama, ethnographic, auto- ethnographic, arts practice based research, positionality, intertextuality, empathy, multiple narratives, storyteller, story-owner, bearing witness, HIV/AIDS. v DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Signed Date 24 August 2017 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The support of my Principal Supervisor, Dr William Peterson has made this PhD possible. If I would offer one piece of advice to others, it is to ‘shop’ for your supervisor and once you have found the right one, then never let them go. If they do try to run away, you should hunt them down and change universities. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor Prof. Julian Meyrick for his insight and gentle guidance. Contributing to this work are Flinders University (Department of Drama); Monash University (Centre for Theatre and Performance); the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA); the AIDS Council of New South Wales (ACON); Positive Life NSW, Sonny Williams and the fabulous crew of individuals who helped so much; Living Positive Victoria, especially Brent Allen, Suzie Malhotra and Max Niggl; Daniel Brace; and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The following individuals who have contributed to this work are my personal heroes and I am proud to know them: Bill Bowtell AO; David Crawford; Ross Duffin; Matt Gillett; Neil Grigg; Malcolm Leech; Brendan O’Dwyer; and William O’Roiden. Thanks to the artists who have helped in the development of this work: Mark Dessaix, Adam Deusien; Rory Godbald, Greg Iverson, Luke Kerridge, Brendan Napier, Sebastian Robinson, Becky Russell, Joseph Simons and Tyson Wakely. Thanks as well to those who contributed their help and wisdom: Shawn Clackett; Anthony Creighton; Shih-Chi Kao; Marcos
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