Impossible Bodies in Motion: the Representation of Martial Arts on the American Stage

Impossible Bodies in Motion: The Representation of Martial Arts on the American Stage A dissertation submitted by Meron Langsner In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Drama TUFTS UNIVERSITY August 2011 © 2011 Meron Langsner ADVISER: Dr. Downing Cless Abstract This dissertation explores and interprets the representation of martial arts on the American stage as a specific manifestation of stylized stage violence. These appearances of simulated physical conflict relate to the larger embodied practices of both stage combat and martial arts, as well as how this phenomenon reflects societal understanding of the potentialities of the human body in motion. Chapter One is an analysis of the semiotics of simulated violence. Chapter Two is a series of case studies of mainstream plays and musicals that involve martial arts, and concerns both dramaturgical and production issues of staging simulations of advanced physical agency. Chapter Three concerns contemporary adaptations of Macbeth set in feudal Japan and the production and dramaturgical concerns of having samurai characters on the stage. Chapter Four discusses the Vampire Cowboys Theater Company, an award winning troupe based in New York City that is famous in part for their martial arts based action sequences. The term “Impossible Body” is used throughout this study to describe those movements that represent events that are in violation of Newtonian mechanics. The Impossible Body is often one with exaggerated agency and physical prowess, and is a phenomenon that often appears in various forms of entertainment when a character is written as a martial artist. These elements are placed in context by contemporary writings on violence and self-defense, existing scholarship on stage combat, martial arts history, humor, and critical theory. ii Acknowledgments I would like to first thank my advisor, Downing Cless, as well as my committee members Barbara Grossman, Laurence Senelick, and Kevin Wetmore, each of whom was responsible for different aspects of my development as a scholar during various phases of my doctoral education. Among my colleagues in the graduate drama program I must single out my friends Hugh Long, Tom Fish, Lindy Bumgarner, and Patrick Bradley, all of whose comradeship and support meant so much to me during my time at Tufts. Of my friends outside the world of graduate drama, special thanks goes to Cara Pacifico, my roommate for the bulk of my dissertation process who not only provided support, coffee, and company during much of the work, but was the first person who made me think to look at the subject of humor as it relates to my topic. Other friends who deserve special thanks include Percy Ballard, Harry Blake, Elena Bayrock, Glenn Ettman, Mike Freeman, Kathleen Golde, Silvia Graziano, MeLena Hessel, Cory Hojka, Mickey & Jeff Johnson, Rob Manning, Dawson Moore, Kara Reilly, Carolyn Salvi, Kristen Sergeant, and Luciano Silveira. Harvey Young and my fellow participants in the 2010 Northwestern University Summer Institute of Performance Studies, where some of the ideas in this dissertation were allowed to incubate, and where my momentum for this project received a very welcome boost. Coach Don Megerle and President Laurence Bacow, who, through the President’s Marathon Challenge gave me one of my most meaningful experiences at Tufts University, not just in the 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon, but in the hundreds of miles of training that took place beforehand. I could not help but notice parallels between training for a marathon and writing a dissertation. Also at Tufts, I must thank Rabbi Jeffery Summit, Dean Lynne Pepall and the staff of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate Student Council, Rita Ortolino- Dioguardi at the Department of Drama and Dance, and the students of my various stage combat courses. Some of my early teachers, whose lessons continue to resonate in this study, Kazimeirz Braun, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Maria Horne, and Daria Ward. And of course Sensei Joseph Carbonara, 9th Dan, Hanshi. All of the amazing theatre artists who generously took the time to talk to me about their work, and also those artists with whom I had the pleasure composing violence with whose work with me I cite in this study. And most importantly, my family, who provided so much support along the way. First, my late father, who I wish had been able to see me complete my doctorate, and to whom I dedicate this project. My mother, who never failed to help me maintain a sense of iii perspective. My sisters Thalya and Ornah, my brother-in-law Paulo and my nieces Maya and Nina. Also, I would be remiss in not mentioning my uncle Adrian, aunt Mariana, and cousin Libby or my aunt Gila and cousins Mickey and Laurie. iv Table of Contents Introduction Martial Arts on the American Stage 1 Violence on the Stage: Simulation and Chapter 1 Representation 15 Contemporary Plays by Mainstream American Authors containing Martial Arts Chapter 2 Sequences 29 Samurai of the Scottish Play: Pan Asian Rep’s Revival of Shogun Macbeth and Ping Chapter 3 Chong’s Throne of Blood 67 Action-Packed, Kind of Absurd… And Utterly Awesome: The Vampire Cowboys Chapter 4 and Geek Theatre 108 Bringing a Real Perspective to Impossible Bodies: The Realities of Violence in Light Conclusion of the Fantasy of Simulacra 152 Additional Mainstream Plays and Musicals Appendix A Containing Martial Arts 158 Transcripts of Vampire Cowboy Interviews Appendix B and Vampire Cowboy Manifesto 173 Notes from Advanced Stage Combat Appendix C Workshop: Miming the Martial Arts 183 Biographical Note 186 Bibliography 188 v Introduction Martial Arts on the American Stage How does the portrayal of Asian martial arts on the American stage differ from other forms of stage combat in terms of both dramaturgical and physical considerations? Dramaturgically, Asian martial arts (such as Karate, Kung Fu, and Aikido) often have a sense of magic attributed to them in the plays into which they are written, allowing for characters to turn situations around in unexpected (and often unrealistic) ways and changing the physical power dynamic between characters. Physically, actors and fight directors often have to represent skills that might take years to develop in real life under the time constraints of a standard rehearsal process and with actors who most likely have not had exposure to the type of training needed to portray the skills in question. In addition, theatrical representation of Asian martial arts is often based more in mass media representations of the fighting systems in question rather than the realities of the actual embodied practices. The audience expectations of martial arts are drawn primarily from big budget films (both Hollywood and Hong Kong), where time, money, cinematography, and stunt doubles bring out the illusion of extreme skills that manifest themselves in disproportionate effects in relation to the efforts of the combatants. These expectations create a unique, exciting, and constantly evolving problem for those professionals who are called upon to stage this genre of violence. The interplay between 1 actual martial practices, what is portrayed on film, and what fight directors put on stage is at the center of this project. This study explores various manifestations of martial arts1 on the American stage. By analyzing plays that incorporate martial arts and then exploring the stage combat aspect of their production history, I trace how the fight directing community addresses the inherent production problems associated with staging martial arts. These problems include creating the illusion of years of martial arts training in a short rehearsal period, creating and implementing a physical vocabulary for the stage containing recognizable signifiers of Asian disciplines as represented in mass media (such as the “crane stance” or poses associated with the late Bruce Lee), and working the aura of magic associated with martial arts into the staging of fight scenes. In addition, training actors to duplicate popular impressions of Asian martial arts is different from other stage combat training. As a subgenre of stage violence, it is akin to period movement. Accordingly, there are a number of well known fight directors and teachers who specialize in staging martial arts. This study explores their work in this specific area of stage combat and its impact on both the stage combat community and the American theatre as a whole. Martial arts in mass media have a cultural aura about them which endows their practitioners with unusual, and oftentimes unrealistic, abilities. The mass media presents martial arts as a means of acquiring greater personal agency through the romanticized study of specific disciplines that endow their students with extraordinary fighting prowess. Evoking this cultural reference point through movement practices on stage offers fight directors very specific challenges and opportunities. Fight 1 I will mostly be dealing with Asian martial arts, however Brazilian Jujutsu, Capoeira, Mixed Martial Arts, and other systems also factor into this study. 2 directors and actors with or without a foundation in an actual martial discipline rely on choreography that must reference archetypical poses and rhythms associated with martial arts in order to meet these challenges. An analogy would be directing a movement sequence for an actress playing a prima ballerina without that actress having had any training in classical ballet. The first chapter examines stage combat as a system of signs and simulations. As the events represented in a piece of fight choreography would by their very nature cause harm should they actually be performed, fight directors create a system of simulacra customized for each production that they work on to allow the actors to physically and vocally refer to the violent events that their characters experience. I then address three plays by popular writers that feature martial arts in their plots.

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