Magic, Trick-Work, and Illusion in the Vampire Plays
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MAGIC, TRICK-WORK, AND ILLUSION IN THE VAMPIRE PLAYS by THOMAS LEONARD COLWIN, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN FINE ARTS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Accepted Dean^f the Graduate School August, 1987 30I c 1987 Thomas Leonard Colwln ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Professor Forrest Newlin for his direction of this dissertation and to the other members of my committee. Professors Kenneth Ketner, Richard Weaver, Michael Gerlach and Michael Stoune for their helpful criticisms. I also wish to acknowledge the invaluable assistance and support of my friend, Esther Lichti. Finally, I wish to express my deep gratitude to my wife, Jane, for her tireless support, helpful criticism, and unending hard work in the preparation of this study. 11 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION: MAGIC IN THE THEATRE 1 II. THEATRICAL ILLUSION 10 III. MAGICAL ILLUSION 24 IV. ILLUSION VERSUS ILLUSION 35 V. TRICK-WORK IN THE VAMPIRE PLAYS 44 VI. CONCLUSION: MAGIC FOR THE THEATRE 87 ENDNOTES 92 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102 APPENDIX 110 111 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: MAGIC IN THE THEATRE Magic has always held a place in the world of the theatre. Within the whole of dramatic literature there exists a body of plays which all contain elements of the magical, the mystical, the supernatural. Some of these plays have only overtones of the paranormal, but a great many more call for seemingly magical or supernatural events to be realized on the stage. As far back as the fifth century, B.C., the Greeks used devices like the mechane, or crane, to give the illusion of Perseus on his flying horse or of various gods descending from the heavens. Medieval miracle plays often called for the employment of "secrets," or what today are called special effects. Theatre historian Oscar Brockett mentions flying effects with concealed windlasses, miraculous appearances using trap doors, and various transformations as just some of the examples of special effects in pre-Renaissance dramas. The intermezzi of the Renaissance theatre continued the tradition of the Middle Ages on an even grander scale. Transformations, ghosts rising from the earth, and flying chariots were but a few of the illusions created. Some of Shakespeare's plays abound with things magical. The premise of his story of Macbeth is almost entirely supernatural in nature, what with the witches, the three apparitions, and the like. The world of Hamlet is haunted by his father's ghost, a specter which appears from, and vanishes into, thin air. The nineteenth century theatre was replete with so- called "spectre dramas" and other plays founded upon a supernatural theme. There were all sorts of ghostly goings-on: apparitions rising from the earth while simultaneously moving laterally across the stage; duels with ethereal beings which remained untouched by the direct thrust of a sword; miraculous appearances of visions in the air; and instantaneous disappearances of vampires whose demise was imminent. In the twentieth century various plays have required that Peter Pan and Wendy fly, that the devil bring to life a mirror image of a scarecrow, or that the ghost of a man's dead wife wreak havoc in his living room. The list could go on and on. Such a review of drama throughout the ages reveals a rather formidable body of work in which the actual staging of supposedly magical effects is necessary. "Trick-Work" and Magic In 1939 Richard Southern authored an article entitled 2 "Trick-Work in the English Nineteenth Century Theatre." In it he discussed various mechanical contrivances used on the stage to create illusions of transformations, appearances, vanishes, and the like. "Trick-work" was the special effects of the day, and in many instances the effects employed the same mechanical principles as those used by magicians. In his study of pre-twentieth century stage magic, Charles Joseph Pecor hints that some sort of relationship exists between theatrical trick-work and magic effects. He notes that eighteenth century pantomimes and nineteenth century melodramas both "frequently made use of special 3 magical type effects ... in their staging." In the same vein, he asserts that "it is reasonable to assume that magicians began to make use of stage traps when such 4 facilities were available in the theatres." Remarks such as those make one thing clear: regardless of whether the connections are more direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional, for all practical purposes trick-work and magic effects are one and the same. Indeed, a connection between trick-work and conjuring effects has existed for as long as playwrights have penned dramas which incorporate the magical. In plays of this type the actors, directors, and technicians have always had to shoulder a special obligation together. Beyond their responsibilities to be co-creators of a theatrical illusion, each has been required--within his specialized realm--to share in the work of creating magical illusions. The Arts of Illusion Both theatre and magic have long been called the arts of illusion. Each field endeavors to create for its audience a kind of artificial reality. Theatre asks its audience to believe in the realness of beings who only exist by virtue of their impersonation by actors. Yet if the production is a good one, the theatre audience is eager to show its approval of the illusion created. Likewise, the spectators at a magic show will heartily endorse illusions of the impossible-made-possible if the performance has been an effective one. Here are two entertainments in which the performers, in effect, lie to their audiences, and those audiences actually show their appreciation for such actions. Why? Why would presumably sane persons willingly allow falsehoods to be perpetrated upon them? Objectives of the Study The first objective of this study is to answer that question by examining the nature of illusion in the theatre and in magic. If the processes in these two fields can be illuminated clearly enough, then the question above can be answered. However, this will serve only as a springboard to take the investigation further in the direction of its ultimate goal. The second reason for this inquiry is to explore the performance theories and techniques of both theatre and magic to discover how closely they are related. A comparison of this kind will demonstrate the following: (1) that both arts rely upon the same or similar principles of performance to achieve their respective brands of illusion, and (2) that in plays which require magical effects, a proper balance between drama and magic is critical to the success of the overall theatrical illusion. This step will, in turn, set the stage for the third and principal focus of this study. That focus will be on the mechanical principles utilized by magicians and theatre technicians. Surely there is much that the technician and the conjuror could borrow from each other which would strengthen the effects each is called upon to devise. One area exists, however, in which the magician has the upper hand. The field of legerdemain has for its use a carefully developed, highly analytical, problem-solving system of magical invention. The advantage of this system is that it offers the user the opportunity to invent the most deceptive method of accomplishing an effect. No comparable system is known to exist in the world of theatrical trick-work. The ultimate goal of the present study is to demonstrate to the theatre technician that much could be gained by adapting magic's systematic approach to his own trick-work problem-solving. Any theatre worker who chooses to do so may well find that his inventions totally astound the spectators by using truly deceptive solutions in every given instance. If that were to be the case, he would have accomplished his assignment in the most successful way possible. He would be able to rest assured that his contributions would work in every way to help create a successful magical illusion. The Vampire Plays A group of plays has been selected as a means of testing this claim. Hereafter, they will be referred to as "the vampire plays," indicating plays which appeared on the New York and London stages in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, each of which has a vampire, such as Dracula, as its main character. In his bibliography of vampire literature, Martin Riccardo lists nearly thirty- 5 five such works, and research has uncovered the titles of still more. From the total, six plays initially were selected for their apparent noteworthiness and because sufficient materials were available to examine them in some depth. Later the list was reduced to four plays. The first to be eliminated was Boucicault's The Phantom. Only a single version was discovered--a copy of an original promptscript, hand-dated 1857 --and it revealed a disheartening fact: despite the reviews and criticisms which led this writer to believe that much in the way of trick-work might be found in that publicly acclaimed play, the sad truth is that it contains none whatsoever. It is replete with thunder and lightning but completely lacking with respect to actual trick-work. The other production which was originally to be used in this study is the 1977 version of Hamilton Deane's Dracula. The play was accorded much notice and some acclaim. However, upon further investigation it became clear that 1977's Dracula was notable chiefly for its innovative set design by illustrator Edward Gorey and "some extraordinary lighting" by Roger Morgan. Since the 1927 version of Deane's play is to be used in this study, the decision was made to eliminate the 1977 Dracula.