Master's Thesis Template
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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE AN EXPLORATION OF DIRECTORIAL PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS FOR TOM STOPPARD’S TRAVESTIES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By JESSICA ALEXIS GRAY Norman, Oklahoma 2017 AN EXPLORATION OF DIRECTORIAL PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS FOR TOM STOPPARD’S TRAVESTIES A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE PEGGY DOW HELMERICH SCHOOL OF DRAMA BY ______________________________ Dr. Judith Pender, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Kae Koger ______________________________ Dr. David Fennema © Copyright by JESSICA ALEXIS GRAY 2017 All Rights Reserved. For my husband and children. Without the chaos you bring to my life, I never could have hoped to make any sense of this play . Acknowledgements I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Kae Koger. She has been a bulwark for support and a bastion of sanity for me while here at OU and, especially, during the writing of this thesis. To Dr. Judith Pender, I would like to say thank you for a wealth of inspiration and knowledge that has forever changed my perspective on theatre and on life. Every time I feed my soul, I’ll think of her and smile. I would also like to thank Dr. David Fennema for his support in my teaching endeavors and his overwhelming kindness and sincerity. And to Professor Christopher Sadler I would say thank you for his example as a confident, practical, and worldly theatre professional. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: The Biographical and Philosophical Stances of Tom Stoppard .................... 6 Chapter 3: Review of the Literature ............................................................................... 13 Chapter 4: Analysis Using the Process of Francis Hodge .............................................. 44 Chapter 5: Conclusion .................................................................................................. 300 References .................................................................................................................... 303 v Chapter 1: Introduction Background As an undergraduate at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, I was a member of a collaborative ensemble, fulfilling every position necessary for the staging of a production. I was presented with the opportunity to research, perform, direct, design, build, manage, and crew productions, thereby providing an introduction to, though no sufficient mastery of, a variety of potential theatre careers. However, because those receiving a Bachelor’s of Arts in drama must also complete a liberal arts core and the majority of required courses in drama focus on theatre history and scholarship or the analysis and research of theatrical productions, my strengths as a theatre practitioner, until I began my work at the University of Oklahoma, were largely scholarly. At OU I have been given the opportunity to choose my theatrical training, the focus of which is performance studies. My arsenal of knowledge has expanded to include a wealth of information pertaining to performance theory, specifically in the field of directing. With a background in research and a newly-developed understanding of directing theory, it is my intention to utilize these resources in crafting a thesis that provides research for and analysis of a play. Tom Stoppard holds a unique status in the theatre world as both a quintessential and established figure while continuing his work as a contemporary playwright of the modern theatre. I was drawn to Stoppard’s complex writing and challenge of unraveling one of his plays. His work, Travesties, alludes to notable historical figures such as Lenin and Joyce, allowing for the inclusion and illumination of significant political and literary events in the early 20th century, and, furthermore, includes the (creatively interpreted) personality of playwright and poet 1 Tristian Tzara and a plethora of elements from Oscar Wilde’s most influential dramatic work, The Importance of Being Earnest. Stoppard’s Travesties provides the opportunity to delve into historical research on both the era and select notable individuals therein. To quote John Flemming in his assessment of the work, “the play has wit, erudition, artistic and political history, debate, song and dance, and a host of other theatrically and linguistically compelling attributes” ( 120). Stoppard himself has said of his work, “I’ve always thought Travesties contained things that were actually better than I can write” (Stoppard quoted by Flemming, 120). Travesties provides a complex and dynamic text for a director to stage and for contemporary audiences to experience, and is, subsequently, the script that will be the focus of my thesis. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to provide a potential preparation process for a production of Travesties, including dramaturgical research and directorial analysis. The resulting document will prove useful to those seeking an example of pre-production research and development when intending to direct or act as dramaturg for a play, to those intending to fill the role of director or dramaturg for, specifically, a production of Travesties, or to an individual or individuals interested in a compilation of scholarly information about this play. A thorough compilation of scholarly materials pertaining to the contents of Travesties is an endeavor relevant to both contemporary culture, collectively, and to those currently working in theatre. Furthermore, the content of this thesis will prove to be unique in that, though it is similar to other works in the field, it is atypical of the type of work presented as a thesis for a Master’s Degree. In content, this work will be similar to the theses of 2 students seeking a Master of Fine Arts in directing, specifically those published by graduates of the OU School of Drama when the M.F.A. program was active. The M.F.A. theses in question provided research and analysis similar to that which will appear in this thesis, in addition to information about a subsequent staged production and a post-production assessment. As there will be no production of Travesties as a result of my research, information regarding casting, rehearsals, productions, and response to these elements cannot be included within this thesis. This provides the opportunity for my thesis to focus exclusively on research and analysis and, subsequently, provide information that is applicable to a larger audience. Methodology The content of this thesis relies largely on academic research, including published works on Tom Stoppard and analytical publications devoted to Travesties. An analysis of the script, utilizing the analytical method of Francis Hodge, demonstrates my understanding and interpretation of the text. This provides insight into the text through a detailed explication of the given circumstances, dialogue, dramatic action, characters, ideas, tempo and mood of the play. Review of the Literature Sources utilized in the construction of this thesis can be divided, roughly, into two categories. The first category involves biographical information on playwright Tom Stoppard, including Jim Hunter’s About Stoppard: The Playwright & the Work, which elucidates Stoppard’s origins and forward trajectory in becoming an established theatre artist. Michael Billington's Stoppard, The Playwright, provides information pertaining 3 to the development of Stoppard’s personal philosophies and the context of these convictions, whether adhered to or abandoned, in his works. This information demonstrates the artistic significance of Stoppard’s rejection of formalism, regarding plot and character, as observed within Niel Sammells’ Tom Stoppard: The Artist as Critic, and in additional articles from John Harty’s Tom Stoppard, a Casebook, including Gabrielle Scott Robinson’s “Plays Without Plot: The Theatre of Tom Stoppard” and Weldon B. Durham’s “Travesties: Plot and the Moral Tilt”. The second category utilized in the pre-production process of Travesties involves critical and literary analysis of the text. This includes, but is not limited to, Thomas R. Whitaker’s chapter in his Tom Stoppard, “The Prism of Travesty”, discussing the refraction of content and style through the contextual prism, both historical and personal. Also included is information from a chapter entitled “Magister Ludi: Jumpers and Travesties, in Felicia Hardison Londré’s Tom Stoppard that depicts the intricate relationship between individual perceptions of reality and the malleability of truth. Anthony Jenkins’ work, The Theatre of Tom Stoppard, comments on criticisms of Stoppard’s style and the playwright’s opinions on the function of Art. Similarly, Paul Delaney addresses absurdist philosophy and concepts of morality inherent in Tom Stoppard, the Moral Vision of the Major Plays. Of further use is Victor L. Cahn’s Beyond Absurdity, The Plays of Tom Stoppard. Cahn addresses the Absurdist contents of the play and the use of Joyce as an instrument of the playwright’s voice. Finally, Richard Corballis’ Stoppard: The Mystery and the Clockwork addresses the conventions and utilization of artifice in Stoppard’s work to illustrate the thematic through line of the text. Each of these texts inform the analysis of Travesties presented in the thesis. 4 Organization