A PRO DUCT! OM BOOK FOR AN EXPERIMENTAL STAGItfO Or' NIKOLAI GOGOL'S THE IHSPECTOH GENERAL A jPPROVBBs ssor M ' rJkkjns^ Minor Professor / ^ k(t£l. Head ofyxjhe Departwent of Speech ana Drama Dean of the"Grudubte School " \ A PRODUCTION tfOuK md AM is.XPi!.RiljLwTAL aTkOlMG Oif llimLhl GOGOL1 & This IB&PECTOR O&HERjtL THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the Worth Teau>s State University in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MfcbftsR OF aRTS By John Kdwerd Peninger, B. A, Denton, Texas august, 1986 HffiPACE The January X7 end 18, 1966, thesis production pre- sented at Worth Texas State University was an experimental production of The Inspector General, es based on histories!, philosophical, end analytical study of both the play end the author, Mlkolal Gogol. A thesis production consists of a written analysis and ©valuation of the play end its author and the actual production of the play. The thesis production enables the candidate to illustrate his mastery of theatre discipline. The written portion demonstrates his ability to develop the concepts necessary to the production of » play, and the presentation of the play offers the candidate the opportunity to show his creativity and aesthetic understand- ing of theatre. The initial step in preparation for this thesis was the selection of a play for production. The Inspector General, by likolal Gogol, possessed several quell ties which made it en ideal selection. The writer had had much experience with fare© both as actor and director. These past experiences had given the writer ample opportunity to experiment with concepts of comedy which had proved successful. The play was intriguing in its departure from a stereotyped farcical treatment; It was this unusual characteristic of the play iii IV which first attracted the writer. It was thought that The Inspector General would present s si taction which wee both, familiar end challenging. The li -itations of the theatre In which the play was to he produced also presented a cha 1- lenge. The original conceptions for set and lighting pre- seated interesting problems in adaptation and improvisation The writer first hecerne faiailler with I'he Inspector 1 Genera 1 in Treasury of the Theatre, edited by John fiessner, ' the Professor of playwriting et Yale University. Osgoner'a choice of translation was that of George Rapall Noyes and John Laurenoe Seymour. The suitability of this translation for educational purposes wes apparent both from its inclu- sion In this noted anthology and the treatment of its language. The Ceyaiour-iloyee translation contains English, terms which are more easily understood in a contemporary setting than those in other available translations. 'The organization oi the thesis follows basically the same pattern as did the preparation for presentstion of the play. The order and content of the thesis is important In ths t It indies tea the preparatory steos the director should take In presenting a play. The first chapter explores NitEolai Gogol's biographical background and the influences upon his writing and manner of thinking. An understanding of any play cannot be fully attained without some Information \john Gasaner, Treasury of the Theatre, X (Hew York, 1951), p* 600. about the author, and some works require a thorough realisa- tion of the writer's motivations end elms. The Inspector General is on© of the latter, and en understanding of Niko- lai C-ogol'8 motivations end aima necessitates a knowledge of his life and the influences the r on. Chapter" Two complete a a study of Gogol's thoughts and intentions with a discussion of his philosophies and their effect on I'he Ins,pec tor Gener- al* Ohapter Three is an explanation of how the information contained iu chapters One and Two affected the director's preconceptions of how to produce fhe Inspector General and will tatce into considerstion the relative merits of pest productions# After a director has acquired s thorough understanding of en author, a detailed analysis of the play mui>t be made so that the director can formulate concept© which will guide his interpretstlon of the work. Thus an analysis of l?he Inspector General will propose the director's Intentions, end contain ©detailed analysis of both the char- acters and the play. Chapter Four contains a progrwn of the play, the edited script, the blocking directed to the actors^ music cue a, photographs of the design© for the production, and representative photographs of the production itself. Chapter .five is an evaluation of the production of I'he in- spector General based on the vuL idlty of the director's biographical and philosophical research, and an evaluation of hi® interpretation derived from these studies. Sitiiii, JoaxVifi'S. Paga •?KEFiiOE lit rXEST 0>J XLLTJ^Ea^XOliS vtl Ufaa ptor x. :nsarji± C/joolj $HB '^a KYO TUX& PLft^RioKf . i IntrociuccI cm The i.ls a 'x'he Influences oa -3-ogol n. "IIXOLSui'QL1!; ;T£'IILO-L.O;',}L.^ii /-rd) lAiLXri Es>. M-OT OH THb INSPECTOR GENERAL ......... 20 Xx X . sw W, 1U^1 JX>- \J4 v - ' *X'S.'-J v "V . ^XjL/ '.J i £'x DETi-XXiD i^miUbxti Of XK& XliSPfcCTQR 3iaa>Ri>L 57 Xntraduction 'Xhe director's Concept of x'he General vlibrlcter i,nt>lysis bo e ne-by•Ec e ne iiv&lu&tion Laiisii. xy IV, Tiiii DIEkCtfOK'b PKObiPi' BOOK CO^XKXIfG PIGTiJBL?- iilTD D1SI0KS 37 Program Blacking Key Script, Blocking, Production Photographs, and Designs V. XVi:Uft,TX(W ul«- TKX WfeSXS ?R0DUGTI0H 239 i'll LXOGIlcs 302 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Piste Page I. Chief of Polices I Have Invited You Her© Gentlemen 92 II. Chief of Polices . • .Oh, bhamel Disgrace! . 113 111# Arma Andreyevna I • . .Hurry Up, Hurry tip, Hurry Upl 120 IV. Hlosttticovi . .1 bpit on Your Proprietor. Yvhat Have You (Jot There? .......... 133 V. Chief of Polio©: Please accept i% Greetings 1 Blestafcovj And Mine to You Sir. Chief of Police: Pardon M©» • . Hlestakovj Oh, Certainly. ......... 158 VI* Chief of "olicei nOh, Lord My God, How Can I Perceive My 2-eal and Be Satisfied?" ..... 165 VII. HlestaKOVs . * .You Can Imagine for Yourself: Thirty-five Thousand MessengersI 174 VIII. Anna Andreyevna: And 1 felt Absolutely 3o Timidity 'Whatever j 179 IX. Aiamos r-'edorovichi Well, It's All Over J I'm Lost and Done fori ............. 192 X. Hlestakovj Couldn't You Lend M© three Hundred Rublea? Luke Lukiohj what a Fix if I Haven't Got It. 201 XI. Artemy ^ilippovichi * . .tven the Little Girl is the Spit'n Image of the Judge 204 XII. Bobchiasky: Just 'l'a*ce a Better Look, Petr Ivanovioh. I Enow there's a Hole in Your Right-hand Pocket. 209 XIII. Hlestakovj V.alt} Speait On© at a Time. ..... 222 vii viii fie te £& ge XI?. iileatSKOv: Thfat las a Magpie. 229 XV, Hlestajftov i Madam, You See, I Am Consumed 11th Love* 232 XVI, arte my -'ilippovlchj . .A Generalship 'Vlll Suit Him Like a Saddle on a Cowl 267 XVII. Anna Andreyevn* * Antoshs, You*re Always Ready to Make Promises. 258 XVIII. Xorobkin; nThe Superintendent of Schools Reeks of Onions from Head to Foot." .... 267 XIX. Oenderme: Be Is Stopping at the Inn. ..... 274 XX. Floor Plan J *ot I, act III, iiot IV, Act V . 275 XXI. Floor r'lan; .act II. ............. 276 XXII. Door-V, lnuow Unit 277 XXIII. Revolving Unit in Position for .acts I, III, XV, V 278 XXXV. Revolving Unit in Position j.or Act IX .... 279 XXV. Anton iintoaovich SicoznlK-Dumukhs novsky, Chief of Police ......... 280 XXVI. Ivan Alexandrovioh Hlestekov, en Official from Petersburg 231 XXVII. Anna Andreyevna, f«lf@ of Anton Antonovich . 282 XXVIII. Marye Antonovne, Daughter of Anne Andreyevne end Anton Antonovich 283 XXIX. Amraos Fedorovloh Lyepkln-Tyspkln, Judge . 284 XXX. Luke Luklch Mlopov, Superintendent of Schools . 285 XXXI. Ivan Kuamleh Shpekin, Postmaster ....... 286 XXXII. arte my i-'llippovich Zemlyenlke, Supervisor of Charitable Institutions 287 XXXIII. Petr Ivanovlch Dobchinsicy and Petr Ivanovlch Bobchinsky, Landed Proprietors Living In the Town 286 CHAPTER I ^IKOIrfil GOGOLf 1MB mA iiUD THE PLftY^HIOifT Introduction Hiicolsi Gogol has been acclaimed throughout the world for the literary genius tie showed j.n such works as Dead Souls and The lasgector Genera 1. 'ihis novel and tnis play are representative of the shift to realism in Russia a lit- erature. Gogol has been swarded such titles s@ "the father of Russian ret lisic* and Mthe greet romai tic" for being one of the most puzzling figures between the romai tic and ?fela- istic periods in European literature. To Illustrate the enipma of Gogol, It would not be unseemly to label him "the great melancholic*n nthe persecution maniac," end "the reli- gious maniac." Paradoxically, although Gogol Is considered to be one of Russia's •lost J.nportant writers, lie suffered froa acute mental illness. He clung to every Illusion which illurainuted his ego; self-praise became © frequent Indul- ge rice; this lack of objectivity, in turn, drew him sometimes to "obliterate the line between truth and mystii'lct tion."1 Study reveals that this characteristic became both the uniigue quality in his writing and the great flaw of his V 3-Janke Lavrln, Gogol (Mew York, 1925), p. 50. mental b©lug# Although all authors end their writings are interrelated, Gogol*® personality was so related to his writing that a study of his life becomes necessary before one Is able to fully understand his works. Thus, in order to entirely comprehend the meanings of Gogol's writings, it la necessary to delve Into his background. Chapter One will explore Gogol's biographies 1 background end the Influences upon his «ritlng and manner of thinking, chapter Two will complete the study of Gogol's background by a study of the author's philosophies and their effect on the subject of this thesis, The Inspector General.