ABSTRACT ADAPTING IMAGINATION: A COGNITIVE THEORY FOR ADAPTING COMICS TO THE STAGE by Kelley Laurel Feeman This thesis develops a new adaptational technique for visual media, such as comics and graphic novels, into live performances. By rooting adaptational practice in the theory of distributed cognition, I propose that adaptors can consider the cognitive task and distributed system of source materials. The adaptor can then also consider the distributed system of the host medium to ensure staged adaptations that both seek to replicate the cognitive experience of the source material, and account for the differences in cognitive tasks across media and in host media. Through this cognitive understanding of the adaptational processes, theatre makers can produce works that engage human imagination in unique ways; drawing on the cognitive engagement systems of comics and live theatre. To build this theory, I primarily draw on visual language theorist Neil Cohn as well as distributed cognition theorist Evelyn Tribble. ADAPTING IMAGINATION: A COGNITIVE THEORY FOR ADAPTING COMICS TO THE STAGE A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Kelley Laurel Feeman Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2019 Co-Advisor: Melanie Mortimore, MFA Co-Advisor: Christiana Molldrem Harkulich, PhD Reader: Patrick Murphy, PhD ©2019 Kelley Laurel Feeman This thesis titled ADAPTING IMAGINATION: A COGNITIVE THEORY FOR ADAPTING COMICS TO THE STAGE by Kelley Laurel Feeman has been approved for publication by The College of Creative Arts and Department of Theatre ____________________________________________________ Melanie Mortimore, MFA ______________________________________________________ Christiana Molldrem Harkulich, PhD _______________________________________________________ Patrick Murphy, PhD Table of Contents List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….iv Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………....v Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………….....vi Introduction and Literature Review………………...………………………………………….….1 Contextualizing Comic Theory and Discourse…………………………………...……….2 Contextualizing Adaptations for the Stage………………………………………………..6 Contextualizing Cognitive Approaches…………………………………………………...7 Chapter 1: Integrating Theory…….………………………………………………………….…..15 Introducing Distributed Systems…………………………………………………………15 Comics as a Distributed System……………………………………………………..…..21 Adaptation as a Distributed System………………………………………………...……34 An Adaptational Theory and Conclusions……………………………………………….38 Chapter 2: Adapting Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree: A Case Study….………………………….….40 Introduction………………………………………………………………………...…….40 The Red Tree as a Distributed System…………………………………………………...42 Adapting The Red Tree for the Stage…………………………………………………….49 Description of the Workshop Performance………………………………………………54 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………58 Chapter 3: Data and Results……………………………………………………………….…..…60 Chapter 4: Conclusions and Next Steps……………………………………………………….…68 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………..71 Appendix I: Process Materials…………………………………………………………………...75 Lighting Cue Sheet…………………………………………………………………..…..75 Voice Actor Audition Sheet…………………………………………………………..…76 The Red Tree Storyboard……………………………………………………………...…77 Appendix II: Survey Data……………………………………………………………………….78 Survey Results Without Filters or Comparisons…………………………………..…….78 Survey Results Comparing Participants with Theatre Experience……………………....82 Survey Results Comparing Participants with Comics Experience……………………....86 Appendix III: Production Photos………………………………………………………………...90 iii List of Figures Figure Page 1.1 Kermit the Frog on set of “Bein’ Green”…………………………...……………………….19 1.2 Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog on “Bein Green” Set……………………………………..21 1.3 Krazy Kat, January 12th, 1936………………………………………………………………..26 1.4 Krazy Kat, panels 1-2………………………………………………………………………...30 1.5 Krazy Kat, Panels 3-5………………………………………………………………………..31 1.6 Krazy Kat, Panels 9-10………………………………………………………………………33 2.1 The Red Tree, Scene 7.............................................................................................................41 2.2 The Red Tree, Scene 7 Panels 1-2……………………………………....................................43 2.3 The Red Tree, Scene 7, Panels 3-4…………………………………………………………...45 2.4 The Red Tree, Scene 7, Panels 5-6…………………………………………………………...47 2.5 The Red Tree, Scene 7, Panels 7-8…………………………………………………………...48 3.1 Survey Response to Question 1……………………………………………………………...61 3.2 Survey Response to Question 2……………………………………………………………...62 3.3 Survey Response to Question 9…………………………………………………………...…66 iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to Mike, whose patience, support, drawings, and love letters got me through this process. To my family for always believing in me and encouraging me to find what makes me come alive. To Claire Mahave for being the first person to show me the joy of writing. And, to Dr. Brian O’Camb for being the first person to show me the joy of research and for motivating me to study comics. v Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my advisors, Melanie Mortimore and Dr. Christiana Molldrem Harkulich, whose guidance, insights, and listening ears allowed this thesis to take shape. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Patrick Murphy, whose love of Krazy Kat and willingness to talk to me about comics shaped the foundations of my work. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Shelby Scaffidi, Holly West, and Madison Kollig. The help, talent, and care that I received from these humans made our production process more beautiful than I could have imagined. Lastly, I want to acknowledge my cohort- Mackenzie Kirkman, Rachel Brandenburg, Stormi Bledsoe, and Kelcey Broomfield. The love of these brilliant and outstanding artists has inspired me beyond measure. vi INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW When adapting from one medium to another, people often talk about trying to adapt a “quality;” something intangible. But how can adaptational techniques be replicated if the methods aren’t suggesting a quantifiable system? In recent years, adaptations of comics and graphic novels have become popular in film, TV, and (to a lesser extent) on the stage. Their sister medium, picture books, have been adapted for decades, often in puppetry and rarely for adults. These trends can be interpreted as a human impulse to adapt visual media into performance, but why? Moreover, in any type of adaptation, how do we come to make choices about how one medium is adapted into another? I am particularly interested in the adaptation from comics (comix, graphic novels, picture books etc.) into staged performances. Adaptation of these media has been largely theoretically ignored, and distinct process for the adaptation of one to the other has lacked methodology. To understand comic adaptation for the stage, I started by questioning how we understand the respective media: comics and live theatre. If the adaptor understands the source material’s and the host medium’s cognitive task, a new adaptational system can be created. This new adaptational system would foster a mutual respect for the differences between media and would provide the methodology for replicating the experience of interacting with source material. A thorough analysis of the mechanics of movement and framing within comics can help us to understand both how readers participate in the reading of comics and their complex visual language system. Ultimately, this is a cognitive task. The comics reader draws on a system of learned knowledge of images and systems- visual language- to make meaning from a comic’s series of panels and illustrations. The comics reader also understands what they’ve read based on a multitude of factors, which I will explore in Chapter 1. These factors come together in a system to make meaning for the reader, or the theatregoer. Therefore, using cognitive theories, such as distributed cognition, can aid the adaptor in understanding how the source material and the host medium function. Adaptational technique rooted in a distributed approach allows the adaptor to view all components of the comic and of live theatre simultaneously and adapt with an eye towards the cognitive impact on the participant. I am invested in the ways in which cognitive processes work in the source material versus a live adaptation. Understanding the cognitive task of the source material, I argue, can lead to informed adaptational choices that quantifiably can be linked to the host medium. I offer that methodology based in cognitive distribution can help to 1 answer questions about how to merge rather than transplant media in adaptation. If we seek to understand how a source material engages the reader, I argue that we must understand the cognitive system at play. By understanding not only the isolated parts of the source material, but also the system that connects them, we can begin to forge a new adaptational technique. Adapting isolated parts of a source material into a new medium yields distracted and confused new works. Accounting for the distributed cognitive systems in each of the media (source and host), can lead us to staged adaptations that seek both to reference the cognitive task of the source material while creating a new hybrid imaginative event for the audience. Contextualizing Comic Theory and Discourse Writing critically about comics and graphic novels is a relatively new endeavor in the academic world. However, there are some pieces of critical work that engage and analyze