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The Future of Vivisective Theater in an Industry of Entertainment

This is a post for the School Days series, which solicits submissions from undergraduate theatermakers from around the country and beyond. This series is curated by Thea Rodgers.

I am a junior theater and English double major at Northwestern University. In the years I have spent so far learning about theater, I have struggled with the definition of theater’s place and purpose in society, as many theater artists do. A friend or peer might see a show and say that the relationships felt true to life or true to her experiences, which makes for a satisfying evening in their eyes. While I can certainly see the artistic merit in such work, I wonder if this kind of reflection is anything more than looking in a mirror if it does not somehow change the way we live and the way we approach the world. What is its purpose? If it does not somehow transform us or change us as a society and as people, what is it doing? Over the past year or so, I have been on a journey of rediscovering the roots of theater’s presence in both my life and in the society I am still learning to live in. Perhaps it is because I am also learning constantly about the cultural conflicts that burden us–from varying forms of stratification to the massive power that corporations have over the government–that I am drawn to a mission for this art form that is necessarily transformative.

I will root my understanding of theater’s transformative purpose in the theories of Jerzy Grotowski for the purpose of this essay. His writings have led me to appreciate the responsibility and truth-seeking aspect of theater:

We see theatre—especially in its palpable, carnal aspect—as a place of provocation, a challenge the actor sets himself and also, indirectly, other people. Theatre only has a meaning if it allows us to transcend our stereotyped vision, our conventional feelings and customs, our standards of judgment—not just for the sake of doing so, but so that we may experience what is real and […] in a state of complete defenselessness unveil, give, discover ourselves.

A basic understanding of Grotowski’s theory has led me to consider the ways that theater can be used to break down and reveal the ideological and cultural structures that influence us every day, but that function beneath the surface as unrecognized undercurrents. The stories we internalize influence or taint what we expect of life: a happy ending with marriage, love conquering evil, or even the apologetic villain being humanized. As I considered these ideas more and more, the urgency for this kind of work became increasingly tangible in my everyday life. I read the work of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, philosophers who examined the influence of the culture industry on our society and watched The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology, in which Slavoj Žižek analyzes the presence of hierarchical ideology in popular movies like Titanic. I see now that in this culture, which is so deeply connected to the media and the Internet, there is a desperate need for reflection and reconsideration of what we take as given. We cannot assume that the market will right itself. Without critical thinking there is a danger that we will take the stories marketed to us, undeniably for profit, as truth. We must foster our ability to question; this need grows more desperate as standardized tests are normalized and arts programs are cut away.

Much of the theater that I see seems to invest more energy in entertaining these stereotypes or presenting them as a distillation of truth rather than examining them critically. I don’t leave many performances feeling like I have transcended the principles of judgment I use to understand my day-to-day life. So we give an audience what they want to see and as artists, we warp our portrayals to serve certain goals. Audiences will pay to be amused by heart-swelling stories of love set to catchy music, tear-inducing family conflicts they can connect with, and even intellectual pieces they can celebrate as tokens of their cultural appreciation, but it’s more difficult to imagine people paying so they can be in critical conversation with the morals that drive their lifestyles. We give them what they want. I hope we don’t forget to continue searching for what they need to see as well.

One encouraging example of this necessary theater is The Sovereign Statement, produced by The Neo-Futurists in 2013. The essential premise was that the audience and cast created a political microcosm. The play asked for the audience’s political agency as an instrument for dramatic action, giving the audience opportunities to vote and impact the plot. In several ways, this piece is an obvious example of the kind of theater I support: it began a political dialogue and engaged its audience in behavior from which significant reflection was possible. It is worth noting that this piece is inspiring especially because there were artistry and fun embedded in critical material: silly dances, situational comedy, audience-interaction, and promenade moments galore. And when it was revealed that the audience had been deceived into a vote that systematically disregarded the majority, several contemplative moments completed the show, presenting further questions about the nature of government and group decision-making. I left the theater not only considering some of the troubling aspects of democracy, but also asking myself what I was doing–knowingly and unknowingly–to enable some of the issues we face in this society.  

I would never restrict an entire art form into a particular agenda or structure and I’m not arguing that all theater must be critical. But if it comes down to what kind of theater will people pay for, as our competitive economy encourages, are we threatening the existence of a kind of theater that asks us to challenge our own beliefs? Does this mean that the work of questioning, the work of criticizing, the work of cultural progression is being left in the dust? Can we encourage this work and relieve some of its financial burdens? Theater does not really function like a commodity that satisfies a personal need, yet the wheels of the entertainment industry continue to turn. This brings me to challenge what I understand of the structure of the artistic industry. I urge the new generation of theater artists to push the limits of our cultural values and to ask our country to assess the way we approach theater. Start now! Artists of all kinds are the key to the development of cultural perspective and awareness. Without that awareness we are susceptible to the tricks of a market that will do anything to get us to buy and buy again. Everywhere I look, there are cultural structures to be challenged—corporate influence on our government, wealth inequality, racial and sexual bigotry to name a few– and I believe it is our responsibility as artists to begin those challenging and uncomfortable conversations. Take your pick and start reaching through the mirror.

 

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A series featuring students sharing their vision for the future of the theatre industry.

School Days

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You raise an important question and I'm reminded of something I think I read or heard Edward Albee say, when asked about Broadway. "If you're asking me to fork over more than a hundred bucks, you damn well better shake me to my core." I love that sentiment. And I agree wholeheartedly, although, Hannah, I think you're probably correct in your assumption that most people don't look for that as a prerequisite to forking over the price of a Bway seat.

I do also believe that the cream will rise. That if we continue to require this standard of ourselves as we make theatre, that our audiences will grow to crave that kind of challenge. And, by the way, entertainment and a fundamental challenge to our assumptions about the world need not be mutually exclusive. The best theatre manages both, I think.

Thanks for a great thought-provoking piece! :)