Experimental Theater Trends in Globalism

Experimental Theater

Trends in globalism and technology have changed the existing structures and systems of power in the modern world. This rather fluid evolution has, really since the end of World War II, evolved towards breaking cultural and political conventions and moving towards new paths -- whether to a more Utopian world or the dystopian paradigm so popular in modern literature.

This is true in the Arts as much as in Politics, especially in a time in which the old political and social boundaries no longer exist. Too, building off Sartre and others, in the modern Developed world, the individual no longer need exist in complete isolation -- modern communications make it entirely possible to reach out with art and culture to almost everywhere in the world, irrespective of boundaries, economic status, educational level, or language.

Some of these larger, less epistemological questions began to pique my interest in alternative theater. For example, Jerzy Grotowski's creation of The Poor Theater, and his Akropolis and Apocalpypsis Cum Figuris, breaking away from standard conventions and yet asking seminal questions reminiscent of Greek theater in the Ancient World.

Further, I investigated the different forms of theatre that essentially broke away from the standardized conventions of traditional theatre -- alternative theatre.

Essentially, alternative theatre deconstructs traditional theater by creating body, space, and sounds that are more of juxtaposition between the actor, the text, and the audience. In many respects, both the actor and audience are intimately engaged within the performances so that each rendition is as unique as the audience. Taking this as an example, and adding other techniques of alternative theater, one can find certain essential commonalities that are germane to a successful performance. It is these techniques that I am most interested in examining, focusing my research on discovering what the central paradigm regarding social and cultural function in relation to the unique methods alternative theatre uses.

To uncover these commonalities, my thesis will focus on three of the most influential forms of alternative theatre: Grotowski's Poor Theatre, Joseph Chaikin's Open Theatre, and Richard Schechner's New Theatre. These three alternative approaches represent a dramatic departure from conventional theater, using techniques that have as their central goal the development of intimate interaction between the audience and the actors. The central technique for this is to remove barriers and social conventions / traditions that typify traditional productions.

To adequately establish the social role that alternative theatre uses in constructing a performance, I will use a comparative study of these three alternative forms of theatre.

Since Grotowski had the most significant influence on the development of nonconventional theatre, I will begin by examining the actor-audience relationship in three contexts: psycho-physical, psycho-analytic language and the physical arrangement methods used to stage performances with the Polish Lab Theatre.