Performing Symbolist Theatre — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Performing Symbolist Theatre

Name: Neil Scharnick
Department: Fine Arts
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Name: Alex Johnson
Major: Theatre Performance and Music Theatre
Hometown: Cottage Grove, MN
Faculty Sponsor: Neil Scharnick
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Abstract

French Symbolism, a non-realist genre committed to “making the invisible visible,” was profoundly influential on modern theatre: its irrationality appealed to the post-war Absurdists and its mysticism inspired the ‘60s avant-garde. Despite its importance as a forerunner to the Twentieth Century’s most important theatre, production of Symbolist drama—particularly in the U.S.—is almost unheard of today. It was our hypothesis that this dearth of production stems from a lack of understanding concerning 1) the theory behind the work and 2) the performance and production practices the style demands.

It was the goal of this project to ascertain what producing the poetic and cryptic drama of the Symbolists required and what it offers artists and audiences today. We needed to develop a deeper understanding of the writings of Symbolism’s champion, Maurice Maeterlinck. This understanding could come only through studying primary documents (plays, theoretical essays, etc.) and recent scholarship on Symbolism. We chose promising Symbolist plays and authored production concepts for them. We tested our concepts through performance, recreating to the extent possible the performance techniques of the Symbolists.

The Ensemble & Experimental Acting J-term course provided a further context for testing results and refining our understanding of the form. The class wrote and performed plays in the Symbolist mode and offered a performance showcase, part of which will be performed during the Celebration of Scholars.

Poster file