| Abstract: | 就意識型態或教育而言，劇場與其所扮演的社會角色的爭議多著重在其能否激進的推翻現狀，或只反動性的再製現狀。然而，檢視劇場空間也許能提供新的解套方案。雖然戲劇空間常以先驗之姿存在，卻是呈現知識型變異的最佳展場。事實上，由於劇場生態詰問著動態的社會向量，使其成為建造新知識型的有用利器。 在這框架下，此研究探討拉丁美裔劇作家Cherrie Moraga 以及 José Rivera 作品中的戲劇空間。他們諸多作品均傾向以兩種方式，探討人與地間的不和諧。其一是以社區為主的草根劇場呈現在地化的情境壓迫（如資源匱絕，森林濫伐等）。其二則將現實衝突進化到「半寫實」的形式，以消泯的寫實空間來突顯對知識型的不確定感以及對倫理的焦慮。 研究首先討論在美國當代劇場框架下的第一型劇場，以預測其漸偏以人或都會文明為主的潮流。探討的議題包括知識型態的變異，及倫理如何在此變異中轉換成不同面貌等。繼而探討的是，此類劇種中常見以空間扭曲為特色的「半寫實」（semi-realism）手段何以成為劇作家的偏好。此手段後的政治想法為何？這種在空間中的深遠轉變如何解構人類與空間及超自然力量的互動，又如何改變與其他物種的關係？研究將運用各空間與倫理理論家，包括Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau, Guy Debord 以及 Emmanuel Levinas來協助發展討論。
Much of the current debate on the social role of theatre has centered on whether, in terms of ideological and educational influence, it can actively topple the status quo or is condemned to reproduce it reactively. The examination of space, however, may suggest an alternative that helps situate this dilemma in a new light. As much as theatrical/dramatic space (setting), like nature itself, presumably presents itself as a neutral a priori given, it also exhibits epistemological transitions. In fact, contemporary theatre ecology involves an interrogation of dynamic social vectors which makes theatre a vital means for establishing new paradigms of knowledge. In this light, this project aims to explore dramatic spaces in works by Latino/a American playwrights Cherrie Moraga and José Rivera. Many of the works tend to explore two forms of disharmony between human and land. In the first form, grass-root and community-based theatres will spell out certain localized forms of situated oppression (i.e. resource depletion, deforestation, and so on). For instance, Seattle Public Theater's Timber (1991, in Living Newspaper form), the Ukiah Players Theatre's upROOTED (1991), and some of Moraga’s plays that are based on interviews. In the second form, theatrical productions evolve from the dramatization of factual conflicts in “semi-realist” mode, so that the effacement of “realistic” spaces foregrounds not only epistemological uncertainties but also ethical anxieties. This project will firstly examine these documentary forms of drama in works including Moraga’s Some Place Not Here and Circle in the Dirt within the larger context of contemporary American theatre, by discussing how such audience-participation-oriented (i.e. grassroots theatres) plays foretell a movement away from traditional humanistic-centered theatres. Questions emanated from this front include a shift in epistemological models, and thus how ethics may take on different forms under such models. Secondly, this project will go on to explore how semi-realism (for example, Moraga’s “lyrical realism” and Rivera’s “magic realism”) that often features the distortion of space, is preferable for playwrights to deal with such issues in works including: Rivera’s Marisol and Moraga’s The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea and Heart of the Earth: A Popul Vuh Story. What might be the political thinking behind such methodologies? How does this far-reaching change in spatial orientation deconstruct the formulation of human’s interaction via issues of space, supernatural power (the fantastic), or drawing relationships with other species? Spatial theorists and ethical theorists, including Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau, Guy Debord and Emmanuel Levinas will be adopted to develop the discussion. |
