Marvin Carlson | Graduate Center of the City University of New York (original) (raw)
Papers by Marvin Carlson
4. Theatre and performance
Very Short Introductions, 2014
Modern interest in performance can be traced to several different developments from the 1950s to ... more Modern interest in performance can be traced to several different developments from the 1950s to 1970s in the art world, in academic theatre, and in the social sciences, particularly sociology, anthropology, and linguistics. ‘Theatre and performance’ outlines the influence of this major shift in methodological orientation, which has become known as the ‘performative turn’, on Richard Schechner, in particular, who was editor of The Drama Review. His work with Victor Turner led to the first course on ‘performance theory’ at New York University. Courses on performance studies are now taught around the world. How has theatre changed as a result of the challenge of and gradual accommodation to performance and performance studies?
Forum Modernes Theater, 2012
National Theatres: Then and Now
National Theatres in a Changing Europe, 2008
The term National Theatre is in such common usage around the globe that it seems fairly transpare... more The term National Theatre is in such common usage around the globe that it seems fairly transparent, but as is the case with any term widely adopted across nationalities and cultures, when we consider individual usages we find that there are almost as many varieties of National Theatre as there are National Theatres themselves. There is certainly a general consensus of opinion about what a National Theatre is, but even the best known National Theatres do not generally fit this model in all particulars. The common image of a National Theatre is of a monumental edifice located in a national capital, authorized, privileged and supported by the government, and devoted wholly or largely to productions of the work of national dramatists. Naturally some National Theatres adhere closely to this ideal model, but the vast majority depart from it in one way or another and the reasons for their doing so provide interesting insights into how the ideas of nationhood and of theatre operate in different times and different places. Although my remarks will focus on the National Theatre in Europe, I will also look more briefly at some of the ways this essentially European idea was interpreted outside of Europe, since these variations often shed important light on the assumptions and dynamics of the concept itself.
Jalila Baccar and Tunisian Theatre: ‘We Will Not Be Silent’
Theatre and Human Rights after 1945, 2015
March 2009 witnessed a major development in the awareness and acknowledgement of Arabic arts and ... more March 2009 witnessed a major development in the awareness and acknowledgement of Arabic arts and culture by the United States. The Kennedy Center in Washington, well known for its international arts festivals, had never before featured the arts of the Arab world, but almost a decade after 9/11 — with that world still primarily associated in the American public mind with terrorism, religious extremism and political turmoil — the Center decided to mount a three-week, multi-million dollar festival exploring the rich artistic heritage of the Arab world. The election of Barack Obama gave an extra impetus to this series of events. The festival included a wide variety of artistic demonstrations — music, dance, literature and film — as well as two important productions of contemporary Arabic plays: Sulayman Al-Bassam’s Richard III: An Arab Tragedy and Jalila Baccar’s Khamsoun. The selection of Al-Bassam’s play reflected more faithfully the biases of the festival organizers than the realities of contemporary Arab drama. Although written in Arabic, Richard III: An Arab Tragedy has little in common with plays currently produced in any part of the Arab world. It is essentially a Western enterprise and was commissioned as part of a Global Shakespeare project by the Royal Shakespeare Company, who were interested in the perspective of Al-Bassam, a dramatist born in Kuwait, raised in England and with close connections to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Who's Afraid of Rachel Corrie?
Theater, 2007
Compiled, introduced, and moderated by Shawn-Marie Garrett
Very Short Introductions, 2014
This paper is on 'drama and theatre juxtaposed'. Drama is purely performance. This performance ha... more This paper is on 'drama and theatre juxtaposed'. Drama is purely performance. This performance happens either on a stage, in an open space or wherever performer choose for it to happen. Theatre provides the stage. These days, people build theatre as it suits them. That is what can be termed the modern theatre. It is more beautiful, with required lights to provide the desired effects. Yet, it does not take away the fact that it all happens for drama to take place. The study aims to point out that drama and theatre are interwoven. Any attempt to separate them makes them appear incomplete as such, loses its relevance. It is discovered that without theatre there will be no drama and vice-versa.
Theatre Journal, 2002
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
II Politics and Theatre
Paj a Journal of Performance and Art, 2006
... Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular,... more ... Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular, and the variations on that key classic exploration of ritual and sacrifice, Euripides' The Bacchae, created by experimental theatre artists Richard Schechner and Klaus-Michael Grüber, are ...
Video and Stage Space: Some European Perspectives
Modern Drama, 2003
Keynote Address: Whose Space Is It, Anyway?
Theatre Symposium
Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença
Postdramatic Theatre and Postdramatic Performance-Beginning with the concept of a postdramatic th... more Postdramatic Theatre and Postdramatic Performance-Beginning with the concept of a postdramatic theatre as articulated by the German theorist Hans-Thies Lehmann, this essay considers the recent work of several major international directors-Ivo van Hove, Punchdrunk, Signa and others-as examples of postdramatic performance. It argues that what they have in common is a challenge to the traditional concept of mimesis and of the theatre world as a fictional construct distinctly separated from everyday life and its surroundings.
Writing Theatre History: New European Perspectives
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1162 Pajj 2006 28 2 103, Apr 26, 2006
... BOOK REVIEWED: Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch... more ... BOOK REVIEWED: Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular, and the variations on that key classic exploration of ritual and sacrifice, Euripides' The Bacchae, cre-ated by experimental theatre artists Richard Schechner and Klaus ...
The semiotics of character names in the drama
Semiotica, 1983
... other northern European names less high, Irish lower, and eastern European and Mediterraneanl... more ... other northern European names less high, Irish lower, and eastern European and Mediterraneanlower still. ... in bis hapless heroines by the use of such names äs Blanche, Amanda, and Alma ... and Electra, the use of Mary Stuart that of Elizabeth, Leicester, and Burleigh, the use of ...
From Acting to Performance: Essays in Modernism and Post-modernism . By Philip Auslander . London : Routledge , 1997 ; 173 pp. 55.00cloth,55.00 cloth, 55.00cloth,13.99 paper.;Unmaking Mimesis: Essays on Feminism and Theater . By Ehn Diamond . London : Routledge , 1997 ; xvi + 226 pp. 70.00cloth,70.00 cloth, 70.00cloth,18.99 paper.;Mour...
Tdr the Drama Review a Journal of Performance Studies, 1998
The Halqa
The Theatres of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, 2012
Shattering Hamlet's Mirror
Introducción al dossier Teatro en el mundo árabe: entre el Oriente y el Occidente
Investigacion Teatral, Sep 22, 2014
Antigone on the Contemporary World Stage edited by Erin B. Mee and Helene P. Foley (review)
Tdr the Drama Review, 2014
The Haunted Stage: The Theatre as Memory Machine
First paperback edition 2003 Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2001 All rights reserved P... more First paperback edition 2003 Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2001 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America © Printed on acid-free paper 2006 2005 2004 2003 5432 ...
4. Theatre and performance
Very Short Introductions, 2014
Modern interest in performance can be traced to several different developments from the 1950s to ... more Modern interest in performance can be traced to several different developments from the 1950s to 1970s in the art world, in academic theatre, and in the social sciences, particularly sociology, anthropology, and linguistics. ‘Theatre and performance’ outlines the influence of this major shift in methodological orientation, which has become known as the ‘performative turn’, on Richard Schechner, in particular, who was editor of The Drama Review. His work with Victor Turner led to the first course on ‘performance theory’ at New York University. Courses on performance studies are now taught around the world. How has theatre changed as a result of the challenge of and gradual accommodation to performance and performance studies?
Forum Modernes Theater, 2012
National Theatres: Then and Now
National Theatres in a Changing Europe, 2008
The term National Theatre is in such common usage around the globe that it seems fairly transpare... more The term National Theatre is in such common usage around the globe that it seems fairly transparent, but as is the case with any term widely adopted across nationalities and cultures, when we consider individual usages we find that there are almost as many varieties of National Theatre as there are National Theatres themselves. There is certainly a general consensus of opinion about what a National Theatre is, but even the best known National Theatres do not generally fit this model in all particulars. The common image of a National Theatre is of a monumental edifice located in a national capital, authorized, privileged and supported by the government, and devoted wholly or largely to productions of the work of national dramatists. Naturally some National Theatres adhere closely to this ideal model, but the vast majority depart from it in one way or another and the reasons for their doing so provide interesting insights into how the ideas of nationhood and of theatre operate in different times and different places. Although my remarks will focus on the National Theatre in Europe, I will also look more briefly at some of the ways this essentially European idea was interpreted outside of Europe, since these variations often shed important light on the assumptions and dynamics of the concept itself.
Jalila Baccar and Tunisian Theatre: ‘We Will Not Be Silent’
Theatre and Human Rights after 1945, 2015
March 2009 witnessed a major development in the awareness and acknowledgement of Arabic arts and ... more March 2009 witnessed a major development in the awareness and acknowledgement of Arabic arts and culture by the United States. The Kennedy Center in Washington, well known for its international arts festivals, had never before featured the arts of the Arab world, but almost a decade after 9/11 — with that world still primarily associated in the American public mind with terrorism, religious extremism and political turmoil — the Center decided to mount a three-week, multi-million dollar festival exploring the rich artistic heritage of the Arab world. The election of Barack Obama gave an extra impetus to this series of events. The festival included a wide variety of artistic demonstrations — music, dance, literature and film — as well as two important productions of contemporary Arabic plays: Sulayman Al-Bassam’s Richard III: An Arab Tragedy and Jalila Baccar’s Khamsoun. The selection of Al-Bassam’s play reflected more faithfully the biases of the festival organizers than the realities of contemporary Arab drama. Although written in Arabic, Richard III: An Arab Tragedy has little in common with plays currently produced in any part of the Arab world. It is essentially a Western enterprise and was commissioned as part of a Global Shakespeare project by the Royal Shakespeare Company, who were interested in the perspective of Al-Bassam, a dramatist born in Kuwait, raised in England and with close connections to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Who's Afraid of Rachel Corrie?
Theater, 2007
Compiled, introduced, and moderated by Shawn-Marie Garrett
Very Short Introductions, 2014
This paper is on 'drama and theatre juxtaposed'. Drama is purely performance. This performance ha... more This paper is on 'drama and theatre juxtaposed'. Drama is purely performance. This performance happens either on a stage, in an open space or wherever performer choose for it to happen. Theatre provides the stage. These days, people build theatre as it suits them. That is what can be termed the modern theatre. It is more beautiful, with required lights to provide the desired effects. Yet, it does not take away the fact that it all happens for drama to take place. The study aims to point out that drama and theatre are interwoven. Any attempt to separate them makes them appear incomplete as such, loses its relevance. It is discovered that without theatre there will be no drama and vice-versa.
Theatre Journal, 2002
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
II Politics and Theatre
Paj a Journal of Performance and Art, 2006
... Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular,... more ... Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular, and the variations on that key classic exploration of ritual and sacrifice, Euripides' The Bacchae, created by experimental theatre artists Richard Schechner and Klaus-Michael Grüber, are ...
Video and Stage Space: Some European Perspectives
Modern Drama, 2003
Keynote Address: Whose Space Is It, Anyway?
Theatre Symposium
Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Presença
Postdramatic Theatre and Postdramatic Performance-Beginning with the concept of a postdramatic th... more Postdramatic Theatre and Postdramatic Performance-Beginning with the concept of a postdramatic theatre as articulated by the German theorist Hans-Thies Lehmann, this essay considers the recent work of several major international directors-Ivo van Hove, Punchdrunk, Signa and others-as examples of postdramatic performance. It argues that what they have in common is a challenge to the traditional concept of mimesis and of the theatre world as a fictional construct distinctly separated from everyday life and its surroundings.
Writing Theatre History: New European Perspectives
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1162 Pajj 2006 28 2 103, Apr 26, 2006
... BOOK REVIEWED: Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch... more ... BOOK REVIEWED: Erika Fischer-Lichte. ... The work of the Viennese actions, and Hermann Nitsch in particular, and the variations on that key classic exploration of ritual and sacrifice, Euripides' The Bacchae, cre-ated by experimental theatre artists Richard Schechner and Klaus ...
The semiotics of character names in the drama
Semiotica, 1983
... other northern European names less high, Irish lower, and eastern European and Mediterraneanl... more ... other northern European names less high, Irish lower, and eastern European and Mediterraneanlower still. ... in bis hapless heroines by the use of such names äs Blanche, Amanda, and Alma ... and Electra, the use of Mary Stuart that of Elizabeth, Leicester, and Burleigh, the use of ...
From Acting to Performance: Essays in Modernism and Post-modernism . By Philip Auslander . London : Routledge , 1997 ; 173 pp. 55.00cloth,55.00 cloth, 55.00cloth,13.99 paper.;Unmaking Mimesis: Essays on Feminism and Theater . By Ehn Diamond . London : Routledge , 1997 ; xvi + 226 pp. 70.00cloth,70.00 cloth, 70.00cloth,18.99 paper.;Mour...
Tdr the Drama Review a Journal of Performance Studies, 1998
The Halqa
The Theatres of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, 2012
Shattering Hamlet's Mirror
Introducción al dossier Teatro en el mundo árabe: entre el Oriente y el Occidente
Investigacion Teatral, Sep 22, 2014
Antigone on the Contemporary World Stage edited by Erin B. Mee and Helene P. Foley (review)
Tdr the Drama Review, 2014
The Haunted Stage: The Theatre as Memory Machine
First paperback edition 2003 Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2001 All rights reserved P... more First paperback edition 2003 Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2001 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America © Printed on acid-free paper 2006 2005 2004 2003 5432 ...