Dharmik Post on Verbatim Theatre

 

In Soloski’s Whats Up Doc, the following was stated by Mike Daisey when talking about his work in The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs: “It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity.” We’ve seen this plenty of times in some many different works. I’d say movies definitely take a lot of creative license when making bio-pics. Think back to A Social Network or both of the Biggie and Tupac bio-pics. After their release, so many people who actually lived through the events called foul.

How are these plays/movies made? The first issue/task is to pick a certain historical event. This could be any event really. Then go back and comb through everything leading up to the event, the event itself, and its aftermath. Also, what is the focus? Is it supposed to be an accurate portrayal of the event or how people’s lives were affected? If we’re more concerned with the lives of those affected then who do we choose and why? Finally, how accurate of a portrayal are we going for.

So, what is Verbatim Theatre. It came to be in the 1960s after Peter Cheeseman, then artistic director of the Victoria Theatre, got bored and decided to create new theatre to make himself feel important. No, not really. Just ignore the second part of that sentence. But was known for creating these musical documentaries. The big thing with Verbatim Theatre is the text is actually the exact words of the source material and then arranged in a way that makes it into a performance.

In 2006, New York Theatre Workshop postponed the opening of My Name is Rachel Corrie. The artistic director, James Nicola, didn’t want to production to be muddied by politics. Unfortunately, this is kind of what happens with documentary theatre. This is especially the case if the production is about the state between two highly conflicted and volatile countries. Rachel Corrie was deemed a martyr in Palestine after she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer. The play itself paints Israel in poor light. In the play, Corrie goes as far as accusing Israel for violating the Geneva Convention. So, I understand Nicola’s hesitancy, but at the same time I don’t understand why he chose the play in the first place. I assume he read it. Regardless, of the political climate at the time, this play would have still caused waves. It would have maybe been to a lesser extent if it was during peaceful times (as peaceful as it can be between Palestine/Israel), but the material is still going to cause friction.

QUESTIONS!!!

Plays, tv, and film have to involve some sort of dramatic aspect that makes everything seem a bit larger than life. Usually this takes shape in the form of a romance, grand/lavish lifestyle montages etc… The fascinating thing about verbatim theatre, to me, is how accurate it needs to be. It’s written word for word, hence VERBATIM.  But, I had a hard time coming to grips with what Peter Cheeseman said about verbatim theatre. He “insisted that no single individual should have responsibility for ‘interpreting’ the material.” On the one hand I do agree that this could stave off any sort of “manipulation” or a biased “interpreting,” and on the other wouldn’t it too many people distort the meaning as well? If verbatim theatre is supposed to be word for word then should the words be interpreted as they are? So, doesn’t it defeat the purpose of verbatim theatre if the words are then edited into “performable text?” What are your theories or musings on these questions? Think about some of the verbatim plays you may have read and/or seen. What was it like knowing that these word real things that people said? Do you think that some things might have been taken out of context and presented in a particular light? How is this different from what modern media/news does where instead of reporting news they tend to color it in a certain way? Also, what about documentary theatre and politics? Is the purpose of documentary theatre to comment on the current political climate and is it our duty to make sure these productions are made/seen? Do any documentary productions come to mind?

Also, as an optional thing. Create your own short version of a verbatim play (emphasis on short). I recommend using your phone to record people (not creepily and with consent or not it’s totally up to you, you guys are adults) and then just go back and create a short little play. Once again this is optional.