grotesque theatre

The framework for the theatre is in progress - essentially the new scheme is along the lines of an automated marionette, that should (attempt) to move in response to the sounds from the surrounding projects.

Aesthetically, I find myself still seduced by the imagery of the body as illustrated by Henry Gray. This has started to bleed into influences by the brothers Quay (see previous post) and 19th to early 20th century circus/carnivals. There's something inherently tragic about the deterioration of material, velvet curtains, the harlequin...and the freak show.

The grotesque itself is starting to materialize more and more in the construction of of the theatre, and in the preparation to build the automata marionette. In yet another instance where previous research starts to fall into place, Wikipedia's definition of "grotesque" begins to shed new (and old) light on the project as it unfolds:

In fiction, a character is usually considered a grotesque if he induces both empathy and disgust. (A character who inspires disgust alone is simply a villain or a monster.) Obvious examples would include the physically deformed and the mentally deficient, but people with cringe-worthy social traits are also included. The reader becomes piqued by the grotesque's positive side, and continues reading to see if the character can conquer his darker side.

Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most celebrated grotesques in literature. Dr. Frankenstein's monster can also be considered a grotesque.

The project therefore needs to as much represent empathy as it should the monstrous. Looking back at notes from Tuesday's intermediary critique, this was mentioned: while the aesthetic may already by monstrous in our interpretations (teletubby, boobah) - the movement itself also becomes monstrous.

Finally, brief research of the grotesque in theatre has led me to numerous hits, dating back even to Commedia Dell'Arte, Italian theatre that used a series of predetermined (and often grotesque) characters in order to parody society's upper echelons. This is especially important, as this would have been severely punished if executed in any other way. Finally, the characters were standardized so as to be familiar to Italian spectators (ie: Pulcinella is a character that typically was shown with a long nose, and was generally a negative instigator to the shows, often beating other characters).

And now just for humour's sake, here's a scene from Mel Brooks' film Young Frankenstein:

Young Dr. Frankenstein and His Monster Get It On

posted by chelsea @ 2:23 PM