Deconstructionist theater challenges established assumptions by examining situations from a different point of view. It argues that there are no set definitions and interpretation is reached on an individual basis. Any stage production that challenges an established concept can be classified as partially deconstructive. It is a slippery concept and impossible to get consensus on what it means.
Deconstructionist theater is a term that covers a wide variety of theatrical styles, determined to examine situations from a different or unusual point of view. Based on the theories of French philosopher Jacques Derrida, among others, deconstructionist theater is as complicated and difficult to define as anything. The goal of the concept is to challenge established assumptions about a topic, but the method for doing so is an open field.
Deconstruction theory as it stands today was formed in the 20th century, partly as a reaction to authoritarian censorship and realism. Instead of agreeing that there is a definition or interpretation of a concept, deconstructionist theory argues that there are no set definitions. Instead, interpretation is reached on an individual basis, as each person arrives at a point of view from a unique background of their own experience. For this reason, not only are all interpretations equally correct, but they are also often completely contradictory.
Basically, any stage production that challenges an established concept in any way can be classified as partially deconstructive. In Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9, the first act of the play is set in colonial Africa, where a black character is played by a white man, a docile housewife is played by a man, and a boy is played by a girl. In the second act, which is twenty years later for the characters but more than a century later in the setting, a young girl is played by the same actor who played an overbearing father in the first act. As confusing as it sounds, the show uses this unconventional casting approach to highlight the issues of gender role stereotypes. In this way, the game is at least partially deconstructive.
Noted University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) professor Gary Gardner often describes deconstructionist theater in his class by filling a glass of water and throwing it against a wall. This method, a surprisingly common approach to studying the theory, exemplifies the central concept behind the theory: what you perceive as a glass is also a collection of connected glass pieces. While one can hold water and one can’t, both are the same. This example shows the inherent and accepted contradictions in deconstructionist theater and underlines the importance of multiplicity of interpretation.
To better understand the broad concept of this form of theatre, try reading some works by writers considered to be deconstructionist in nature. Caryl Churchill, Samuel Beckett and Arthur Miller are all considered by some to be good examples of the genre. To attempt to better grasp the concepts behind the stage version of deconstructionist theory, reading Jacques Derrida’s extensive writings on the subject will either give you a better idea of the subject or completely confuse you.
Deconstructionist theater is known to be a slippery concept. It is impossible to get consensus from the experts on what it means and what it should be like, because definitions are at the very heart of what it is fighting against. According to some theater critics, it is the pursuit of connection between individuals by fully realizing personal interpretation, rather than cementing a falsely universal vision by repeating it over and over again.
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