This paper intended to review the theatrical meanings of "uncertainty (Unbestimmtheit)"--created by two different directors--originated from the stage directions of Inhoon Choi's drama, aiming at revealing the theatricality connoted by the stage direc...
This paper intended to review the theatrical meanings of "uncertainty (Unbestimmtheit)"--created by two different directors--originated from the stage directions of Inhoon Choi's drama, aiming at revealing the theatricality connoted by the stage directions of Inhoon Choi's drama by doing so.
For a more focused analysis, <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>, one of Inhoon Choi's drama, was selected as a target play of this study and the following as target performances: <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>, which had been performed in the Small Theatre of the National Theatre (Oct. 13 1989 ~ Oct. 18, 1989) as the 138th regular performance of National Theatre, directed by Jungok Kim; <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>, which had been performed in the Freedom Small Theatre (Jun. 22 1996 ~ Jul. 7, 1996) as 'The Second Series of Today's Playwriter - Inhoon Choi' (Seoul Arts Center), directed by Manuel Lutgenhorst and hosted by a theatrical company, Michu.
This paper had looked into the implementations and variations of the play--<Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>--resulted from its stage directions. Because, there is a thread of connections between the analysis of dramatic elements in the analysis of a play and the analysis of the elements of the stage directions to be implemented as audio-visual elements on stages.
To start out with, in chapter II, the elements of stage directions implemented by two directors were analyzed separately. In chapter II-1, the spatial background was reviewed. While Jungok Kim's direction had pursued an open stage, Lutgenhorst's direction had implemented a world of tales. In chapter II-2, how the sound symbols in the stage directions had been implemented in the performances was reviewed. While Jungok Kim's direction had faithfully implemented sound symbols in various ways on open stages, Lutgenhort's direction had been centered on faithfully implementing the directions of the drama. Chapter II-3 reviewed how the behavioral symbols of the stage directions had been implemented in the performances. Jungok Kim's direction made the audience feel 'alienated' about the play using theatrical tools like puppets, clowns, masks, etc. However, Lutgenhorst's direction had the audience concentrate on the actions of actors using 'Tableau technique' and pause. Chapter II-4 reviewed how the objets like puppets, flowers, millet seeds, etc. had been implemented by each director.
In chapter Ⅲ, the theatrical meanings of <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>, which were expected to be produced by each director, were taken into account on the basis of the audio-visual elements created by the intended direction of two kinds of directions out of the elements of the stage directions reviewed in chapter II. Jungok Kim's direction allowed to communicate with the audience of <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time> in the 1980s by making the best use of a clown--not specified in the stage directions, strongly encouraging the audience to become a part of reality. Using 'passages between backdrops,' 'visual images,' etc.--not specified in the stage directions, Lutgenhort's direction went beyond the tragedy of <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time> approaching the original tragedy of 'The Story of the Baby General'--the tragedy of the populace who have handed down the story (The Story of the Baby General) from generation to generation, along with a repetitive cycle of obedience and resistance against the tyrannies of the ruling class.
In chapter IV, it was reviewed that the poetic outbursts triggered by the stage directions of <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time> which has been developed into poetic characteristics, could be expanded into an 'imaginary theatre' for any performance. This implies that even though directions between Jungok Kim and Lutgenhorst differed in the interpretation (comprehension) of <Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>, it can be seen that their intended direction represented in their performances had eventually excelled Inhoon Choi's intended theme.
In conclusion, it was confirmed that the expandibility of the stage directions which had been expanded into the poetic characteristics of the play--<Shoo-oo Shoo Once upon a time>--can be freely interpreted in accordance with the variations of the themes. In other words, the stage directions which had been expanded into the poetic features of Inhoon Choi's plays allow to extend the 'theatricality' of his plays by enriching the imagination of performance artists. Herein lies the very point that explains why Inhoon Choi's plays have retuned to stages regaining their popularity since the 2000s.