한국 연극 : 이강백의 ' 문학성 ' 과 ' 연극성 ' 연구 - 이강백 연극제를 중심으로 - = A Study of Literary and Theatrical Qualities of Lee Kang-baek`s Plays

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Lee Kang-baek Theatre Festival offered an opportunity to consider the literary and theatrical qualities of Lee Kang-baek`s plays. The Diary of the Trip to Yong Wol dramatizes from historical facts the innate desire of human beings for freedom from oppression. The illusionary trips made three times in the play induce the reader as well as the audience to experience the desire for freedom in their rich theatrical imagination. The playwright, however, shuts off the rich theatrical devices of his creation in the play by over-explaining. In addition, the directing and acting which failed to incite the imagination of the audience tumbled the play into a two-dimensional production. It is just for this reason that the production of The Diary of the Trip to Yong Wol, even with its rich theatrical as well as its high literary qualities, will probably be looked upon as a production distanced from theatricality. The play, Feeling, So Heavenly, is armed with tiresomely repetitive lectures of the playwright, conveying a far more adamant theme than with The Diary of the Trip to Yong Wol. The formal structure of the former play does not demand the rich theatrical imagination of the reader, as with the latter. It is absolutely a `play of words` filled with the playwright`s repeated lectures expressed through the characters` mouths. In other words, the former is superior in literary quality and yet inferior in theatrical quality to the latter. Lee yun-taek, the director of the play, however, manages, to succeed in transforming the excessive abstractness of the play into the surprising concreteness on the stage. His decision of materializing the body and the mind of Buddha by contrasting the actors tinted with gold powder and the actors dressed in stone-colored costumes turned out to be quite effective. The invisible mind of Buddha was clearly visualized through well-trained actors`s acting of Buddha. Though Lee`s directing damaged the literary quality of the play, it, instead, succeeded in harvesting a high degree of theatricality from the play. The Diary of the Trip to Yong Wol in the Lee Kang-baek Theatre Festival failed to realize the rich theatrical quality imbued in the play, even with its sincere representation of the play on the stage. In the case of Feeling, so Heavenly noted for its strong literary quality as a play, however, powerful theatricality was recognized as most distinct quality as a production. Here the matter of directing style is raised for consideration. Lee Kang-baek`s plays seem to be more harmonious with the highly stylized directing style like Lee Yun-taek`s. because Lee`s plays are teeming with unrealistic allegories and fantastic devices. Highly philosophical themes, allegorical situations, and abstract dialogues do not correspond with realistic style of directing as shown in the production of The Trip... Lee`s plays demand highly stylized style of directing as shown in the production of Heavenly .... The abstractness of Lee`s plays is often indicated as a drawback antagonistic to theatricality. In actuality, however, it can be viewed as a virtue particular to Lee`s plays which opens a new sphere of perception and introspection. The playwright Lee is unique among the Korean playwrights in his tenacious efforts to delve into spiritual world-invisible, superhuman, supernatural, and infinite. The real drawback of Lee as a playwright is not in his abstractness but in his persistent lecturing aided by the abstractness, with which he places the audience in a narrow confinement of strict themes. This drawback gives fatal damages to the literary quality of his plays and hinders easy conversion of the literary quality into theatricality. If Lee discards his lecturing attitude, his plays will have more intimate and fruitful contact with the audience. If Lee`s plays induces more positive stylization from directors with more flexible openness, the high level of literary quality in his plays will experien