Concept vol 17-18 - nr 2/2018 si nr 1/2019 Events AVANGARDA-TEATRU AMBIENTAL. INFLUENTE PERFORMATIVE iN TEATRUL DE ANIMATIE POSTDRAMATIC Biatrice Cozmolici Universitatea de Arte ,George Enescu” Iasi Universitatea de Arte din Térgu Mures cozmolici.biatrice@gmail.com Abstract: Environmental Theater had a strong influence in the avant-garde artistic practice and, inherent, in the development of the performative form of Animation Theatre, especially from the perspective of its relationship with the audience and the creative space”! We would like to mention, on the one hand, that although the ,,Site-specific” (a formula commonly used in specialised papers for the definition of Environmental Theater) and the great innovations in the field of Performing Arts have emerged in the USA, they will still be researched in this article, but in terms of their influences above the European artistic space. We will not deepen the trajectory of the phenomenon in American space for reasons related to different cultures, styles and historical periods. We will refer to USA only in the context of appearance of various new forms and only in the degree that they serve as an argument for the present research. On the other hand, as a result of our documentation, we noticed that the Environmental Theater is not representative for the European Animation Theatre but, being closely related to the phenomenon of Happening, of the political changes around it and highly publicised, it can be found in both spaces (the most well-known example of Environmental Animation Theater would be in the USA, Peter Scumann with Bread & Puppet). Of course, we do not lose sight of the existence of street shows, such as the one man/woman show, or medieval-style shows inspired by the environment in which the city becomes the setting. But, in our opinion, Environmental Theater requires more than mere placement of a show in a non-theatrical space and, at the same time, it represents an important 1 We choose for the formula ,,creative space” in a generic sense because, on one hand, in Performing Arts, the designation of ,scenic space” would be improbable, given the fact that delimitation between the space reserved for artistic representation (which is not necessarily a stage in the classical sense of the word) and audience is diminished or even non-existent; on the other hand, although the formula does not best express its utilitarian-artistic dimension, we need a term to refer to the place where performance takes place, with everything that includes it: setup, artists, public, etc. 125Concept vol 17-18 ~ nr 2/2018 si nr 1/2019 Events subject in this article for two reasons: first one, already mentioned, transformations in the relationship with the spectator and the space, and second one, which expresses a personal conviction: in the near ‘future, what we call Performative Animation Theater will integrate (closer), in a larger weight, Site- specific features. In addition to this, we have to mention that we will not refer to Environmental Theater as another type of theater, because that would involve a wider spectrum of research that should include several categories and distinctions between (and): Site-specific/Site-responsive, Immersive Theatre, Environmental Theater/Performance etc., which does not represent the subject of this paper. Thus, our interest will rather focus on the main aspects (features) that define this artistic practice and which, once theorised, have caused a series of powerful changes in the field of Theatre and Performing Arts (the purpose of this research). The term was introduced and theorised by Richard Schechner in the early 1970s, through his writings (Environmental Theater? and Performance’), the artistic activity of The Performance Group, but also the practices of other artists such as Jerzy Grotowski, or in another form, early and less theorised and outlined, by Allan Kaprow and Antonin Artaud. In an interview with Savianei Stiinescu, for Unitext!, Richard Schechner says he took over the formula from Allan Kaprow, who used it in Painting, Collage and environment or ambient, and adapted it for Theatre. The stage representation form called Environmental Theater is rather (or largely), as Arnold Aronson* explains in his doctoral paper led by Richard Schechner himself (then revised and released as the second edition, to which we refer) -, a modern theoretical movement, emerging in response to the avant-garde needs of conventional scenic practices, and is based on the conscious use and manipulation of space and the relationship with audience. Although foundations of this movement have been shaped by the artistic context around the 20th century, we would like to draw attention to the fact that Environmental practice (in terms of experimental space, multi-focus and local focus‘) is not something new. It is a common practice, often encountered during theatrical history, outside Western space and in popular theatre forms (eg. rituals and religious ceremonies, street performances, private houses, taverns, ambulatory theater, etc.). Although there was no one to suggest a concrete form that could be identified as Environmental Theater, before Richard Schechner, many artists have experienced various methods to free themselves from the conventional location of actors on stage, separated from viewers, or the convention of the fourth wall, in the search for freedom, authenticity in the relationship with the audience and the performative space, leading to theorizing the concept. 2 Richard Schechner, Environmental Theater, Published by The Applause Acting Series, Extended edition, New York, London, 1994 3 Richard Schechner, Performance - Introducere si teorie, traducere Joana Jeronim, Editura Unitext, Bucuresti, 2009 “Idem, pp. 11-19 5 Amold Aronson, The History and Theory of Environmental Scenography: Second Edition, Published by Methuen Drama, London, 2018, pp. 21-34 § Richard Schechner, Environmental Theater, Published by The Applause Acting Series, Extended edition, New York, London, 1994, pp. 36-39 126Concept vol 17-18 ~ nr 2/2018 si nr 1/2019 Events In his work, Environmental Theater", using examples from Happenings, Street Theater, rituals, political demonstrations, John Cage's theories, Jerzy Grotowski’s productions, architectural sketches by Frederick Kiesler and his own production, according to Eugen lonescu's text, ,, Victims of Duty"?, Richard Schechner approaches a stage-fitting style diametrically opposed to what, from the 18th century until then, can be termed as ,,conventional staging”. Through these examples, the author tells us that not the directorial approach is unique or new, but the term ,,Environmental Theater”, along with the rules and principles adapted and/or defined in his work. In fact, the idea underlying R. Schechner's theories - creating a genuine experience for the audience - can be found at his predecessors, such as Constantin Stanislavski, Vsevelod Meyerhold, Bertolt Brecht, or Antonin Artaud, as well as contemporaries, such as Jerzy Grotowski, John Cage, or Allan Kaprow, who (more or less directly) influenced the emergence of the Performative Animation Theater, as well. In our doctoral research we studied and analyzed each of the above-mentioned artists, but in this article we will focus only on Bertolt Brecht and Allan Kaprow; we propose a brief analysis of the various forms in which it was manifested at this two artists, in order to highlight, on the one hand, the influences above Environmental Theater, and those aspects that are reflected also in the Performative Animation Theater, on the other hand. Our intent is to argue, therefore, the premise of the present paper, according to which the Environmental Theater is broadly an artistic practice found in what we call Performative Animation Theater. Keywords: Animation Theater, Puppetry, Performance, Performative Animation Theater, Environmental Theater, Site-specific, postmodernism, postdramatic, Contemporary Theater, Performing Arts. © puternica influenja in practica artistic’ avangardista si, implicit, in dezvoltarea formei performative a teatrului de animafie, mai ales din perspectiva relafiei cu publicul si cu /Spatiul creativ’s, a avut-o teatrul ambiental. Forma de reprezentare scenic’ numita teatru ambiental este, mai curand (sau in mare parte), asa cum ne explic’ Arnold Aronson’, in lucrarea sa de doctorat, condusa chiar de catre Richard Schechner (apoi revizuita si lansat sub forma celei de-a doua edifii, la care ? Performace-ul Victims of Duty, produced and presented at New Orleans Group, 1967, Richard Schechner’s first attempt in practicing his own principles concerning Environmental Theater; in fact, Six axioms of the Environmental Theater was written in the same year and as a consequence of the experience he had on staging Victims of Duty, Idem, p. 47 si p. 50 8 Optim pentru formula de ,spajiu creativ” la modul generic pentru ca, pe de o parte, in arta performativa; denumirea de ,spajiu scenic” ar fi improprie, avand in vedere faptul ca delimitarea dintre spatiul destinat reprezentatiei artistice (care nu este neaparat o scena, in sensul clasic al cuvantului) si public este diminuata sau chiar inexistent’; pe de alta parte, desi formula nu exprima cel mai bine dimensiunea ei utilitar-artisticd, avem nevoie de un termen prin care sa facem referire la locul in care se desfasoara performance-ul, cu tot ce include acesta: setup, artisti, public ete. ® Amold Aronson, The History and Theory of Environmental Scenography: Second Edition, Published by Methuen Drama, London, 2018, pp. 21-34 17