A Través el espejo. "The Emperor Jones", de The Wooster Group (1993; 2006; 2009): representación y transgresión

Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS. THE WOOSTER GROUP’S THE EMPEROR JONES (1993; 2006; 2009): REPRESENTATION AND TRANSGRESSION EMELINE JOUVE Toulouse II Uni e si y; Champollion Uni e si y. emeline.jou [email protected] Recei ed Ap il 26 h, 2013 Accep ed July 18 h , 2013 KEYWORDS The Woos e G oup; hea ical and social ep esen a ion; bounda ies o illusions; ace and gende c ossing; spec a o ial empowe men . PALABRAS CLAVE The Woos e G oup; ep esen ación ea al y social; on e as de las ilusiones; c uzamien o acial y gené ico; empode amien o del espec ado ABSTRACT In 1993, he iconoclas ic Ame ican oupe, The Woos e G oup, se ou o explo e he social issues inhe en in O’Neill’s wo k and o shed ligh on hei mechanisms by employing a ying me a hea ical s a egies. S a ing Ka e Valk as a black aced B u us, The Woos e G oup’s p oduc ion ansg esses all adi ional a is ic and social no ms—including hose o ace and gende —in o de o heigh en he audience’s awa eness o he a i iciali y bo h o he es he ic expe ience and o he ac ual social con en ions i mimics. T ansg ession is closely linked o he no ion o emancipa ion in The Woos e G oup’s wo k. By c ossing he bounda ies o hea ical illusion, hey display hei eage ness o ake o e he playw igh ’s wo k in o de o make i hei own. This p ocess o in e p e a i e emancipa ion on he pa o he oupe appea s in i s u n o be a sou ce o empowe men o he membe s o he audience, who, because he dis ancing e ec s b eak he hea ical illusion, a e in i ed o adop an ac i e w i e ly pa in he c ea i e p ocess and hus o ake on he esponsibili y o in e p e ing he wo k o hemsel es. 62 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 RESUMEN En 1993, la iconoclas a compañía es adounidense The Woos e G oup, se p opuso explo a las cues iones sociales inhe en es a la ob a de O'Neill y a oja luz sob e sus mecanismos median e el uso de di e en es es a egias me a ea ales. P o agonizada po Ka e Valk que, pin ada de neg o, iene el papel de B u us, la p oducción del G upo Woos e ansg ede odas las no mas adicionales del a e y de la sociedad - incluso las que a añen a las cues iones de aza y de géne o - con el in de ealza la conciencia del público espec o a la a i icialidad an o de la expe iencia es é ica como de las con enciones sociales ac uales que imi a. La ansg esión es á es echamen e ligada a la noción de emancipación en el abajo de The Woos e G oup. C uzando las on e as de la ilusión ea al, mues an su a án de apode a se de la ob a del d ama u go con el in de hace la suya. Es e p oceso de emancipación de in e p e ación po pa e de la compañía pa ece se a su ez una uen e de empode amien o pa a el público, a quien, g acias a los e ec os de dis anciamien o que ompen la ilusión ea al, in i a a adop a un papel de esc i o ac i o en el p oceso c ea i o y así a asumi la esponsabilidad de in e p e a el abajo po sí mismo. O all Eugene O’Neill’s plays, The Empe o Jones is one o he mos con o e sial. This play in eigh scenes, i s p oduced a he P o ince own Playe s’ Playw igh s’ Thea e, New Yo k Ci y, in 1920, ells he s o y o A ican-Ame ican B u us Jones, who, ha ing escaped om p ison, es ablishes himsel as empe o o e he Black esiden s o an island in he Wes Indies. In an a emp o escape his o me subjec s who a e now ebelling agains him, Jones makes his way h ough he o es , a spa ial jou ney which leads him o ecall scenes om his ea lie li e. In 1993, he iconoclas ic Ame ican oupe, The Woos e G oup, se ou o explo e he social issues inhe en in O’Neill’s wo k and o shed ligh on hei mechanisms. S a ing OBIE-winning whi e ac ess Ka e Valk as a black- aced B u us, The Woos e G oup’s p oduc ion ansg essed all adi ional a is ic and social no ms in o de o heigh en he audience’s awa eness bo h o he a i iciali y o he es he ic expe ience and o he ac ual social con en ions i mimicked. By c ossing he bounda ies o hea ical illusion, The Woos e G oup displayed hei eage ness o ake o e he playw igh ’s wo k and o s age hei own in e p e a ion o O’Neill’s ep esen a ion o B u us’s a e. Wi h i s s aging o The Empe o Jones, The Woos e emba ked he spec a o s on a jou ney h ough he looking glass, beyond bo h hea ical and adi ional social ep esen a ions o eali y. Like he P o ince own Playe s, as we will i s see, The Woos e G oup played wi h hea ical adi ions and b oke he bounda ies o illusion o un eil he ab ic o ep esen a ion. By doing so, he oupe explici ly s aged ep esen a ion as bo h he hea ical ende ing o an objec o a subjec h ough a i ice bu also as he social image o ha same objec o subjec as i is pe cei ed o cons uc ed by an au ho and, mo e widely, by a cul u e. By ocusing, in he second pa o his s udy, on ace and gende c ossing, his pape shows ha social Th ough he Looking-Glass… 63 Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 ep esen a ions we e exposed as mis ep esen a ions upon which, as is inally demons a ed, he spec a o s we e in i ed o e lec . By in ol ing he audience in he p ocess o in e p e a ion, The Woos e G oup empowe ed he iewe s and ga e hem an ac i e w i e ly pa in he a is ic c ea ion. I. FROM THE PAGE TO THE STAGE: STAGING (DIS)ILLUSIONS FROM THE PAGE TO THE PROVINCETOWN PLAYERS’ STAGE: PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ILLUSION In his in oduc ion o “B u us Jones ‘n he ‘Hood: The P o ince own Playe s, The Woos e G oup, and he Thea ical His o y,” Roge Bech el se s Elizabe h LeComp e’s company as he igh ul hei o Geo ge C am Cook (1873-1924) and Susan Glaspell (1876-1948)’s ama eu hea e oupe, which was g ea ly in luen ial in he eme gence o an o -B oadway s age in he 1910s-1920s. As Bech el no es, he simila i ies be ween he P o ince own Playe s and The Woos e G oup abound: Geog aphically, bo h o hese companies we e li e ally bo n down own (below 14 h S ee in Manha an), and mo e impo an ly, aes he ically and e hically hey ypi y “down own,” a e m ha has become synonymous wi h a noncon o mis and noncomme cial a i ude. The P o ince own, like The Woos e G oup, was commi ed o expe imen a ion, and was a—i no he—p eeminen membe o he hea ical angua d o i s day. Occupying oughly he same neighbo hood (in mo e han one sense), e en hei pe o mance spaces a e simila : he P o ince own con e ed a s o ehouse and s able in o a hea e, while The Woos e G oup occupies a mode n equi alen , a con e ed ga age (130).1 To Bech el’s lis can also be added, among o he hings, he emphasis on collabo a i e wo k o bo h oupes: Cook and Glaspell d eam o a “communi y [o a is s] wo king oge he , de eloping unsuspec ed alen s” and, in in e iews, LeComp e emphasizes “ he collabo a i e na u e” o he app oach (Glaspell 193; Quick 10).2 Eugene O’Neill was a membe o he P o ince own Playe s. The P o ince own p oduc ion o The Empe o Jones on he i s bill o he 1920-1921 season consolida ed O’Neill’s g owing success and launched his B oadway ca ee a he 1 The ga age, known as “ he Pe o ming Ga age,” is cen al o The Woos e G oup’s wo k as i bo h se es as hei c ea ion and ehea sal home and as a pe o mance enue as The Ga age. 2 In he case o he P o ince own Playe s, he membe s o he g oup we e expec ed o ge in ol ed in e e y ace —a is ic bu also adminis a i e—o he p oduc ion p ocess. Al hough LeComp e s ood as he di ec o o The Woos e G oup, being hus he one who had he inal say, he ac i e collabo a ion o he ac o s h oughou he c ea ion was cen al o LeComp e’s hea ical p ocess. 64 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 expense o he company.3 A u ning poin in he his o y o Ame ican d ama and hea e o many easons, The Empe o Jones is a ely emembe ed as he play which caused ensions o la e up among he Playe s, whose pionee ing his o ical ad en u e was e en ually b ough o an end. Howe e , he play is o en e e ed o as a landma k in A ican-Ame ican hea ical his o y. Wi h The Empe o Jones, an A ican-Ame ican ac o was o e ed a leading ole by a whi e company o he i s ime. Ano he impo an ea u e o The Empe o Jones conce ns he playw igh ’s aes he ic expe imen a ions wi h exp essionism, b eaking hus away om he ealis adi ion o he ime.4 The Empe o Jones is conside ed “as a ema kable ou de o ce bo h as d ama and as an exposi ion o exp essionis echniques” (Gassness and Quinn 259). Al hough he i s and las scenes can be quali ied as ealis ic, he six in e media y scenes, in which “ he o es and he nigh appea o embody he limi a ions o his mind,” ead as p ojec ions o Jones’s inne wo ld (S yan 101). As Ma di Valgemae explains in his pi o al Accele a ed G imace: Exp essionism in he Ame ican D ama o he 1920s, exp essionism is ega ded as he a emp o “pene a e h ough li e’s su ace eali y and po ay man’s inne wo ld” (2). Exp essionism ex ols subjec i i y and pu s “inne expe ience abo e ex e nal li e” (4). I exp essionism ypi ies he mode n ques o go beyond objec i e eali y, i s in en ion is howe e no o b eak he bounda ies o hea ical illusion bu ins ead o un eil i s hidden ace by gi ing he eade s and spec a o s access o he in imacy o he cha ac e ’s mind. To imme se he spec a o s in he in ini y o B u us’s mind, Geo ge C am Cook, who di ec ed he play, was eage o expe imen wi h he se in o de o ende isually he au ho ’s exp essionism and hus launched himsel upon he cons uc ion o a dome. I onne Sha e w i es: By 1920, when O’Neill had w i en The Empe o Jones, Cook ealized a d eam he had long held. He ins alled a sky-dome in he hea e. I was modeled on he amous Kuppelho izon in Max Reinha d ’s G osses Schauspielhaus in Be lin. This was a dome 3 The day a e he p emie e a he P o ince own Playhouse, P o ince own Playe s membe Edna Ken on emembe s, “o e s came in om hal a dozen B oadway manage s o ake The Empe o Jones up own” (127). Fo Ken on, and mos p obably o he iends Cook and Glaspell, he Playe s’ decision o ake O’Neill’s play up own signed he dea h wa an o he ounde s’ d eam o an ama eu hea e on he inge o B oadway and i s comme cial adi ions. In 1922, he oupe spli o e disag eemen s conce ning he Playe s’ in e nal policy. 4 In his p e ace o Realism and he Ame ican D ama T adi ion, he edi o William W. Demas es e en e e s o he “ y anny o ealism” in o de o emphasize he emendous impac ha ealism has had on Ame ican d ama and hea e . He w i es: The y anny o ealism. This ph ase summa izes he imp ession exp essed in nume ous c i ical analysis o wen ie h-cen u y Ame ican d ama. I is ue ha since he beginning o he wen ie h cen u y, ealism has been he dominan mode o exp ession (Demas es ix). Demas es’s collec ion was published in 1996, ha is h ee yea s a e he i s p oduc ion o The Empe o Jones by The Woos e G oup. Th ough he Looking-Glass… 65 Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 which backed on he s age and which e lec ed ligh in a ious di ec ions, inc eased he imp ession o size, and allowed many possibili ies o hea ical ligh ing e ec s […] Amazingly, his ama eu g oup was he i s o use his hea ical de ice in Ame ica (76). In The P o ince own Playe s’ 1920 p oduc ion, he powe o illusion was ein o ced hanks o Cook’s dome, which ga e he illusion o limi less space, hus enabling he membe s o he audience o disco e e e y ecess o Jones’s mind. THE WOOSTER GROUP’S THE EMPEROR JONES: “ARTISTRY AND ARTIFICIALITY” I illusion p e ails in he P o ince own Playe s’ p oduc ion o The Empe o Jones, The Woos e G oup, on he o he hand, decons uc ed illusion o lay ba e he a i iciali y o ep esen a ion. The Woos e G oup’s The Empe o Jones was i s p oduced in 1995. Due o i s o iginal success, he p oduc ion was e i ed in 2006 and again in 2009. The p esen analysis o The Woos e ’s s aging o O’Neill’s play is based on he pe o mance gi en on Janua y 10 h, 2009 a he Goodman Thea e, Chicago, Illinois, du ing he O’Neill Fes i al.5 The Woos e G oup has o en been hailed by hea e c i ics as an epi ome o wha Hans-Thies Lehmann de ined as pos - d ama ic hea e .6 Lehmann coined he ph ase “pos -d ama ic hea e ” o accoun o he hea ical endencies which ha e been domina ing he a an -ga de s age since he 1960s, endencies in up u e wi h mode n hea e as de ined by Pe e Szondi and o he s. The ex is no longe cen al o pos -d ama ic a is s, who conside i as a me e ing edien o he hea ical expe ience which blends oge he di e en media such as cinema, music, plas ic a s…. The Empe o Jones s ands howe e as an excep ion in The Woos e ’s epe o y since O’Neill’s ex does emain cen al: as Bech el no es, in 1993, “i was he i s ime he G oup had p esen ed a play unde i s o iginal i le, la gely uncu and unal e ed ex ually, and wi hou he in e pola ion o any o he sc ip ed ex ” (128). Apa om his majo change in hei wo k app oach, a change which seems o depa om he s ylis ic cha ac e o pos - d ama ic hea e , The Woos e G oup’s The Empe o Jones was ai h ul o hei non- ealis ic mul i-media aes he ic. 5 The show has been made a ailable on DVD by The Woos e G oup, who sells i in hei on-line shop. Besides he e i als o he show, he ma ke ing o his by-p oduc also p o es ha The Empe o Jones was a g ea success. 6 The Woos e G oup is no only in oduced as “pos d ama ic” o “pos mode n” hea e in Lehman’s seminal Pos d ama ic Thea e (1999), bu also in Johannes H. Bi inge ’s Thea e, Thea e, Pos mode nism (1991), Ke s in Schmid ’s The Thea e o T ans o ma ion: Pos mode nism in Ame ican D ama (2005), Sa ah Bay-Cheng, Chiel Ka enbel , Andy La ende and Robin Nelson’s Mapping In e mediali y in Pe o mance (2010), Nicola Shaughnessy’s Pe o mance: Li e A , Socially Engaged Thea e and A ec i e P ac ice (2012), Maggie B. Gale and John F. Deeney’s The Rou ledge D ama An hology and Sou cebook. F om Mode nism o Con empo a y Pe o mance (2012), o name jus a ew. 66 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 The Empe o Jones s a ed h ee pe o me s: he Black- aced Ka e Valk playing B u us, A i Fliakos and Sco Shephe d who al e na ed in playing Smi he s and he S age-Assis an .7 B u us and Smi he ’s ou i s we e akin o Japanese Kabuki cos umes wi h A ican unde ones. This blend o cul u al aes he ic diso ien ed he spec a o s, who had bu ew signs o help hem de ine he loca ion o he scenes. The wo plas ic palm ees on each side o he aised boxing ing-like s age hin ed a he ac ha he plo akes place in an exo ic loca ion bu hey also wo ked as signi ie s e e ing o he a i iciali y o ep esen a ion: he os en a ious akeness o hese p ops made clea ha he spec a o s we e wa ching a wo ld made o “plas ic,” a cons uc ion, a ic ion. The ab ic o he pe o mance was made all he mo e appa en by he p esence o isible cables and backs age equipmen , which we e manipula ed by he S age-Assis an , who came and wen on s age and whose ac i i ies back s age we e also isible because o he absence o cu ain be ween he s age and he wings. Two TV moni o s we e placed a he ea o he s age. The sc eens displayed he aces o some o he cha ac e s, c ea ing an e ec o spa ial and empo al mul i-laye s calling in o ques ion he “he e and now” essen ial basis o hea e . Asian-like music o which Jones and B u us danced was played. Elec onic sounds and he sounds o A ican d ums punc ua ed he play. This mix u e o pe o mance, cinema, dance and music is cha ac e is ic o he in e mediali y o pos - d ama ic hea e . The c ea ion o a he e ogeneous uni e se, bo h in e ms o cul u al e e ences and o he na u e o he media used, depa s om he ealis adi ion. The a emp a making appa en he ab ic o he show h ough he p o usion o media and o echnological de ices whose cables a e le appa en is me a ic ional, a s a egy which ansg esses he bounda y o illusion. As We ne Wol w i es: “explici me a ic ional laying ba e o [a i iciali y] is one o he impo an p ocesses esponsible o b eaking illusion” (284). In his book de o ed o he company, The Woos e G oup Wo k Book, And ew Quick decla es ha “ he mos impo an p eoccupa ions in he wo k o The Woos e G oup” esides in “ he sea ch o a p o ound o m o expe imen al eali y ha challenges he o dina y, which is, pa adoxically, always nego ia ed and il e ed ia he e y a is y and a i iciali y o pe o mance i sel ” (8). I would a gue ha , in he case o The Empe o Jones, LeComp e’s oupe expe imen s wi h he “a i iciali y o he pe o mance i sel ” o “challeng[e]” an “o dina y” which, in ine, is a i icial. II. ALL THE WORLD’S A S TAGE: STAGING (MIS)REPRESENTATIONS 7 In he 2009 p oduc ion unde s udy, he pa o Smi he s is played by A i Fliakos and ha o he S age Assis an by Sco Shephe d. Th ough he Looking-Glass… 67 Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 RES US CITATING THE “ DEAD AUTHOR” : REPRES ENTING AUTHORIAL AUTHORITY In i s hea ical endea o o lay ba e he ab ic o illusion, The Woos e G oup ep esen ed on s age he e y agen s o he a is ic p ocess. The black ace and he Kabuki cos umes, emblems o he ac o ’s impe sona ion in he Ame ican Mins el adi ion and he classical Japanese adi ion, iden i ied Ka e Valk and A i Fliakos as ac o s. The s age assis an was p esen h oughou he play: his con en ional o - s age ole was pu in he limeligh . The cha ac e o Smi he s was s aged as a igu e o au ho i y. Physically absen om he s age a he beginning o he i s scene, he whi e ade was howe e “ echnologically” p esen on he TV sc een; he could also be seen o -s age, speaking his lines in o a mic ophone. Jones u ned his back o bo h he echnological and he eal o -s age Smi he s as i he empe o we e in e ac ing wi h a oice only. This p esence-absence s a egy con eyed he imp ession ha , om he s a , Smi he s was bo h li e ally and igu a i ely “behind” Jones, ha his cha ac e , who can be seen as he na a i e ca alys o B u us’s doom, s ood as a oice-spi i igge ing Jones’s ac ions and hus con olling him. 8 Smi he ’s con ol o e Jones was akin o ha o he s age-di ec o o o he au ho o e he o his ac o s o cha ac e s. Smi he ’s made-up mous ache bo e a s iking esemblance o Eugene O’Neill’s. This “me a ex ual” echo es ablished Jones as “ he ep esen a ional c ea ion o [O’Neill], he seemingly ‘absen ’ playw igh bu he ue a bi e o Jones’s a e” (Bech el 148). Ra he han s aging Jones, a cha ac e c ea ed by a “sc ip o ” and eed om he au ho ’s au ho i y, as Rolland Ba hes pu s i in The Dea h o he Au ho , The Woos e G oup esusci a ed he au ho and s aged Eugene O’Neill’s Jones, he c ea ion and he ision o he au ho ial au ho i y. As men ioned abo e, The Empe o Jones depa ed om The Woos e G oup’s p e ious wo ks in ha i was he i s ime ha he oupe kep he o iginal i le o he play and did no al e much o he o iginal sc ip . This eage ness o go back o he o iginal The Empe o Jones u he shows ha The Woos e was in e es ed in explo ing he play as he p oduc o an au ho ’s in e p e a ion o complex hemes including ha o iden i y. I was hus hei in e p e a ion, o in o he wo ds hei s aging, o O’Neill’s in e p e a ion ha he company was eage o p esen o he audience. RACE AND TRANSGRESSION: BLACKNESS AS A THEATRICAL AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION 8 I e e o Smi he s as he “na a i e ca alys ” o he play because i is his na a ion o he islande s’ ebellion ha ini ia es Jones’s jou ney in o he o es . 68 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 “Fo ea u ing a cen al black cha ac e and o ac ually cas ing a black ac o o play he ole,” Aoi e Monks no es, O’Neill and his wo ks “we e seen o be adically p og essi e in an e a o widesp ead black- ace mins el p ac ice on he s age” (540). In 1924 in “The Neg o and he Ame ican S age” and wo yea s la e in “Neg o A ,” A ican-Ame ican schola and ac i is W.E.B. Du Bois p aised The Empe o Jones, which he saw as “splendid agedy” (“The Neg o and he Ame ican S age” 228). Du Bois’s iews we e howe e no sha ed by all his con empo a y pee s and, in his 1926 a icle, he ac ually deplo ed he p o es s agains he play: [O]nly yes e day a p o es o colo ed olk in a wes e n ci y decla ed ha ‘The Empe o Jones’ is he kind o play ha should ne e be s aged unde any ci cums ances, ega dless o heo ies, because i po ays he wo s ai s o he bad elemen o bo h aces (“Neg o A ” 228). Schola s ha e o en a gued ha The Empe o Jones be ays O’Neill’s s e eo ypical ision o black men. I he play is s ylis ically emembe ed o i s exp essionism, he i s and las scenes a e ne e heless, as men ioned ea lie , ealis , ha is, ep esen a i e o wha he au ho sees as objec i e eali y, which hus amoun s o a ep esen a ion o O’Neill’s subjec i e eali y. Ma hew H. Wikande , among o he c i ics, has unde sco ed O’Neill’s ca ica u ed desc ip ion o Jones: “In The Empe o Jones, he s age di ec ions abound in s e eo ypes (‘Jones’s eyes begin o oll wildly. He s u e s …’) and he dialec is eminiscen o he mins el show” (225). A man wi h “ ypically neg oid” ea u es, as indica ed in he didascalia o cha ac e desc ip ion, Jones is indeed educed o a “ ype” (O’Neill 8). Thus, in spi e o his a emp o depa om mins elsy—“one o he ew uly indigenous Ame ican en e ainmen s”—by gi ing cen e s age o a Black p o agonis pe o med by a black ac o , O’Neill pa adoxically ell back on some o he s e eo ypes which we e con eyed in mins el shows (Banham 682). As Da id Sa an w i es in “Obeying he Rules,” The Woos e G oup used “The Empe o Jones o in e oga e O’Neill’s dependence on he e y s e eo ypes o mins elsy he a emp s o displace” (67). The black ac o en us ed by O’Neill and he P o ince own Playe s wi h he pa o B u us Jones was Cha les Gilpin, who, “by he ime he ook on he ole o Empe o Jones was a e e an o mins el shows” (Abe jhani and Wes 102). When in 1946 O’Neill decla ed ha Gilpin was he sole and only ac o who could “ca y ou e e y no ion o a cha ac e [he] had in mind,” he seemed, as Wikande poin s ou , o “ha e o go en his dispu e wi h Gilpin in 1920” when he lea ned ha he ac o “‘suddenly inicky abou using he wo d nigge (called o in he sc ip ), was ew i ing he ole.’” O’Neill was epo ed o ha e h ea eningly said o Gilpin: “‘I I e e ca ch you ew i ing my lines again, you black bas a d, I’m going o bea you up’” (Wikande 224-225). The Woos e G oup’s s aging o Scene 7, when he Wi ch-Doc o summons a c ocodile god o ea Jones as a sac i ice, could be seen as a s aging o O’Neill’s h ea o Gilpin. The c ocodile is pe o med by he O’Neill- Th ough he Looking-Glass… 69 Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 like cha ac e , who pan omimes a igh agains he p os a e Jones embodied by Valk, who wea s he black- aced mask o he mins el “nigge ” o which Gilpin was hus educed no only as a cha ac e bu also as an ac o who had o obey he whi e au ho ial au ho i y. Ka e Valk impe sona ed he s e eo ypical ision o he black man con eyed in mins elsy: she was black- aced wi h exagge a ed ed lips; she spoke wi h ca ica u ed booming elonga ing wo ds; a he kinesic le el, she made g o esque ges u es and exp essions as she bulged he eyes, o ins ance. Blackness became he subjec and he objec o ep esen a ion in The Woos e G oup’s play as hey ep esen ed on s age he way hea e adi ionally ep esen ed black people o abou a cen u y in he Uni ed S a es. In he wo ds o Aoi e Monks, “The Woos e G oup o eg ounded he pe o ma i e na u e o hea ical ep esen a ion,” hey showed ha “ hea e i sel is implica ed in he cons uc ion o acial iden i y” (555). In explici ly ep esen ing ace as a hea ical ep esen a ion, The Woos e G oup appea ed o b eak he bounda ies no only o hea ical illusion bu also o social illusion. The inal scene o The Empe o Jones could be seen as an in i a ion o anscend he socially cons uc ed concep o aces which engende s misconcep ions ha we e s aged as ep esen a ions. In his closing scene, he cha ac e s o Smi he s and Lem, he Na i e Chie , appea ed on he TV moni o . The cha ac e s we e bo h played by Fliakos: he black nega i e image (wi h a whi e mou h) ep esen ed Lem and he posi i e image s ood o Smi he . “The use o echnological masking [...] called in o ques ion he s abili y o acial o igins.” I he “ echnological masking wo ked o b eak down he opposi ion be ween he black Lem and he whi e Smi he s by con aining bo h igu es in he body o [ he same ac o ]” i also unde sco ed he inhe en acism o Eugene O’Neill’s Ame ican cul u e which iewed blackness as nega i e and whi eness as posi i e (Monks 556). As B ech el a gues, basing himsel on Edwa d Said’s seminal O ien alism, acial ep esen a ions a e consequen ly s aged as cul u al and hus social mis ep esen a ions (152). To ie up B ech el’s poin wi h my p e ious conclusion, i can be said ha he hea ical ep esen a ion o ace— he physical o echnological black- acing—was hus emblema ic o social mis ep esen a ion. In e es ingly, howe e , LeComp e decla ed in an in e iew abou hei 1981 show Rou e 1 & 9 (The Las Ac ), in which hey expe imen ed wi h black- acing, ha he s aging should no be in e p e ed sociologically: “ he black ace is no sociological. I ’s a hea ical me apho ” (q d. in Sa an, B eaking 31). This claim appea s ambi alen in ha hea e being a social p oduc , i seems con adic o y o nega e he sociological dimension o black- acing. This s a emen , which was made a a ime when he company was hea ily c i icized o hei use o black- ace, conside ed as ideologically p oblema ic, eads as an a emp o espond o he s o m 76 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 spec a o s saw Ka e Valk appea ing on s age wi h a blackened ace, hey iden i ied his code wi h he Mins el gen e. Howe e , The Woos e ’s The Empe o Jones ell sho o he audience’s p econs i u ed ho izon o expec a ions, since he play did no mee he o he de ining equi emen s o his adi ional Ame ican gen e. In ac , he Mins el gen e was denied a he same ime as i was in oduced, since by ha ing a woman play a man, The Woos e disbanded om he s a he Mins el codes o ep esen a ions. The spec a o s should ha e hus econs uc ed he codes o hemsel es, ques ioning he old a is ic bu also any social p econs i u ed ho izons o expec a ion. By disman ling he li e a y codes, The Woos e G oup challenged he iewe s, shaking hem ou o hei in ellec ual and poli ical le ha gy. Besides, wi h hei decons uc ion o he Mins el show, The Woos e G oup mo ed away om wha Ralph Ellison de ined as a “‘ i ual o exo cis m’” in which he mins el mask, by educing he A ican in A me ica o a ‘nega i e sign,’ managed bo h “ o eil he humani y o neg oes hus educed o a sign, and o ep ess he whi e audience’s awa eness o i s mo al iden i ica ion wi h i s own ac s and wi h he human ambigui ies pushed behind he mask,” as Ma jo ie Ga be pu s i (275). Ins ead o ep essing he audience’s awa eness o hei mo al esponsibili y as ega ds Black Ame icans, he company used black- acing as a consciousness aising s a egy. The play wi h “ he ules o expec a ion,” in Fiona Shaw’s wo ds, may explain he con as in e ms o ecep ion be ween Rou e 1&9 and The Empe o Jones.17 I Roge Bech el a gues ha he di e ence as ega ds ecep ion lies in “ he his o ical e olu ion o au ho ial license,” i also may be assumed ha he nega i e c i ical eedback was also due o he ac ha , wi h Rou e 1&9, unlike wi h The Empe o Jones, he company did no depa enough om he adi ion o he Pigmea Ma kham comedy, enough o he spec a o s’ ho izon o expec a ions o be smashed, and was a isk, he e o e, o gi ing he imp ession ha hey ac ually emb aced wha was seen as a acis adi ion.18 [The] ho izon o he expec able is cons i u ed o he eade om ou o a adi ion o se ies o p e iously known wo ks, and om a speci ic a i ude, media ed by one (o mo e) gen e and dissol ed h ough new wo ks. Jus as he e is no ac o e bal communica ion ha is no ela ed o a gene al, socially o si ua ionally condi ioned no m o con en ion, i is also unimaginable ha a li e a y wo k se i sel in o an in o ma ional accum, wi hou indica ing a speci ic si ua ion o unde s anding. To his ex en , e e y wo k belongs o a gen e —whe eby I mean nei he mo e no less han ha o each wo k a p econs i u ed ho izon o expec a ions mus be eady a hand ( his can also be unde s ood as a ela ionship o ‘ ules o he game’ [Zusammenhang on Spiel egeln]) o o ien he eade ’s (public’s) unde s anding and o enable a quali ying ecep ion (79-80). 17 In he o ewo d o The Rou ledge Reade in Gende and Pe o mance, edi ed by Liz Goodman, ac ess Fiona Shaw gi es an accoun o he expe ience as Richa d II in Debo ah Wa ne ’s s aging o Shakespea e’s play and w i es: “ Being a emale and I ish, I hough ha he e we e no ules in he wo ld o imagina ion. Bu o cou se he e a e o he ules. The ules o cul u al his o y, he ules o expec a ion and he ules o iming (xxiii).” Shaw’s c ossing o bo h gende and e hnical bounda ies in Richa d II is akin o Valk in The Empe o Jones in which he whi e ac ess b eaks he ules o expec a ion by playing a black man. 18 Roge Bech el w i es: Th ough he Looking-Glass… 77 Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 FROM DISTANCIATION TO REFLECTION I he use o black- acing by The Woos e G oup diso ien ed he spec a o s whose expec a ions we e de ea ed, i also wo ked o Ka e Valk as a mask ensu ing psychological dis ance, as And ew Quick explains in his conclusion o The Woos e G oup Wo k Book. Quick a gues ha he mask se es h ee unc ions including ha “o es ablishing a sense o dis ance be ween he pe o me and he audience, c ea ing a ba ie be ween a wo-way p ocess o po en ial psychological iden i ica ion: he pe o me wi h he audience and he audience wi h he pe o me ” (274). Psychological dis ance and physical dis ance wi h he spec a o s we e wo o he ene s o he company’s app oach. Con a y o Richa d Schechne ’s En i onmen al Thea e , “ he e is no place,” as Quick no es, “ o a physical in e ac ion be ween pe o me s and iewe s; [ ]he audience is always spa ially sepa a ed om he scenic landscapes ha she cons uc s” (9). The Woos e G oup eme ged om he En i onmen al Thea e in which membe s o he company, including Elizabe h LeComp e, who se ed as Schechne ’s assis an , we e ini ially wo king wi h Richa d Schechne . Howe e , hey b oke away om he di ec o ’s “subjec i e hea e concen a e[ing] solely on ‘ he psychology o pe cep ion’” o es ablish a mo e dis anced ela ionship wi h hei spec a o s (Innes 271). This psychological and physical dis ance in The Woos e G oup’s wo ks and in The Empe o Jones coun e ac ed he spec a o s’ iden i ica ion wi h he cha ac e s and hus a ou ed in ellec ual e lec ion. Dis ancia ion wi h he cha ac e s was also con eyed by he use o di e en media on s age, a ac ing he audience’s a en ion o he ab ic o he show: he spec a o s, who we e hus cons an ly eminded ha hey we e wa ching a pe o mance, we e hus p e en ed om “suspending hei disbelie ” and he e o e om sympa hizing wi h he wo ld o ic ion. A membe o The Woos e G oup, Ron Vaw e , con ided o And ew Quick ha his and Elizabe h LeComp e’s hea ical ques was o “ igu e ou wha ’s he e,” ha is, “ he necessi y o ha e an e hical ela ionship wi h wha akes place on he s age and be o e audiences. […] The ela ionship is e hical,” he explained, because o “ igu e ou wha ’s he e’ en ails a willingness (an openness) o su ende hemsel es o he immediacy ha is he expe ience o wha is being encoun e ed. […] To do his,” he added, “ hey ha e o abandon all p ede e mined modes o hinking , o se aside he ules h ough which he wo ld migh be known ( his would be a mo al o de ), o be ecep i e o wha is eally happening in he oom.” Quick concludes: His o ical pe spec i e can help explain why he c i ics seemed o pe o m such an ab up abou - ace: he nega i e e iews and NYSCA’s e oca ion o unding we e, in a sense, jus he beginning o a e y public dialogue on Rou e 1&9 […] Ideally, pe haps he public dialogue ac ually se ed a suasi e unc ion; o pe haps, in he ace o such o midable suppo o he G oup’s aes he ic choi ces, i became e y un ashionable, i no in ellec ually suspec , no o suppo he black ace (ei he explici o implici ) (160). 78 Emeline Jou e Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 17 (2013) Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X, pp.61-80 E hics is no necessa ily a mode o disco e y, al hough inding ou is ine i ably pa o he e hical p ocess. The openness o expe ience, o being p esen p o okes a p ac ice o judgmen : wha o do nex , now ha I know his; how o be in he u u e, now ha I ha e had his expe ience? I is a mode o judgmen ha p oceeds wi h c i e ia, one ha demands an imagina i e o in en i e way o esponding o he immediacy— he occu ence—o he e en ha is he pe o mance. This o m o e hics, o hinking he u u e, like he wo k i sel , is always a ma e o p agma ics (274). This e hical ela ionship o he a is wi h he wo k could be applied o he ela ionship be ween he wo k and he spec a o s, who, because hey could no ely on p econcei ed pa e ns, since hese we e always decons uc ed, and could no be led as ay by hei emo ions, should also ha e esponded o he “immediacy […] o he pe o mance.” As Pos mode n poli ical hea e , The Woos e G oup’s p oduc ion o The Empe o Jones could hus also be de ined as e hical hea e empowe ing i s spec a o s wi h he powe o judgmen . WORKS CITED ABERJHANI, and Sand a L. Wes . Encyclopedia o he Ha lem Renaissance. 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