A Master’s Thesis Theater in the Age of Technology A Study of Chosen Hyperdramas Submitted to The Department of English Language and Literature

Abstract

The thesis examines the rising relationship between theater and technology through examining what is known as ‘hyperdrama’, which is a new form of theater that represents an innovative look towards theater in the new millennium. Hyperdrama is referred to as a ‘hypertext fiction’, as it is written in hypertext language and read on a computer. Hyperdrama transforms the rules of theater by using digital technology to modify the rules of writing drama, adding certain unfamiliar qualities to a dramatic text. These features have several implications on the notions of a dramatic text, audience, stage, and playwright, turning theater into a rather unique experience. The new context in which the drama is produced alters several rules attached to theater, as the digital element produces a new kind of drama which is both unusual and innovative as well, and expands the perspective of theater in the contemporary age. The three plays examined in the thesis are The Bride of Edgefield (1994), The Last Song of Violetta Parra (1996), and The Seagull Hyperdrama (2004). Through studying those dramas, subjects related to hyperdrama are tackled, such as hypertext, Electronic literature, and virtual technology. In examining those topics, the thesis uses poststructuralist as well as postmodern theories. Also, the thesis draws on the practices and theories of dramaturgy as pioneered by famous theater practitioners such as Artaud and Brecht. vi The Introductory Chapter: Theater and Technology provides an introduction to hyperdrama, hypertext and electronic literature. The chapter also shows how hyperdrama is applicable to postmodern and poststructuralist theories. Chapter Two: Hyperdrama as a New Kind of Dramatic Texts examines the effect of employing hypertext technology in writing hyperdrama through tracing the modifications which hypertext technology adds to a dramatic text. The chapter mainly uses theories of Derrida, Barthes, and Kristeva. Chapter Three: Theater as an Interactive Experience examines the concept of ‘interactivity’ as applied in both the dramatic text as well as in the performances of hyperdrama, and the effect of interactivity on the concepts of playwright and audience. The chapter draws on theories of Postmodern theater, as well as certain ideas by Brecht and Artaud. The last chapter: Virtuality, Subjectivity, and Time and space in Hyperdrama analyzes the effects of using virtual technology in hyperdrama and its implications on the concepts of a dramatic text, time, representation, and the concept of the self. The thesis aims at establishing the role of digital technology in contemporary culture