Staging in Six Characters in Search of an Author :: essays papers

Staging in Six Characters in Search of an AuthorPirandellos masterpiece, Six Characters in Search of an Author iswell known for its innovative techniques of characterization, in particular in the fullness of character as exhibited by theStepdaughter and the Father, but it is especially renowned, andrightfully so, for the brilliant staging techniques employed by itsauthor. Pirandello uses his innovative staging techniques specificallyto symbolize, within the confines of the theater, the blending of thetheater and real life. Chief among these, of course, is the way inwhich the author involves the consultation in his production, to the pointwhich, like a medieval audience, they become part of the action, andindeed, a character in its own right. The use of lines provided in theplaybill was the first of its kind never before had an author dared toask the members of the audience to perform, even though unpaid, andindeed, paying for the experience themselves. But without those lines,ho w much less impressive would that result be when the Director,understandably at the end of his rope with the niggardly characters (whohave been from the start trying to coerce him into writing a script fornon-union wages), shouts Reality Fantasy Who needs this Whatdoes this mean? and the audience, in unison, shouts back, Its usWere here The moment immediately later that, when the whole castlaughs directly at the audience, pointing at them in glee, is nearlyunbearable for an audience, as shown b y the riot after the firstperformance, when the audience not entirely ripped the seats out of thetheater, but stole the popcorn. Pirandello also used a technique heinherited from the corrie de Soleil, involving a trapeze hung fromthe catwalk. But though the trapeze was not in itself his owninvention, its use during the intermission as a means to annoy theaudience was absolutely innovative. He had gotten the idea fromwatching the inhabitants at the mental institution in Switzerla nd wherehis wife was recuperating from a Venetian holiday. The Swiss hospital,renowned for its experimentation, had started a program of gymnastics,meant to boost the patients self-esteem. The Stepdaughters denudateabove the audiences heads, during the intermission, is a directreflection of that Swiss technique no one before Pirandello had daredto use it in the theater before, but it not only symbolized neatly theproblems with defining reality inherent in the text, but kept theaudience from actually getting a rest during the intermission, since