The Theatrical Spectaculum: An Anthropological Theory

280 Pages·2020·3.733 MB·English

by  Tova Gamliel

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
LITERARY ANTHROPOLOGY
The Theatrical Spectaculum
An Anthropological Theory
Tova Gamliel
Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology
Series Editors
Deborah Reed-Danahay
Department of Anthropology
The State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY, USA
Helena Wulff
Department of Social Anthropology
Stockholm University
Stockholm, Sweden
This book series aims to publish explorations of new ethnographic
objects and emerging genres of writing at the intersection of literary and
anthropological studies. Books in this series will be grounded in ethno-
graphic perspectives and the broader cross-cultural lens that anthropol-
ogy brings to the study of reading and writing. The series will explore
the ethnography of fiction, ethnographic fiction, narrative ethnography,
creative nonfiction, memoir, autoethnography, and the connections
between travel literature and ethnographic writing.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15120
Tova Gamliel
The Theatrical
Spectaculum
An Anthropological Theory
Translated by Naftali Greenwood
Tova Gamliel
Department of Sociology
and Anthropology
Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Gan, Israel
Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology
ISBN 978-3-030-28127-4 ISBN 978-3-030-28128-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28128-1
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
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S e ’ P
erieS ditorS reface
Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology publishes explorations of new
ethnographic objects and emerging genres of writing at the intersection
of literary and anthropological studies. Books in this series are grounded
in ethnographic perspectives and the broader cross-cultural lens that
anthropology brings to the study of reading and writing. By introduc-
ing work that applies an anthropological approach to literature, whether
drawing on ethnography or other materials in relation to anthropological
and literary theory, this series moves the conversation forward not only
in literary anthropology, but also in general anthropology, literary stud-
ies, cultural studies, sociology, ethnographic writing, and creative writ-
ing. The “literary turn” in anthropology and critical research on world
literatures share a comparable sensibility regarding global perspectives.
Fiction and autobiography have connections to ethnography that
underscore the idea of the author as ethnographer and the ethnogra-
pher as author. Literary works are frequently included in anthropological
research and writing, as well as in studies that do not focus specifically
on literature. Anthropologists take an interest in fiction and memoir
set in their field locations, and produced by “native” writers, in order
to further their insights into the cultures and contexts they research.
Experimental genres in anthropology have benefitted from the style and
structure of fiction and autoethnography, as well as by other expres-
sive forms ranging from film and performance art to technology, espe-
cially the Internet and social media. There are renowned fiction writers
who trained as anthropologists, but moved on to a literary career. Their
v
vi SERIES EDITORS’ PREFACE
anthropologically inspired work is a common sounding board in literary
anthropology. In the endeavor to foster writing skills in different genres,
there are now courses on ethnographic writing, anthropological writing
genres, experimental writing, and even creative writing taught by anthro-
pologists. And increasingly, literary and reading communities are attract-
ing anthropological attention, including an engagement with issues of
how to reach a wider audience.
Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology publishes scholarship on
the ethnography of fiction and other writing genres, the connections
between travel literature and ethnographic writing, and Internet writ-
ing. It also publishes creative works such as ethnographic fiction, nar-
rative ethnography, creative nonfiction, memoir, and autoethnography.
Books in the series include monographs and edited collections, as well as
shorter works that appear as Palgrave Pivots. This series aims to reach a
broad audience among scholars, students, and a general readership.
Deborah Reed-Danahay
Helena Wulff
Co-Editors, Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology
Advisory Board
Ruth Behar, University of Michigan
Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz Regina Bendix,
University of Göttingen
Mary Gallagher, University College Dublin
Kirin Narayan, Australian National University Nigel Rapport, University
of St Andrews
Ato Quayson, University of Toronto
Julia Watson, Ohio State University
f
oreword
In what follows, Tova Gamliel provides a stirring and profound medita-
tion on the feeling of drama. It is written in a layered, complex, arche-
ological prose that is Jamesian, moving upward and downward, back
and forth, from abstraction and intellectualism to banal interviews with
actors, observations of audiences, and dictates of directors. As with
James, the effect of Gamliel’s intimate, subtle, implicative prose is to
create a sense of the ultimate, of transcendence and its secular mystery,
of a deep layer of sensation and metaphysical awareness underneath the
prose. It as if reading itself provides an experience of the spectaculum,
the experience that Gamliel posits as the ultimate ground base of theatre
as compared to reading.
What follows is an anthropological essay. It is personal and metaphor-
ical and often theological. Yet it is also filled to the brim, indeed gener-
ated by, years of intense fieldwork and minute empirical observation and
interview.
Gamliel finds that actors view their actions as efforts to enact truth-
fulness. They strive to create an existential authenticity, the only sacred
meaning possible in modern times, a sacrality stripped of metaphysics.
As they seek to practice the art of bare honesty, actors purge them-
selves and their audiences of the performative pollution of modern life.
“Authenticity has happened” is how an actor relates to Gamliel his per-
formative success.
Not just actors but theatrical writers, directors, and technical staff
aim to allow audiences to experience transcendence as if they were
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viii FOREWORD
in the traditional world of the ancient Jews who received the Godly
Revelation on Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments, the ethical back-
drop of western civilization, could never have passed to posterity if God
had not scripted and Moses had not directed the sacral presence. Bubers’
I-thou, a work that grows from but also goes beyond modern Jewish the-
ology, translates the dramatic experience of transcendence at Mt. Sinai,
performing the sacred that is modern acting.
It is not the theatrical text, theological or secular, but the experience
of the darkened theatre and the blaze of arc light that illuminate emo-
tions and meanings of actors on the stage and create the experience of
theatrical sacredness. One can become alienated from a theatrical text,
but not from the experience of theatre. This is why the ethical survives at
the center of drama, no matter postmodern critique. Theatre is Barthes’
“third,” the oblique experience outside of the text that is phenomeno-
logical, inchoate, and primordial, a sensation of the other that warrants
the suspension of disbelief.
New Haven, CT, USA Jeffrey C. Alexander
a
cknowledgmentS
This book was written as I neared the end of a lengthy ethnographic and
intellectual journey that earned me the acquaintance of a great many
outstanding people. I am immensely grateful to the artists of the theatre
at all levels—the teachers and students who populated the acting schools
that I visited, the theatre managers, and the stage directors, actors, and
other professionals. I owe a special debt to the director of the play on
which this book focuses, for giving me entrée to behind-the-scenes
rehearsals, guiding me through the labyrinth of the theatrical world, and
paving my way to invaluable information. I also express my appreciation
to the cast, the set producer, and the other artists and stage people who
took part in presenting the play. It is my pleasant duty to mention the
lavish generosity of the Israeli theatre, which, by inviting me to sit in
the audience as a spectator, afforded me many pleasurable evenings at
the theatre in the course of my research.
My visiting professorship in New York created valuable channels of
inspiration. I thank Professor Richard Schechner, who was twice my
gracious host in the Department of Performance Studies at New York
University (NYU), for his invaluable insights, and Professors Marvin
Carlson and William Bill Worthen, whom I met at the Graduate Center
of the City University of New York and at Barnard College of Columbia
University. Both engaged me in fruitful conversations and shared unique
points of view about ideas that I presented to them. I am also indebted
to Professor Worthen for perusing part of the manuscript and sharing
with me important insights.
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