This study examines how Brechtian epic-theater style contributes to the formation of self-identity of the young, focusing on theater for young audiences (TYA) translated and performed by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK). The plays uses the...
This study examines how Brechtian epic-theater style contributes to the formation of self-identity of the young, focusing on theater for young audiences (TYA) translated and performed by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK). The plays uses the dialectical theater format through which audiences think independently and construct their own point of view. Epic-theater style, as Brecht noted, induces critical self-reflection in audiences, and it also can contribute to the establishment of the adolescents’ self-identity by allowing young audiences to construct their own point of view and attitude through dialectical synthesis. This thesis examines how epic-theater style reveals the young’s self-identity in cases of translated TYAs by NTCK, analyzing the relationship between the techniques of epic theater shown in the translated plays and the self-identity formation of youth.
To elucidate the relationship between one’s self-identity and epic-theater style, chapter 2 examines the isomorphy between the structure of one’s self-identity formation and that of dialectical theater. The building of one’s self-identity proceeds through a dynamic dialectical process in which a given existent self-image is denied, an identity crisis occurs, and one’s self overcomes the crisis and advances to a mature identity. These dialectical characteristics indicated in the process of self-identity formation parallel in structure to Brecht’s concepts on dialectical theater. The dialectical isomorphy is also found in the relationship between modern post-epic theater and narrative identity.
Chapter 3 examines how the process of forming one’s self-identity within each of TYAs translated and performed by the NTCK is staged through a dialectical theater, which encompasses epic/post-epic theater. "The Boy Did It"(original title: "The Stones") deals with the development of self-identity of the young people through a juvenile crime case, and shows the process of integrating the subjective and objective selves of Minjae and Sangshik, two adolescent protagonists in the play. As for the style, post-epic theater is used to present various perspectives towards the juvenile crime on the stage.
"The Wrestling Season" assimilates the identity crisis and the searching process for true self caused to the young by fake rumors to a wrestling match. The use of elements of a wrestling match, such as ensembles and referees, allows audiences to criticize and distance themselves from the events on the stage. A forum, which is held after the play, is a dialectical device where audiences can express their own thoughts and gather opinions from each other, while practicing the process of moving toward a new understanding and attitude.
"Yellow Moon" shows the progress of a juvenile delinquent ‘stag’ Lee and a Muslim girl ‘silent’ Leila from having alienated identity to independent identity. The process through which Leila gradually make herself independent is revealed in the gradual change in the point of view of storytellers which eventually will be identified with Leila's own perspective. Through storytelling, audiences fill the empty stage with imagination and moves forward as independent audiences.
The teenagers in "Ostrich Boys" go through an identity crisis as they feel loss and guilty due to the death of their own friend Ross. They recover their identity by remembering him and making a story about him. This process is indicated in role-playings and a play within a play, the devices of epic theater. Blake and Kenny ascribe a meaning as a ‘cool story’ to the journey that began with his death. In this way, they integrate their past experiences into their own narrative and retrieve their self-identity.
The significance of this study would be as follows. First, this study establishes that the style of dialectical theaters is an effective form that reveals identity-developing process of adolescents, by illuminating a relationship between TYAs and dialectic theaters and analyzing some cases. Second, this study finds that NTCK introduced a new theater style in TYA to Korea by translating and performing Anglo-American TYAs, helping young audiences to be subjects of their own lives. Finally, this study provides a theoretical basis that can be consulted in cases of epic/post-epic theater style being utilized in TYA playwritings and performances.