Logbook Essay

Human interactions are central to Absurdist drama, but the plays

show that these are ultimately meaningless.
Theatre of the Absurd was a form of drama using the abandonment of
conventional dramatic forms to portray the futility of the human race and
its struggle in a senseless world. They thought that the human situation
was absurd and devoid of purpose, and so only few playwrights followed
this short lived, yet very theatrical movement.
It was most popular in the 1950's and early 60's and they usually dictated
their own structure, resulting in no plot, so the play did away with most of
the traditional styles of performances. The language used in this style of
performance is also filled with puns, clichs and repetition, also including
very suddenly shifts of tone from extreme to non-extreme without notice
or warning. The characters movement was also slow and illogical, also
possessing great repetition as well.
In class we have been focusing on the Theatre of the Absurd for several
weeks now, and we have been placed into groups for a performance of
our piece, The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco. Eugene Ionesco was a
Romanian-French playwright who wrote several plays during the time of
the absurdist productions. The Bald Soprano, was his first production,
later writing Rhinoceros and Jack, the Submission.
Another Theatre of the Absurd play is Waiting for Godot by Samuel
Beckett. In Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, the two main
characters, Gogo and Didi await the arrival for this so called Godot
character, who we never see, and (we assume that) never shows up. The
two characters go to the same spot the day after and still wait for this
mysterious Godot.
They say the reason for the emptiness and the randomness of the plot,
causes the audience or reader to really think if anything is going to
happen, and whether there is any meaning to the play, or in life.
This question is a common reoccurrence in most absurdist plays, asking
questions about life. Along with this, there is a very repetitive theme in
absurdist plays; repeating lines, and actions three or more times at a time,
confusing both the characters and the audience, and again tying this all
back to the questions asked about life.
There are many aspects of drama that assist in the enhancement of this
kind of drama, such as; the design, both of the set and costumes, the
performance of the actors, prop use, and script. In Waiting for Godot, we
see Gogo and Didi standing and waiting for hours on a country road made
of gravel, with grey clouds above and nothing on the horizon. The only
thing that is present in the set accompanying them, is a single tree, that is
broken and destroyed. This has a very significant impact on the play, even

if you dont know. It shows a sense of minimalism and asks why it is there,
which directly links to the question often associated with life. The two
characters also wear very tattered and broken clothes that also heighten
the impact it has on the audience. Having both the costumes and set
design, provides a much more in depth and detailing experience and
thoughts towards the play. Most sets in absurdist productions are often
very simple and minimalistic, which helps a lot of thoughts and idea to still
be open to interpretation, and to not completely give things away. The
landscaped, as I said in Waiting for Godot, are very barren and do not
help to depict a location.
In our piece, The Bald Soprano, the main characters are, English Mr
and Mrs Smith, accompanied by English Mr and Mrs Martin, as well as an
English Fire Chief and an English Maid. The play is set in a middleclass English interior, with English armchairs. An English evening. Just
from this short intro we can see that the play is something where there
will be a lot of emphasis on some things and a lot of repetition about some
points in the play.
The use of props and the way that the actors perform is also vital in
creating a real sense of optimism and pessimism, towards the human
condition. The perks of having props, is that they allow you to toy with
what is going on underneath what is happening verbally between
characters. An example could be when you keep stealing cups and
keeping them beside you, instead of refilling them, as it accentuates the
idea of stupidity and surrealism.
The performance of the actors could also be said to be the most vital part
of the production, as it can ultimately set the tone of the performance,
and how the audience react and get involved in the piece. The actors
performance can deter the audiences thoughts to be either optimistic or
pessimistic towards the idea of the performance, or even reaching to the
audiences personal lives. The performance by the actor usually involves a
great deal of stereotypical acting, in ways such as moving, speaking, and
their own actions. These actions are very important as they can be used in
replacement to words, which usually do not match with the context of the
scene. There is also often a lack in the character development, as well as
a frequent lack of knowledge, in reference to time, place and identity.
There are also instances when a character of characters, can be out of
sync and harmony with the scene, and the world around them. This is
evident in The Bald Soprano when Mr and Mrs Martin forget that they are
husband and wife, resulting in a scene in which they rediscover their love
for each other.
How the audience interpret the message (if any) of the production,
ultimately can reinforce or diminish the message that is very commonly
found in the Theatre of the Absurd. The question of is anything going to
happen, or progress, which ultimately relates back to the lives of the
audience. Therefore, the interactions that the audience have are central to
absurdist drama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEkR3Pt-ua8
http://www.thedramateacher.com/theatre-of-the-absurd-conventions/
http://www.britannica.com/art/Theatre-of-the-Absurd