Quo Vadis?: Theatre Studies at the Crossroads

Quo Vadis? Theatre Studies at the Crossroads ERIKA FISCHER-LICHTE 1. PROLOGUE Theatre studies as an academic discipline was founded in a programmatic way, as a discipline devoted not to text but, rather, to performance,' Since its very origins. it has been understood as an "interdisciplinary" subject within which many other fields of study intersect and merge: art history, musicology, literature studies, cultural history, communication and media sciences, philosophy , religious studies, anthropology, sociology, economics, and law. Whether it is defined and practised as culture studies, as media studies, or as art studies, the slUdy of theatre constitutes, by definition, an interdisciplinary field.' Nearly a century after the founding of theatre slUdies, on the threshold of a new millennium, it makes good sense to take stock of the challenges and prospects, problems and risks facing theatre studies today because of, and in terms of, its interdisciplinary nature. For the sake of clarity, it seems appropriate to embark upon this enterprise by dealing with different aspects of theatre studies separately - as culture studies, as media studies, and as art studies. By using the terms "culture studies ," "media studies," and "art studies," I do nol intend that these highly contested terms should serve to define concepts or clearly demarcated fields of research Of even particular disciplines. Rather, I am considering them in terms of their relation to theatre specifically. Considering theatre studies as culture studies entails viewing theatre as a particular genre of cultural perfonnance, to be investigated in the context of and in relation to the different genres of cultural performance. which in their sum total constitute this particular culture. When dealing with theatre studies as media studies, theatre is regarded and examined as a particular medium compared to other media, such as the print Of the electronic. When theatre studies is practised as art studies, the focus is on theatre as a particular art form that, in many ways, is related to other art Modern Drama, 44:1 (Spring 2001) 52 Theatre Studies at the Crossroads 53 fonns such as music, poetry, the visual arts, film, dance. The three temlS as they are used here, accordingly, describe three different perspectives on one and the same object.3 The following three sections are devoted to these three perspectives. I shall begin each section by referring to a theatre performance produced within the last three years by one of the highly subsidized state theatres in Germany, that is, from the so-called mainstream. The rationale for this procedure is twofold. On the one hand, the development of theatre studies, even in the field of theatre historiography, is, in more than one respect, closely related to the development of contemporary theatre. On the other hand, I believe that theatre studies finds itself, in many ways, in a similar position to contemporary theatre . Both have to navigate between the twin dangers of Scylla and Charybdis. Today's theatre moves between the two extreme poles: the process of exchange with other genres of cultural performance, other media, other art forms, which sometimes allows it to merge or even transform itself into other cultural performances, media, art fonns; and the proclamation of a poor theatre , a theatre of empty space, a theatre reverting to its "essentials." In terms of theatre studies, Scylla may appear as such a broad expansion that it runs the risk of merging into general culture studies, media studies, and art studies, while Charybdis represents the tendency to narrow the approach down to only a very limited number of theatrical genres that, however, some theatre scholars claim to be our proper subject. Thus, the question I shall deal with is how theatre studies can avoid being shipwrecked either at Scylla or at Charybdis and can instead regain the strength and flexibility to sail daringly and safely into the open sea. And since contemporary theatre is haunted by similar ghosts and spirits, it might be useful to start the discussion by taking a closer look at a theatre performance and its particular way of challenging these dangers. 2. THEATRE STUD IES AS CULTURE STUD IE S In 1998, an election year in Gennany, Christoph Schlingensief presented Election Campaign Circus Chance 2000 in a circus tent...