"Speculations: An Essay on the Theater" is a treatise by experimental playwright Mac Wellman. It was published with the collection of plays entitled The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (University of Minnesota Press, 2008). It is also available, with additional material not included in the book, on Wellman's website (see link below).
Mac Wellman, born John McDowell Wellman on March 7, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American playwright, author, and poet. He is best known for his experimental work in the theater which rebels against theatrical conventions, often abandoning such traditional elements as plot and character altogether.
The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota.
The treatise is written in an eccentric style which, at times, reads like a series of aphorisms. Nevertheless, in its totality it presents a vision for contemporary theater which is both cohesive and profound, and which constitutes a radical departure from the Aristotelian paradigm that dominates mainstream theater today, where plot and character are central to the drama. As such, Speculations constitutes a critique of mainstream theater, but it also offers alternatives. It looks at the nature of time and space; the transfer of energy between people, places, and things; the unlimited potential inherent in the present moment; the subjective nature of experience; and discusses the implications of these things for the way we do theater. In the course of his discussion, Wellman alludes to scientific developments which have influenced his understanding of the creative process, such as relativity, chaos theory, and fractal theory. He also makes connections between experimental theater and religious ceremony, both of which seek to plumb the depths of human potential in search of “epiphanies” -- moments of personal revelation or insight which are, for Wellman, the highest object of the theatrical experience.
Wellman has received extensive recognition for his work over the last thirty years, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and three Obies (Off-Broadway Theater Awards), the most recent of which was a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
Bibliography
Erickson, Jon. “The Mise en Scène of the Non-Euclidean Character: Wellman, Jenkin and Strindberg.” Modern Drama 41.3 (Fall 1998).
Masterman, Glynn. Perpendicular to the Aristotelian: The Speculations of Mac Wellman. Los Angeles: Three Pigeons Publishing, 2009.
Munk, Erika. “The Difficulty of Defending a Form: David Lang and Mac Wellman, Interviewed by Erika Munk.” Theater 32.2 (Summer 2002), 56-61.
Shaw, Helen. “Mac Wellman and Things of the Devil.” The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. vii-xii.
Simpson, Jim, artistic dir. Mac Wellman, co-founder. The Flea Theater. <www.theflea.org>.
Wellman, Mac. “A Chrestomathy of 22 Answers to 22 Wholly Unaskable and Unrelated Questions Concerning Political and Poetic Theater.” Cellophane: Plays by Mac Wellman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. 1-16.
--- Speculations: An Essay on the Theater. Jan. 20, 2009, <www.macwellman.com/images/speculations13.pdf>.
--- “Speculations: An Essay on the Theater” (abridged version). The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. 293-342.
--- The Bad Infinity: Eight Plays by Mac Wellman. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
--- The Difficulty of Crossing a Field: Nine New Plays. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008.
--- “The Theatre of Good Intentions.” Performing Arts Journal 8.3 (1984), 59-70.
The Flea Theater, founded in 1996, is a theatre in the TriBeCa section of New York City. It presents primarily new American theatre, and provides a venue for film stars to act on a very small (74-seat) stage, as well as a smaller black box theater for experimental and new works. The theater was founded by distinguished downtown theater artists: director Jim Simpson, playwright Mac Wellman, and designer Kyle Chepulis. The Flea earned early acclaim for original productions of post-9-11 play "The Guys" and political works by A. R. Gurney. “Since its inception in 1996, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances. Under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, The Flea is one of New York’s leading off-off-Broadway companies."
Performance art is a performance presented to an audience within a fine art context, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated, spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or via media; the performer can be present or absent. It can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body, or presence in a medium, and a relationship between performer and audience. Performance art can happen anywhere, in any type of venue or setting and for any length of time. The actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work.
The Performing Garage is an Off-Off-Broadway theater in SoHo, New York City. Established in 1968, it is the permanent home of the experimental theater company originally named The Performance Group that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group, and their primary performance venue.
Speculations: An Essay on the Theater, by Mac Wellman.
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