미국 아동극 연구: 쇼페닝과 해리스를 중심으로

Abstract

The American children’s theater, which had been suffering in the early 20th century from a chronic lack of repertoire and a less than superb quality of the works, was virtually upgraded in the aspects of quality as well as quantity by the two literary giants, Charlotte Chorpenning and Aurand Harris. Chorpenning, artistic director for the Goodman Theatre of the Art Institute of Chicago for 25 years, wrote 55 children’s plays and also established theories on writing and directing for children. One of the most significant principles that she formulated is “Easy Identification is Essential”signifying that children need a character to identify with on the stage to obtain the optimum pleasure from the theatrical experience. There are other principles such as “Character Development”, “Story through Interaction,” and that children need “Exercise-Spots” to release their energy in the middle of the play. This paper analyzes how Chorpenning, using her significant principles for the children’s theater, transformed Perraut’s Sleeping Beauty into the powerful play which dramatizes the spiritual and emotional growth of Elano and the Beauty, the characters with whom the young audience can eagerly identify. While the play dramatizes many of Chorpenning’s principles aforementioned, we can also find some weaknesses such as being wordy and contradicting her own principle, “Show it, don’t tell it.” But she is still a precursor of the children’s theater by articulating her principles and applying them for her numerous works, which no other playwright has attempted to do before Chorpenning. Chorpenning enormously influenced the next generation of playwrights, one of whom was Aurand Harris. While Chorpenning systematizes the children’s theater as a unique genre, Harris expands its scope using diverse genres as well as subjects. His Androcles and the Lion follows the footstep of Commedia dell’arte but embellishes the Italian genre with the message of the human rights and the significance of freedom. Using familiar and friendly type characters and the setting of Commedia dell’arte, Harris more effectively transmits his powerful message which coordinates with the American belief in freedom and abolishment of slavery. His Arkansaw Bear dramatizes death, a very significant subject but also a very sensitive one to deliver to the young audience. Harris dramatizes death solely abiding by children’s mental and emotional levels. This play focuses on the learning process of the young girl, Tish, who lost her grandfather. To effectively communicate the significance of death to the young audience, Harris uses the various techniques such as the play within play, the fantasy elements and also builds the circus atmosphere by bringing the dancing bears, the bright star on the stage. To be regarded as an independent genre, the children’s theater should be able to compete with the adult’s theater with the quality of the works. Chorpenning and Harris are good examples to show how the playwrights with distinguished works can transform the genre once regarded as the childish into a respectable and moving art.